In Rilymi, we explore acting tools for improving fluency in foreign languages.
As you may guess, reading aloud is one of these activities actors always do. It serves them to comprehend the words in the script and the characters’ intentions, infer intonation patterns, visualize the actions that may lead to the next utterance, and so much more.
Reading aloud is an essential step before memorizing the lines. Actors know this is an incredible exercise, but science has more to say.
Reading Aloud and Silent Reading
One of the most fascinating scientific findings regarding reading has been the discovery that even when we are reading silently, our vocal folds and larynx are at work; they do it silently since there’s no air pressure(no phonation and no articulation). The process is called subvocalization and is entirely natural. When we read only for ourselves, our body is as engaged as when reading aloud. In essence, when we read, we are talking to ourselves.
If you try to pay attention to it the next time you read, you will start noticing the truth of this observation. You will sense a subtle internal tension within your throat and hear this internal voice ‘saying’ the words you are reading. Yet another wonder of how our brain and body are always intricately interconnected!
It seems that when we read, we retain words and their meanings through muscle memory: the muscles in our throat, tongue, vocal folds, larynx, lips and even our eyes. This retention, though, works only for short-term memory storage.
The involvement of your body when you read a text aloud reaches a different level and brings many benefits for learning, long-term memory building and association. These benefits are convenient for second-language speakers
An Easy Habit:
One of the main advantages of reading aloud is that it couldn’t be more easy to include in your daily routine:
- It’s free.
- You can do it nearly anywhere.
- You can read alone or with a partner.
- And by doing it 10 to 20 minutes a day you will very soon “feel” improvement.
Benefits of Reading Aloud for Improving Fluency in Foreign Languages:
Let’s look at some splendid benefits mentioned by researchers in the field. Most of the research focuses on the advantages of reading aloud for children and elderly. Why is that? Because we still need to get adults on the track!
Among all the findings, these are the most appropriate for our purposes. We’ve included the Whys section, in which we will connect these benefits with the objectives pursued by second-language speakers:
- Enhances FOCUS, ATTENTION & ASSOCIATION
Why:
Along with our focus on understanding what we are reading, our attention is also directed towards communicating it; making sense of the words spoken and conveying this meaning to the listener. In this endeavour to make and convey meaning, our mind constructs images as we read, thus associating the words with all material available in our memory. Additionally, the act of reading this text at this precise moment and place adds yet another layer of association. Emotions and feelings at the time of reading also play an important role in this process.
- Association that leads to Long-Term Memorization
Why:
Building associations leads to long-term memory. This statement holds true for all learning experiences. Any activity that may enhance
association is worth repeating. Reading aloud immerses us in a bath of body-brain association. When we read, we are reading, speaking, thinking and listening. Moreover, we are also imagining and visualizing.
- Improves listening comprehension
Why:
Both activities – listening to someone else read aloud or listening to ourselves read the words out loud – help enhance our comprehension of the language. Hearing our voice or the voice of others articulate ‘chunks of speech’ that might never occur to us transports us to a new level of comprehension and understanding, one beyond our own.
- Enhances Auditory Discrimination
Why:
By reading aloud, we train our brains to decode the language into ‘chunks of grammar’ and ‘chunks of speech’. We teach our brains to acclimate to decoding what we can and infer from context what we are not yet ready to decode. This is the optimal training for attaining the right mindset to confront real-life situations. Discriminating and inferring from context are fundamental components of language in humans. Becoming aware of this and using it to our advantage will make our speaking lives in a second language much more comfortable and enjoyable.
- Integrates the pronunciation along with language use
Why:
Aside from enabling the decoding of visual information into acoustic information, this activity directs our attention to both the flow of the reading and the pronunciation of each word. We gain awareness of both processes simultaneously. And we ‘learn by doing’ when we should stop and correct something that didn’t come out quite clearly or when to keep going for the good of the flow of communication would be preferable. Furthermore, translating visual information into acoustic information aids in incorporating new knowledge into our repertoire.
