Hello. I tried photoreading many years ago (book, tapes), but it didn't really take and I abandoned it (variety of reasons).
I've recently been trying to learn to speak hebrew. I took a few years of the language as a child, though it was more biblical then spoken. However, I haven't touched it for 25 years, and language has never been my thing (I'm a computer guy, give me numbers). Basically, I knew the letters, remembered a few baby words (mother, father, house), and had a good feel for the sounds (as well as a repetoire of half-remembered songs w/o meaning to me).
So for a couple of weeks I listened to some pimsleur tapes, and then started studying a hebrew textbook on the train back and forth to work (~30 mins of study). The first few chapters were ok, but then I really slowed down around chapter 6 or 7 and started getting frustrated. I found myself constantly looking up words from prior chapters, even words that I had just looked up 10 mins before.
So I decided to try photoreading again. My ultimate goal is quite clear - I want to be able to read Israeli newspapers online. Now that's a matter of a few months study at minimum, no matter how you slice it, so my intermediate goal is for these lessons to be less frustrating.
So every night I photoread the book (I've long since skimmed through it; I do that with all of my non-fiction). Some mornings or nights I also photoread part of a hebrew-english dictionary. That's all I've altered in my habits.
Looking back at the last week I did 3 chapters, 2 of which were "hard" so the speed increase wasn't just due to ease of material. Normally, I could attribute that to renewed enthusiasm, but for one peculiar item; I'm doing a lot better on the train ride home. Normally I'm a morning person, and I do all of my best work in the morning. In fact, I tend to organize my day into two parts: problem solving and learning in the morning, and organizing the following day in the afternoon/evening. That's not a perfect pattern (I'm not that organized and work isn't that neat) but it works when I stick to it.
So now I suddenly find myself learning and understanding the textbook in the afternoon; in fact, I'm less frustrated in the afternoon than the morning. Based on this, I have to say that photoreading is doing something for me. Again, a slight speed increase could be enthusiasm, but switching a pattern that is so central to me is hard to explain otherwise.
Just thought I'd share. I'm still a healthy skeptic, but hey even if this is just a placebo effect I really don't care. It's a cheap (5-10 mins at night) way to boost my studying at minimum.
-Jeff
