No matter which language one is learning, the slow reading speed is one of the main difficulties which hinder the understanding of certain passages and articles. Thus, the improvement of the reading speed is one of the main contents to enhance the reading proficiency. The improvement should be discussed under the premise that the accurate understanding rate should be guaranteed.

For those who go to school to study in China to study Chinese as a foreign language, one of the main bad habits is to point at word by word and speak them out one by one. This habit definitely slows down the reading speed. There are two main reasons which cause the habit. The first is that the level of the learners is not proficient enough, namely, the learners are still in the elementary level. The second is that the learners have bad reading habits. The learners’ ability to study a foreign language is not low. But due to the one-by-one word learning method, the reading speed is slowed down, thus, the slow-down of reading speed.

For the bad habit caused by the first reason, the teachers who teach Mandarin language may tell the learners that they can improve the reading speed after the improvement of the learners’ target language. The change of the bad habits of reading can start from two main aspects. First is the realization of the learner that there are many means to adopt according to different subject matters. The second is that the improvement can be achieved through intensive exercises.

Now three methods to improve the reading speed will be introduced. The first method is called the timed reading of fixed texts. The method emphasizes that the students should complete the reading assignment in fixed time. The pressure the students feel will stimulate them to speed up. The fixed time period should be set according to the average level of the students. The teachers should watch the students to set a proper time to adjust the suitable time period. The second method is called the fixed-time reading. After the giving a passage, the teacher will set a certain period of time and make the students read as much as possible. Then stop the students and set another certain time period and make them read more than that of the first time. The same pattern should be repeated for four times. Thus, after the repeat of the same contents of previous will speed up the reading. The third is the repeat reading method. Make the students read same text again and again and the result will be the improvement of reading speed and understanding.