Abstract: Objective To inspect the applicability of fast reading training on college students with hearing impairment and variability with cognitive flexibility. Methods Sixty-two hearing impaired students were divided into intervention group (n=30) and control group (n= 32). The intervention group received fast reading training eight times, and the control group accepted conventional reading practice. They were subgrouped into high level and low level of cognitive flexibility according to their achievements of Cognitive Flexibility Scale for College Students. They were asked to read four essays before and after intervention, respectively. Results For the reading speed and valid reading speed, the effects of intervention were significant (F>66.62, P<0.001), as well as the time of training (F>80.35, P<0.001) and cognitive flexibility (F>9.68, P<0.01). For the comprehension, the effect of the time of training was significant (F=4.96, P=0.003), but it was not for the intervention (F=1.269, P=0.265) and cognitive flexibility (F=1.475, P=0.230). Conclusion Fast reading training may improve the reading speed of college students with hearing impairment, and may be more effective for those with high level of cognitive flexibility.

Key words: hearing impairment, college student, fast reading training, cognitive flexibility, reading speed, comprehension