Can You Touch Type?

[Insight]

Never really took typing lessons, but can type at 80 words per minute. Have been using a Qwerty keyboard from the age of 7 though.

[Big A]

I only use six fingers (plus both thumbs).

Yet Garro only uses 1 finger or two on a good day but can move fairly fast.

Fnarr fnarr!!

[english_farang_lady]

Learning to touch type is extremely useful, and fairly simple. I learned at school, as a fill in for spare time, my 15 year old son taught himself with the aid of a brilliant software program called something like "Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing" I am sure this would be easy to get in Thailand.

It teaches the concept of keeping your 8 fingers on the 'home' keys, and after each stroke, returning that finger to the home key. Only absolutely necessary requirement is practice. One has to master one stage before going on to the next.

Used to be 115 wpm (accurate) but not so fast now, and need to look at the numbers. My son finds it invaluable for homework assignments from college.

Good luck.

Reason for edit: typo!

Edited August 16, 2007 by english_farang_lady

[November Rain]

At the risk of making Big A point out his joke, yet again, I'm with you, garro. One or two fingers. I am fairly fast though - same as you. What's the point of touch typing to be quicker when your internet connection is as slow as mine?

[Murf]

I can touncvh type but not very ewell as i get the ketys mixed up sometimes, as you can see....

BTW, what key should you use for the delete???

[JetsetBkk]

the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog

Repeat, repeat, repeat

That's all well and good, but I don't often want to type that.

And I haven't seen a fox for ages.

[canadiangirl]

sfsdfjdslknfdsl;ngdslgknsdlgs

oops -- apparently not!

Edited August 16, 2007 by canadiangirl

[canadiangirl]

the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog

Repeat, repeat, repeat

That's all well and good, but I don't often want to type that.

And I haven't seen a fox for ages.

That's only because I haven't posted my picture in my user profile!

[autonomous_unit]

I never thought about it much. I guess I do not touch-type, i.e. I never took classes and a typing instructor would probably try to kill me if they observed my methods. However, I just tried a quick 30 second test transcribing some prose and got about 60 wpm with few errors (which I corrected at that rate).

I learned my typing in school writing essays and lots of computer programming. I also have somewhat large hands, and I think I type mostly with my middle and ring fingers as they seem to have the best reach and angle to most alphabet keys. However, I use pinkies and thumb to reach to every corner, and my muscle memory includes all the weird shift-keys, punctation, and control-key combinations that get used in programming and command-line Unix work. I'm pretty sure I also have muscle memory for a catalog of old, strange keyboard layouts found on different text terminals at school...

I was always frightened and impressed by a guy who shared my office in college. He seemed to approach the keyboard like a church organist, heaving and rolling his shoulders into it, and if you watched closely he really seemed to be chording out many words at once. If most of us are old-fashioned dot-matrix printers, scanning characters into the screen one letter at a time, he was a line printer, belting out sentences as fast as the screen could scroll!

[game4shame]

yeap . i touch type.

I don't know how I learnt - it just developed over time.

same same.

[lotus eater]

Touch typing is extremely handy...no looking at the keyboard required and very fast, although I still have to look at the numbers!! Some people are super fast 2 finger typers so if you're happy doing that don't bother learning a new trick, but I find not having to look at the keyboard makes things easier and faster. There's heaps of free programs on the web to help learn to touch type.

What sort of speed do 2 finger typers achieve?

American schools, and certainly universities, were encouraging or even demanding typed work from pupils and students from as far back as the 60s. So it isn't surprizing to have all the americans here chime in with their typing abilities. It was a different story entirely in Europe. I know from my daughter that universities in England now want typed work, but not so still in France. So for people of my age from Europe it's usually a question of typing with 2 fingers - even for many typing professionals like journalists and writers.

I type with 2 fingers - not particularly fast unfortunately. I would very much like to teach myself to touch type. There was an early post too which said it's harder for a 2 finger typer to learn than for a non-typer.

So for me the important question is: Is there a touch typer here who used to be a fairly proficient 2 finger typer? If so would he please tell me at what age he switched, how he did it, and how long it took him.

[sukanyacondo]

My wife can tuuch type Thai and English she doesnt even have the stuck on double letters most internet cafe coms use. Dont know how she manages it??

[El Taco Loco]

Must be a slow news day.

[dttk0009]

It pains me to see people typing with two fingers.

I touch-type and average about 90wpm.

[JetsetBkk]

It pains me to see people typing with two fingers.

I touch-type and average about 90wpm.

