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Are you feeling stuck with your English?
We'll show you how to become fearless and fluent
by focusing on connection, not perfection.
With your American hosts, Lindsay,
Mick Mann, the English adventurer,
and Michelle Kaplan, the New York Radio girl,
coming to you from Colorado and New York City, USA.
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Reading is an essential part of learning English,
but should you read out loud or silently?
Find out today.
Plus, learn why just reading novels
is only one resource idea among many.
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Hello, Michelle. How's it going today?
Good. Lindsay, how are you on this lovely Saturday?
Fantastic. I know it is Saturday.
This is our Saturday episode.
Amazing. I'm feeling good.
I'm feeling good. We're getting to the end of May.
We are actually right in the middle of our B2 fluency.
English fluency course coming out for the very first time,
which is really exciting, Michelle.
Yes, I am super excited about this course.
We had a lot of fun making it.
And I just think it's going to be really useful for our listeners.
Absolutely. Pushing that level higher,
moving towards that C1, 99% fluency guys,
keep your eyes and ears open for emails
and for announcements on this podcast,
on how you can get into that course.
There's a limited time deal,
so you're going to want to get in right away.
Michelle, do we have any question to start off the episode today?
Yes. So my question for you is, have you ever read a book in another language?
Oh my gosh, good question.
So when I was learning Spanish,
I had a Don Quixote right in Spanish,
the famous author, that book,
and I tried to read it and I struggled.
I'm not going to lie.
It was not easy.
It's not easy to read in another language.
For sure.
But it can do so much for your fluency.
Actually, just the other day,
I had a student asking me about saying that
she wanted to start reading more,
that she enjoys reading,
but she doesn't have the attention span for it right now.
Of course, like all of us, right?
And, but we were talking about reading in English,
so it's funny that we're answering this question today.
We have a, yeah, but before we get to the question,
guys, head on over to episode 2193.
Is it too pricey how to talk about your money values in English?
Ooh, very nice and guys, check out that episode.
And now we're gonna,
I'm gonna go ahead and read our listener question, Michelle.
This is from YouTube.
And guys, if you didn't know,
we also have a YouTube channel, right?
If you prefer to watch these episodes,
you can, you can see us talking to each other,
our gestures.
Maybe that's the way you like to learn
if so go over to YouTube and hit subscribe
on that channel, right, Michelle?
Absolutely.
Okay, so let's hear the question.
All right, so the listener says,
thank you for this amazing episode.
I must have been about a different episode.
I hope to answer my question.
Reading loudly or silently for learning a language,
which one is the best way for this purpose?
So the listener is wondering if they should read aloud
and the term would be allowed, right?
Read aloud or read silently
when they're learning a language.
Right, yeah.
Yes, exactly.
So great question.
I'm not sure what kind of reading this listener is referring to,
but I'm gonna assume maybe articles, parts of books,
whatever it may be.
And we don't have the, not sure about actual research here,
if there's been some sort of a more scientific study.
However, we're going to give our tips, our opinions,
from our experience.
So let's get into it, Lindsay.
What do you think?
Why would someone read silently?
Yeah, so definitely for comprehension.
So I definitely think I understand better
when I read silently, not when I'm reading out loud
in a way to read to someone or just comprehension.
So keeping it in your head fully understanding everything
would be a reason to read silently, Michelle,
or getting deeper information,
like when you're trying to learn a specific skill
and by skill, what do we mean here?
And maybe you are trying to learn about something for business.
Maybe you're trying to learn,
self help book on how to deal with something,
how to interview people, whatever it is.
That's actually interesting.
It's all about your choices.
Maybe we'll talk about this later in the episode,
but it's all about your choices to stay intrigued
and into the reading, choosing the material, right?
And then out loud or allowed, as Lindsay said,
that keyword, I think for our listeners,
that may be good for pronunciation practice
or in my life, I read out loud if I'm reading to my kids.
So but in the sense of working on your English,
I think if you really wanna focus on the pronunciation,
that would be a good time to do it.
Yeah, I think it could also be good
for presentation practice, right?
So let's ask.
So not just the pronunciation,
but so adding in that intonation,
where do we pause for the best attention getting
from an audience, is a way to prepare
for going on a stage, let's say we take an article
and we're going to start to read it out loud
in a way we might think about chunking our words
in a presentation.
Does that make sense?
Yeah, yeah.
For sure, because when we think about pronunciation,
it's not just the words, the vowels, the consonants,
it is getting that cadence, getting comfortable
with that the pause is.
And that is going to help you with your speaking as well.
I love that idea.
