Reading Aloud

Submitted by juicy_scooby t3_11ddgsx in books

I used to be a much more avid reader when I was younger compared to now. I think this progression is something a lot of people can relate to, and while I don't really know why it happens I'm very interested in turning that trend around for myself.

I've come to realize it's not exactly that my attention span is smaller than before, because other interesting media or audio books or whatnot are able to hold my attention quite well. And it's not exactly that I'm not reading a lot, I just only read things in short bursts.

Here's what I've noticed. I think my reading skills have been adapted to be better at scanning for and ingesting vocabulary and word order and then immediately coming to a conclusion about that block of text. When I'm reading a passage in a book if I'm not literally concentrating on reading each word sequentially, my eyes jump ahead and around and start reading 2 sentences at once. Once I started notice this it was actually quite bizarre; trying to focus feels almost like trying to meditate, let your mind go quiet but your thoughts are racing and constantly trying to internalize the message within the text before you can actually read it.

I think part of this problem will be fixed with practice, and part of it might just be that my mind's baseline state is kind of racing anyway if I think about it (maybe you can relate).

What I find really interesting is that if I read aloud, this problem goes away entirely. My brain speed is limited by my mouth speed, and I only comprehend a few words ahead of what I'm saying, so I can actually read passages faster and more efficiently. I've found I'm a very audio-driven person when it comes to learning and comprehension, I prefer a lecture or a conversation to a text book and I prefer voice memo's to written journaling in many cases. I guess I just think through my mouth.

As a bit of a compromise, I'm finding myself silently reading things "aloud" when I'm in public or when I just want to practice reading books or papers or articles without orating them. My only qualm about this is that I have this unfounded idea in my head that having to mouth the words you read is somehow inferior?? I don't know where I got this idea but I feel like the more "proper" and "intellectual" thing to do is read quietly and quickly to yourself without moving your lips. I know it probably doesn't matter but I wonder if any of you can relate, or assure me that my seemingly latent ability to read quietly and effectively to myself will come back with a few months of practice.

13

Comments

You must log in or register to comment.

lokilivewire t1_ja827yh wrote

If this how you read and you're enjoying reading, that's all that matters. How you do it, silently or reading out aloud is irrelevant.

FWIW I would focus more on what makes me happy, than what anyone might think.

3

Trick-Two497 t1_ja82sga wrote

In school, very early, we learn to read by sounding things out. But then, because reading out loud in a classroom of 30 kids would be unworkable, we are taught to sound things out silently which leads to silent reading. I think silent reading is preferred just because it's a must in the educational environment. But when you're home, why not read aloud if it makes more sense to you? If I'm puzzling out an emotional passage, I'll read it out loud, playing with different emotional emphasis to see what feels right or what else I might discover if I read it differently.

6

CaroqHail t1_ja8jci9 wrote

I’ve got this problem and I find that once I get on a roll with reading, I can maintain that voracity. One thing that helps me is to wear reading glasses. I’ve got 20/20 eyesight but I think the magnification helps to sort of harness my eyes to only look at the book.

Edited to add: “listening” to white noise on headphones is also helpful for me to focus on reading.

2

DWGrithiff t1_ja94ckb wrote

Thank you for sharing this, I'm often curious about what other people's reading experiences are like. I've always been a slow reader, and when, as a kid, I tried to learn more about "speed reading," or asked friends how it was possible for them to read a novel in one day, they'd describe reading somewhat like you do. I.e., they would sort of scan the page, taking in a line of text at a time, basically. This is possible because you can understand all the words and sentences without actually having to say them in your head. So I'd try this, read a page or two trying to scan quicker than I can speak, and would realize after 2 pages I had no idea what I was reading.

I don't know if it's a cognitive issue or what, but I simply cannot read text faster than it would take me to say it. So, I don't move my tongue in my mouth or anything, but I essentially read words as though there were a voice in my head saying them. And, maybe for this reason, I really enjoy reading out loud, and find (as OP describes) it helps me focus and get absorbed in what I'm reading.