I type with mosdtly 6 finerge and thimb but I rely nowsaday on Firefox's spellchecker, which I'vw just ignored to probe a point.

But notmalu, don't think I can even speak or think at 90 wpm.

[Big A]

At the risk of making Big A point out his joke, yet again..........

Heyyyy!!!

[Rionoir]

122 WPM thanks to years of hard work, i.e., video games... back when they were text-based online... lol =P

[qwertz]

I translate for a living and can only type with my index fingers.

It's a little slow but still faster than I translate so typing with ten fingers wouldn't be an advantage in my case.

[pampal]

Learned to touch type in Junior High, it's been a great help to me.

[bangsue]

yes, can touch type. went to college to study computing and during the summer before it started, they recommended that you take their typing course. they stuck tape over all the keys and got you to RSA1 standard in about 4 weeks.

the basics are not hard really you just have your 'home' keys, ie. left hand over 'asdf' and right over 'jkl;'. your fingers cover three each, the home key and then 1 up and 1 down, your index fingers each cover 3 of the extra 6 in the middle. you hit the space bar with your thumbs. bit more to learn about shift keys and numbers/punc marks etc.

[tropo]

So for me the important question is: Is there a touch typer here who used to be a fairly proficient 2 finger typer? If so would he please tell me at what age he switched, how he did it, and how long it took him.

It's not that it's harder to learn typing if you are a "2-finger typer, it's that you will find it very frustrating for quite a while until your touch typing speed catches up with your 2-finger speed. You progress could be hindered somewhat in that you will not always stick with the touch typing method, especially if you have urgent work to complete.

If you make a concerted effort not to "2-finger type" (this is normally called hunt-and-peck typing), then your progress should be about the same as that of a non-typist.

[tropo]

It pains me to see people typing with two fingers.

I touch-type and average about 90wpm.

It pains me to see so many people coming in here stating they can type at 80, 90, 115 and even 120 wpm - accurately!

I trained intensively for years, and 70 wpm raw was a very good goal for me with an accurate rate of around 50 to 60 wpm...that's when I was doing at least an hours practice a day.

Unless a person is doing secretarial work and copy typing, such speeds would be highly unlikely.

There's a huge difference between what speed a person can type at when one is copying text to when one is typing thoughts. The first method requires no thought, the second requires thought and spelling ability.

Copy typing is the only way one can learn to type really fast, but it's a task very few would need to perform unless they had a secretarial job or something similar.

[rainman]

I do. Since I've been working on the computer for the past 7-8 years, I never even look at the keyboard.

[Tony Clifton]

Mmm, I just checked what I do on the keyboard. Hunt and peck. I don't use the little fingers at all, so, six fingers and the right thumb while looking at the keyboard.

I did learn to touch type back in 2000 and passed that course but then got lazy.

Here id whar happend afuer d9c uezed id klazimedd

Here is what happens after six years of laziness.

I have installed the firefox extension in a minute only and will definitely give it a go.

One guy in that class had fingers the size of fat bratwurst sausages. He had to cheat, as even when looking he would hit two keys at once.

[tropo]

I do. Since I've been working on the computer for the past 7-8 years, I never even look at the keyboard.

You do what?

[JimsKnight]

Yes, I can touch-type.

I suspect you must be a either a very quick fingered individual or a prolific TV poster as you have more posts than me and you've only been a TV member since the beginning of this year.

Don't forget though that 'true' touch typing is when you don't have to look at the keyboard once while typing

Edited August 16, 2007 by JimsKnight

[GreenShone]

Yup, I can touch type! All those hours of being online paid off. Really!

[OneeyedJohn]

I used to work with a guy in Holland who was an ex signals guy in the navy, and to watch him at the keyboard of a mainframe computer was truly amazing. He could type faster than one could read. I think people claiming to type at 120 wpm is fanciful thinking.

[tropo]

Yes, I can touch-type.

I suspect you must be a either a very quick fingered individual or a prolific TV poster as you have more posts than me and you've only been a TV member since the beginning of this year.

Don't forget though that 'true' touch typing is when you don't have to look at the keyboard once while typing

As you say, touch typing doesn't involve looking at the keyboard. Why would a person look when he's using 9 fingers? I don't even look when I begin...I just feel for the raised position markers on the 'f' and 'j' keys and away I go.

Who is the prolific TV poster you're referring to?

[Creeper]

, thanks for this thread as it has got me thinking about starting up again.

As long as Auntie Mavis is involved.