Michelle, I know a lot of our listeners,
they get our transcripts, they belong to our membership program,
they get our transcripts by email,
and they have been spending years, many of them,
printing out the transcripts and listening
and reading out loud with the transcripts while they listen.
That's really interesting, kind of mimicking.
I love that.
That is a great thing to do.
Anytime you could do it with a movie,
you could do it with our show,
but there's so much that you can practice and exercise
by doing something like that using your voice.
It's so good.
It's so good.
What else do we think here?
What else do our listeners need to know, Michelle?
Right, well, overall, it's what you're comfortable with.
I don't believe there's one right answer,
because everybody has a different learning style.
So it's also good to experiment in different ways,
switch it up, because maybe you wanna try
reading something silently, and then you say,
let me try it out loud.
Let's see how that sounds.
And that's okay.
I think as long as you have a healthy variety,
then you will get the most bang for your buck.
I'll say.
I love that.
The most bang for your buck.
That's a bonus phrase for today.
Michelle, what does that mean?
By the way, in case our listeners didn't catch it
from the context, the greatest advantage
for the effort you put in.
Yeah, I love it.
I love it.
I really like to read myself personally silently,
when I'm not working on that pronunciation presentation
practice, delivery practice, I want to read silently,
so I can really make sure I fully understand it.
I need a lot of quiet.
I think you and I, Michelle, are similar.
Like that, you've mentioned before that you need quiet.
Some people can put headphones in and listen to opera music
while they study, or hard rock music.
I don't know.
Not me.
No, no.
I really cannot.
I cannot.
So I need that silence.
But as far as reading silently or allowed, again,
if I'm reading to my kids, of course,
I'm going to read.
I use my voice.
I would say there are different times, though,
when I might read out loud.
And we're going to talk about this more in a second.
But how can our listeners make this decision
about what would be best for them?
What do you think?
Well, I mean, I think it's about doing both, actually.
So I mean, obviously think about the material
that is in front of you.
What is your goal with this material?
Like we said, is it delivery practice,
is it presentation intonation, pronunciation practice?
Or is it more about comprehension?
Or is it entertainment?
Right?
If we're being entertained, we are learning.
And so to fully understand the book,
if you need to read it silently, do that.
So you can continue and finish the book
to move on to the next one.
Right?
Yeah.
Absolutely.
OK, Michelle.
So what are some steps or some tips, additional tips
we can give our listeners?
OK, so we want to think about the context.
What are we reading?
So a recipe.
If you're cooking and you're making something
with your friend, with your partner, whoever,
you are going to probably be reading that recipe out loud.
I would typically, I mean, if I'm reading, if it's just me,
I might not read it out loud.
But even sometimes, I might read it a little bit out loud
for some reason.
I don't know why.
But I feel like a recipe is something
that tends to get spoken.
Yeah, I like that we're thinking about reading broadly here.
Recipes, instructions, not just books.
I think about when I go to a new town,
this is an interesting example.
When I go to a new town, let's say, somewhere in Colorado
for a weekend, as we drive into that town,
I'll often see store names.
And I'll read them out loud.
And I notice that people do that.
It's like, oh, Jenny's coffee shop.
You're just saying it.
Weird example.
But no, no, it's reading.
And it is, you know, annunciating,
practicing your pronunciation, getting feedback.
Oh, I wonder if the coffee's good.
Let's go there tomorrow.
It starts conversation.
It gets you being verbal.
So that kind of just taking in the world
and repeating it out loud is also a form of reading.
Right.
Right.
Exactly.
And so for that kind of situation or recipe,
the other day, I made something and I was making
when my son.
So I was reading.
And every type of reading has a different cadence.
So if you listen to a news reporter
and they're reading something off a teleprompter,
they have a special way of talking that is going to be
different than the way I read to my children.
And they're different in the way that you say a recipe.
And there's different pauses.
And there's different ways to do it.
So just think about, like Lindsay said, not just books,
but tons of different material you can read,
even something as simple as the signs of restaurants.
Just give it a try and just go for it.
I love it.
I love it.
And then obviously there's the obvious, which is books,
more of like a novel style, reading them silently,
unless you're reading to someone, as we said,
kind of like a play, a story, really just getting whatever
lets you get into the story.
That's the key.
And then also instructions in the similar vein of recipe,
just maybe you're making a piece of furniture
with somebody you're going to have to read that out loud.
So that's another way a place that reading may come in
and then subtitle.
So let's say this goes back to what we were talking about
in the beginning, either the transcripts
or if you're watching, if you're watching something
and you want to practice your pronunciation
and you want to put the subtitles on and mute it,
and that's another technique.
Yeah, I love it.
