Touch typing lesson 11: Lessons 7 - 10

Keys and finger movements

Keyboard layout: English US.

Combine the keys from the earlier lessons in a steady rhythm. If the same transition keeps causing errors, revisit the lesson that introduced it before increasing your speed.

• f: F
• r: R
• j: J
• u: U
• t: T
• y: Y
• s: S
• w: W
• l: L
• o: O
• a: A
• q: Q
• ;: ;
• p: P

Getting started with touch typing

Your starting skills and the amount of practice you do affect how quickly you learn. The effort involved does not have to mean long, intensive sessions.

Instead of typing marathons, consider setting aside 15-25 minutes a day to practice touch typing. Short sessions make it easier to fit practice into your routine and return to it regularly. Start with a manageable session length and continue at a pace that lets you practice attentively and comfortably.

Start at a speed that lets you use the indicated fingers. A slower first attempt can be useful if it reveals which key you cannot yet find without looking.

After an exercise, choose one recurring mistake to work on. Repeat its lesson, then try it in a short text. There is no fixed number of days in which every learner should master touch typing.

It helps to separate learning a movement from testing your maximum speed. During practice, slow down enough to choose the intended finger and notice what happens after an error. During a later attempt, check whether you can make the same movement without looking down. If a new technique is slower than your old habit, compare several similar attempts before deciding that it is not working.