- Work with challenging texts
Why:
Encountering texts that take us beyond our comfort level is an ideal practice: it encourages us to get used to “becoming comfortable in the uncomfortable“. Real life in a second language may be uncomfortable. We better exercise this skill!
- Enhances Vocabulary Acquisition
Why:
Second language teachers advise students to “surround themselves by and with the language”. Immersion means jumping into these ‘language pools’ filled with the words of all kinds of people, opinions, and perspectives. For language immersion, you may travel, live abroad, watch movies, talk to people, engage in social activities in the language, and, of course, read (aloud) all sorts of written texts! The array of ideas, objects, and concepts we encounter in written texts makes them an excellent immersion ‘language pool’ into which to jump.
- Promotes neuroplasticity
Why:
In neuroscience, the motto goes: ‘Neurons that fire together, wire together’. Encountering new words during activities such as reading aloud fires numerous neurons simultaneously: the neurons that will decode the word and its sound, the ones that will link this decoding with meaning, those that will associate the word with an active bodily action (speaking), other neurons that will access our memories (the words in your mother tongue or former experiences) and associate the words with them, and some others that will form new memories tied to the present experience (place, context, reading partners, colours, smells, body sensations, emotions).
And if all of that were not enough, as Gurdon mentions in her book The Enchanted Hour, “the experience surprises you by the joy of it (…) and takes you back to childhood”.
When finding the appropriate tools for adults, those that may transport us back to childhood are real gems. Entering that state of mind we used to have when we were children and eager to learn something new is the best starting point. If there’s one profession in the world that might be said to be very connected to childhood, that is acting.
We are adding two extra benefits that we’ve come to realize through experience:
- Reading aloud in the target language is the perfect Warm-up Exercise:
You should read aloud in the target language before facing important events such as an interview, an appointment at the tax office, going to the doctor, or on a date. Using it as a warm-up exercise will help you in two senses:
- it will prepare your vocal system for the language’s sounds, pitches, tones, etc.
- it will activate your thinking and memory (sentence construction, specific words or semantic groups, etc.)
- Reading aloud in a second language is the perfect re-learning and refreshing exercise:
It will serve as a bridge between class and real-life conversations. If, after class, you spend some time reading aloud content that has to do with what you’ve learned today, this will help settle the new pieces of knowledge and make them yours. You will digest them.
If, on the other hand, you wish to refresh things you had digested in the past but are not using in the present, reading aloud is the perfect tool to pass your passive vocabulary into your active one.
In this article, we’ve examined the benefits of reading aloud for second-language speakers, In its ideal form, reading aloud typically involves someone listening to the reader. However, if you find yourself alone in front of the text, the benefits still apply and you should try. You will play both the role of the reader and the audience, embarking on an intriguing journey of self-discovery. What does your voice sound like when you speak that language? Is there something you could improve ‘right here, right now’?
Once you have sufficient language knowledge, fluency and confidence start inside you. They are a behaviour, a way of being in a second language. This ‘state of being in the language’ is something you achieve through exercising. And reading aloud in a second language is a fantastic way of exercising this skill.
Conclusion: Regardless of whether you have a ‘partner in crime’ or not: pick a book you love, find its translated edition in the language you are learning, set your alarm clock for 10 to 15 minutes a day, and have fun reading it aloud! Your mind and body will “feel” the difference!
Disclaimer: Reading aloud is an exercise that requires some effort on your part. Some people naturally love it, while others may not enjoy it as much initially. If you belong to the latter, you must know that reading aloud is one of these “Atomic Habits” that yield results over time. Joy also comes over time. Consistency is the key. As James Clear emphasizes in his book: the only thing you must do to build this new habit is to ‘show up’. The effort will be worth it.
Resources:
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Guy Deutscher. The Unfolding of Language. Arrow Books, 2006
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Podcast: Huberman Lab
Jarvis, Dr. Erich, PhD. “Dr. Erich Jarvis: The Neuroscience of Speech, Language &
Music | Episode 87” Huberman Lab, Scicomm Media, 22 Jan. 2024,
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