[interpol_p]

You can go one better than that: double tap with two fingers on the software keyboard to initiate a selection on the current word and then drag to extend selection.

You don't need to double tap on the actual text or characters, you just tap-then-drag with two fingers on the software keyboard.

[Grustaf]

Amazing, thanks! I tried various versions of single finger tapping but the result is usually both disastrous and expected, replacing the selection with a single letter.