2

majesticat42 t1_ja99nzi wrote

I have the same problem and I blame social media. I've given up and just reread the page I skimmed through while I was thinking of something else. Sometimes, I'll find the audiobook version and read along but I find myself drifting off anyway. You're right though, it'll probably only get better with practice, most efficiently if you (we) lock yourself in a room for weeks and just read without a phone or computer to distract you or enable you having a short attention span.

Fun fact though, when you read something silently, the muscles in your throat actually articulate the words that you're reading and produce sound that's imperceptible to your ears. But if someone put an amplifier against your throat you'd be able to hear the words that you're "reading silently". Andrew Huberman talks about it in one of his podcasts, I forgot which one.

1

scarletseasmoke t1_ja9kit9 wrote

Dramatic reading is fun. There are many books that are so much better read out loud. Plus you're focusing more on tone and the sound of words, you probably have a better grasp on when things are supposed to convey some extra nuance with vowel acoustics or rhythm.

But if it bothers you, you could try a reader app where you only see one word or one line at a time 🤷 Stops you from scanning and skimming stories like they were articles you want information from.

1

MutedHornet87 t1_ja9tlnn wrote

I often read aloud because it helps me focus better

4

Amphy64 t1_jaa35x0 wrote

Reading aloud is absolutely a part of how books have always been read, including solitary reading aloud. If you prefer it it's fine.

7

WendellSanders01 t1_jaaobrt wrote

In my opinion, it is actually a lot better to read out loud. Tone of voice is super important for meaning, and you literally can't hear the tone as the author intended if you're reading things silently. So personally I think it's the other way around, I think reading silently is vastly inferior. People can swear up and down that they can read a million words a minute silently, but then they are just missing the point of reading, which is to hear the writer's voice.

The author is basically speaking to the reader. When you read a book out loud you are hearing the author.

Of course there's a time and a place for everything. Usually if I can't read something out loud, I will at least whisper the words quietly to myself. Furthermore, I think it's the silent readers who should practice reading out loud, which is a basic thing that every good reader should at least know how to do, even if they don't do it all the time. I think you should be comfortable doing both, but like I said, it's a more powerful experience reading out loud.

1

QueenRooibos t1_jab08rq wrote

People always read aloud until medieval (in Europe) times.... even worse, there often wasn't even punctuation or even spaces between words!

Tons of info about that all over the internet, but if you are especially interested in the history of original aural communication by poets such as Homer and his Asian equivalents shifting gradually into writing, then eventually into books, then even later into printing presses etc.....I recommend Papyrus: The Invention of Books in the Ancient World by Irene Vallejo.

One of my favorite books everywhere -- AND you can get an audio version!

1

MattMurdock30 t1_jab94as wrote

I love to read aloud. I think it's mostly because my parents did that a lot with me partly because I am blind and at the time had less access to books there was a statistic that said that only 5% of books were available in 2000 but I am sure thanks to Ebooks that statistic has changed.

I had a relationship where I read my good friend Braille books over skype since she lost her sight at 18 and could not read Braille so we listened to Audible and I read her like 10 novels.

I would love to have a similar relationship where I read you books and you read me books. Hit me up?!?!

1

sad-butsocial t1_jacku4z wrote

I read my college textbooks aloud for better processing and concentration, but I never considered doing this for fiction. Thanks for the tip!

1

tillerman35 t1_jaekop6 wrote

Faulkner should be read aloud. And it's best when read in a genteel Southern accent (think Kevin Spacy in "Midnight in The Garden of Good and Evil.")

I remember reading somewhere the Faulkner was extremely particular about word choice and phrasing. Every sentence is a complete thought- a statement, if you will. There's a part of "Go Down Moses" where the narrator repeatedly says "And McCaslin" - if you don't say that out loud, ponderously, you miss the impact altogether.

Faulkner's writing makes you imagine the author himself reading the book aloud to you, even when you're doing the reading. Or at least, that's been my experience.

2