And it's totally fair if you're having a hard time
for a listener's guys, if you're having a hard time
getting into a book, a novel, maybe your teacher gave you
a book that is typically used.
I know when I was learning French, the little prince,
the teacher was the one everyone was supposed to read.
And I just kind of like me, me, right?
I really wasn't that into it.
But what can we do that
would be creative.
Go to IKEA by furniture, get the instructions, assemble it
by reading the instructions out loud in English.
Maybe that's how you want to get into reading.
It's a more utilitarian approach.
You don't have to love novels in order
to practice your reading in English.
Just think of where in your everyday life
do you typically read?
And it's probably more than you even realize.
Even just going into the grocery store
and just seeing some of the items and practicing
saying them out loud.
You know, this is, it's different because our listeners
aren't children.
But with children, I was just looking at something
last night that said, if you read to a child every day,
one picture day from the day they're born,
they'll know one million something words more
than they would have.
Probably the time they get to kindergarten.
I saw that on some Instagram that I follow.
And so, of course, we're not talking about children here,
but it is the same.
Just the more vocabulary you get, the more you'll know,
the more it's going to help you overall.
So reading is really helpful.
And I think choosing the material in a way
that you kind of need to know it, like we've said,
reading a menu or reading instructions where you need.
This information is so important because I know for me,
when my mind doesn't catch in, hook into the material,
I can wander.
I can be, God knows where within five minutes, right?
I could be wandering off into daydreaming.
So, but if I'm reading a set of instructions or a recipe
and I have to build this meal for my friends
that are coming over in half an hour,
I need that information.
So I think it's all about material choice.
You can even choose, you can even be doing laundry
and look at the tags on your shirt and denim,
a machine wash call.
Sure.
Whatever it is that helps you in your daily life,
maybe now that you're listening, now that we're talking
about this, jot down with this episode,
jot down five times in your life
where you feel that you read the most.
Do you do a lot of cooking?
Do you go out to a lot of restaurants?
Do you read for your job?
And think about that and how you can apply that.
Yes, I love that.
All right, what else Michelle?
Do we have any phrases for our listeners?
What do we think?
Yes, before we head out, just some vocab to describe this.
We have read something to yourself, to yourself,
Lindsay, what is that mean?
All right, so internally, basically,
you are the audience, right?
You are the intended listener.
So for example, I'm going to read this to myself
so I can circle the grammar and focus
on the present perfect tense.
So that is an example of a more intensive study session,
a more focused session.
Right.
And then the opposite is we have already talked about this,
but just to throw it out there one more time
is to read something aloud, ALOUD.
So this is to read it out loud.
So you could say, I like to read tongue twisters
aloud to practice the pronunciation.
Yeah, and I know that we've thrown out two ways
to say that on this episode.
Read something aloud with ALOUD.
And read something out loud.
What do we feel like is the difference?
Oh, great question.
Maybe we could do a whole follow up on this.
Sure.
Read something aloud.
What, do you have any ideas on this?
I think that they're, they mean the same thing.
I know they mean the same thing, actually.
They mean the same thing.
They do mean the same thing.
So don't worry, you can choose.
It's really interchangeable.
I think that aloud feels, oh, I don't know.
It feels a little bit more true.
It might be older English as my guess.
It's my guess.
Do you know what I mean?
I think it might be a little bit more formal as well.
To read it aloud.
Yes.
Oh, no, read this out loud so I can hear it.
I agree.
I agree.
I think it's a little more formal.
It might be more traditional English.
I'm not sure about that, guys.
You could research that and come to us,
ask a follow up question.
But the point is you could say either.
Definitely.
Definitely.
Oh my gosh.
Well, this was such a fun episode, guys.
We want to remind you again about this B2 fluency course,
which we are so excited about.
Yes.
Yeah, guys.
So keep your ears open on this podcast.
We will be making announcements this week on the show.
So once you get that magic link, go there
and make sure you get the deal within the time period
before the deadline.
Michelle, what do we want to leave our listeners with today?
I feel like a lot of good ideas came out of today's episode.
This was fun.
So guys, overall, do what works best for you.
Think of the context.
Think of different ways.
Get creative.
Different ways that you read in your everyday life.
That is not just, oh, I'm reading this novel.
Yeah.
It's not just a novel, exactly.
You think outside the box, right?
Right.
Don't keep things just one way, switch it up.
Try different things.
Try reading out loud.
Try reading to yourself, whatever it may be.
But just read.
Just read.
That's the key.
That's the advice.
OK.
Good advice.
Love it.
Michelle, thanks for being on the show today.
Thank you.
Thanks for this question.
All right.
You take care.
Bye.
All right.
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