Speed-reading courses in China branded ‘utter nonsense’
- Training centres claiming to teach children to read more than 100,000 words in minutes have stirred controversy after a competition video went viral
- Several tutoring organisations confirm they are teaching the technique, which experts have dismissed as lacking any scientific basis
Courses claiming to teach children to read more than 100,000 words in minutes have stirred controversy in China after a video of students rapidly flipping through books in a competition went viral on social media.
According to a promotional poster seen in the video, the contest was organised by Xinzhitong.
But the education centre in Beijing denied it was involved in the event – saying its name was used by another company without its permission – or that it offered such courses, The Beijing News reported on Wednesday.
However, several other education centres in China said they did teach the technique, which experts have dismissed as lacking any scientific basis.
In the competition video produced by the organiser and shared on news website PearVideo on Monday, the claim is made that by flipping through pages quickly, images start to appear in a reader’s mind to help them understand the content.
It says that after 72 classes, students can finish reading a 100,000-word book within five minutes.
The method – called “quantum speed-reading” – is based on a book by Japanese teacher Yumiko Tobitani published in 2006.