Do SpeedComp Reading Lessons (SCRL) teach the meanings of words?
No. Young children already know the meanings of the first several thousand words. Children speak and understand these words every day. However, they do not recognize the words’ written equivalents. SCRL teaches children to read words they already understand, but don’t yet recognize in written form. Gradually words are introduced that the child does not already know. This gives the child experience, so that when s/he encounters these words in context, s/he will see a familiar SCRL word with which there is some curiosity about its meaning. Students who have not used SCRL will tend to see a new word as something foreign, a “hard word.” The student with SCRL experience will not be intimidated in this way, but will have an experiential basis for associating the word and thus an easier time remembering its meaning. It is only by repeated exposure to words we do not understand that all of us learn the English language. With SCRL, the child gets exposure to both printed words and spoken words.
