Uses of Time-Compressed Speech in a Reading Remediation Program: Some Exploratory Tests.

Using time-compressed speech methodology, a program was developed which attempted to improve the reading rate and comprehension of U.S. Navy personnel with low reading ability. Four groups of trainees were tested. One group read training text while simultaneously listening to a speeded auditory version of the same text. A second group listened to speeded text without concurrently reading the material. The third group simply read material silently, with no auditory input. The fourth group was a control group which took pretests and posttests only. All groups except the control group showed sizable but comparable increases in unaided reading rate and comprehension performance. Thus, it appeared that the salient aspects of all procedures provided trainees with specific learning goals and precise feedback on their progress, coupled with teacher encouragement to improve. (Author)