Reading Time Estimation: How it works ?

Everyone of us has a different reading speed, so it is not possible to predict with an accurancy of 100% the reading time of a specific human being. But the reading proficency of an indivudual it is not the only variable to consider. We need to consider that different languages have diffent type of words and phonems, so the calculation of reading time can be influenced by the language of the text itself.

Some accademic studies (you can take a look to the linked resourced at the end of the article if you want to read more details) are suggesting an average reading speed of 184 ± 29 WPM (words per minute). Below, you can find the specific reading speed for 16 different languages:

How it is our reading time calculator working ?

Actually it is very simple, the process can be divided in three points:

1. Language recognition: As we seen before, the language it is very important, so initially we are trying to detect the language of the text.
2. Referent WPM: Once we know the language, we are peeking the wpm used for the estimation from the language speicific data in the previous table. If the language it is not in the table, we are choosing the average WPM, 184 (as explained before).
3. Calculation: The last step it is very simple, we are counting the words in the text and getting an estimation of the time necessary to read the text!

Sources:

• Processing determinants of reading speed
• Standardized Assessment of Reading Performance: The New International Reading Speed Texts IReST