Will reading out loud improve your pronunciation & speaking skills?

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ABOUT THIS VIDEO

In this video, I talk about reading out loud and whether it helps you improve your pronunciation and speaking skills.

Many teachers promote this method, but is it effective?

Well, let's analyze this together...

First, there are many problems with this method...

1. Words in English are rarely pronounced the way they are written. So when you encounter new words, you may mispronounce them.

2. You can't read things like intonation & word stress. So, unless you already sound natural in English, reading out loud won't help much.

3. Native speakers don't speak the way they read. For example, I have a speaking voice and a reading voice. When I read, I sound like I'm reading... I don't sound like I'm speaking naturally.

4. If you practice pronunciation by reading, you could be making mistakes... and if no one is there to correct you, you will solidify an incorrect language pattern in your brain.

5. Books, magazines, newspapers, articles etc. aren't usually written the same way people speak.

Basically, there are two things you must remember.

1. If you want to improve your PRONUNCIATION, you need to listen to English and imitate what you hear.

2. If you want to improve your speaking skills, you need to...
-Engage in conversation regularly with other English speakers
-Observe the how people talk when they are speaking naturally and imitate their way of speaking

At the end of the day... reading out loud will help you improve READING OUT LOUD. That's a good skill to have, but it's not the most effective method when it comes to improving your pronunciation and speaking skills.

Alright, it's your turn!

Share your thoughts in the comments.

Did you learn something new from this video?

What questions do you have about English that you'd like me to answer in future videos?

I look forward to hearing from you! :)

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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ's)
🌎 Where are you from?
-California
🗣 Do you speak another language?
-Yes, I learned Spanish and speak fluently.
✈️ What countries have you traveled to?
-Mexico, Argentina, Ireland, UK, Denmark, Switzerland, Italy
🇦🇷 Have you ever lived abroad?
-Yes, I have lived in Argentina since January 2013
🤷🏼‍♀️ You speak too fast. Can you slow down?
🤓 I want to improve my English. Can you help me?

[hugomorales]

When you read loud you're actually doing two things, you're developing your speaking skill as well as your listening skill because you are listening to yourself. I know very well that when you're a beginner or elementary student you might be mispronouncing words but then it will help you to figure out your mistakes when you hear someone speaking accurately and then you will improve your pronounciation.

[kingo_friver]

Practice doesn't make perfect, practice makes permanent. That''s what I seriously realize these days. At school, I had been tasked to read out loud over and over again. That was so helpful to build up my terrible accent.

[gadekarshiva]

Shadowing is the great way to improve your pronounciation & fluent English speaking👌👍

[danielsp]

I started reading out loud recently, but I think it's most beneficial when you know how you have to sound like (after years of learning). I don't read word by word like separate objects, I blend them as you do when you speak. If the text goes like "He told them" I read "He told 'em". So I think it can be helpful when you have a pretty solid basis and you don't have someone to talk to every day.

[mykhailopalchuk]

“Reading out loud will improve your reading out loud skills” - yeah, that’s true 🙂
I think the best way to improve pronunciation is to watch videos like this one and talk to native speakers. I haven’t had a chance to have a conversation with native speaker yet but I have a YouTube. It’s a really good thing to improve your English. I started watching videos in English with subs about a year ago and now I understand everything you say. It’s so satisfying! I can even recognize Australian and British accent 😄
If you’re watching videos every day about something you like just start watching videos with the same topic made by native speakers. It will be hard at the beginning but you will notice the results very soon. Hope this will help somebody)

[TheTreborMedia]

The reading out loud with your teacher or a native speaker is so effective due to your teacher correct your pronunciation immediately and also can give you something more an explanation as a tip. I currently practice that way and I'm pleased. All the best

[davidcenteno]

I understood your point of view but also i can say that i've been using that techniqur for long time and believe me that has helped me a lot. That's why at the beginning we go slow, littel by littel by looking for vocabularies, knowing their pronunciations which is the fonetic. But in part you're right stefany, i like your videos and God bless you

[Tushinho]

In my opinion, and from experience using this method, but obviously with audioook, i came to the conclusion that, yes, u can improve drastically not only your pronunciation but also your listening skills. However, you will need to record yourself saying some sentences many times (which is kinda boring) and then, as you read along with the audiobooks you will hear some sentences similar to the ones u practiced, with different words of course and intonation, but your ears will get used to it eventually, and the next time u hear it it becomes much more easy to say a whole sentence and a word u want to use in a conversation with no hesitation and without gaps. but remember, if you are a beginner i would recommend u to start with something simple like dialogues and not shadowing audiobooks :)

[erjonnesimi]

Yes you are completely Right . I never learned from school and books .mostly my English skills are improved by hearing videos on YouTube, movies,having conversations with people and of course by hearing you😉 Thanks a lot

[rpr_here]

I think you are blending things together. We as humans have the ability to correct ourselves especially with the advent of the internet and youtube. I think when people talk about reading out loud to assist in speech this is referring to those who already have a basic understanding of how words are pronounced. Reading out loud is a means to assist those seeking to practice their pronunciation and enunciation in a more fluid manner. Certainly working with someone to hear you speak can help but excluding the other benefits of reading out loud is close minded.

[linguisticspundit]

I totally agree. Still, reading out loud could be a powerful tool. I've been studying English for about 10 years now, and I do watch a lot of American movies and TV shows (more than 5 hours a day), so I have a pretty solid foundation of how things sound from all that exposure. Reading has helped me a lot during the first 4 years of learning in the sense that while reading I've always attempted to match the right pronunciation (which I have in my mind) with my actual imitation. After a certain period, I started noticing improvement. Now I can say with confidence that I'm really close to sounding like a native speaker (around 90% close). Therefore, listening is not enough on its own and it could be frustrating to pause whatever it is your watching every 5 seconds to try and imitate the things they're saying, instead reading could be a solution.

[ryanjones]

your videos are just so concise, not a sentence more, not a word less, just perfect, which means i don't have to spend like an hour or more on one single video filled with a load of excessive talking typically. Also, they are relevant, just simply solved all my problems especially on the speaking part. Thank you, Stefany!

[PurpleObscuration]

I believe that by pronouncing words out loud one builds muscle memory, my answer is absolutely yes to pronouncing words out loud.

When you are out in public and hear people talking to themselves that does not mean they are nuts, they are building muscle memory.

[KabirKhan-wpqy]

You are so kind to point out that pronunciation has nothing to do with the way things are written. Obviously, listening and immigration are the last resorts. Thanks a lot.

[TheEnglishCoach]

Also, what other questions do you have that you'd like me to answer in a video??? :D

[RicardoMoreira-qerl]

Wonderful teacher. I’ve been studying English for 2 years and I think that my English is improving, but the biggest problem for me is that I don’t have anybody to practice with me. However, I’ll continue watching your vídeos and studying a lot. One of the best dreams that I have in my life is to become fluent in English

[Thegreat]

All I can say is reading aloud is helping me. Like another comment in here I'm listening to myself (even recorded sometimes) and focusing on each and every word. I've always mumbled and fluffed my words and I'm seeing a gradual improvement after a few weeks in. I'm starting to sound on playbacks OK and not entirely gringy as when I first started with all the brain fade stutters and mumbles going on. It's also helping me to understand my breathing between sentences.

[Dr_Mike_US]

Stefanie! I 💕 You, your home, your family, your town, your city (CA), your country (obviously the US) and I also 💕 those who respect you and love you and I 💕 all your subscribers and viewers and those who like your videos...Thanks a lot for being with us on Youtube. Stay blessed (Amen).

[AbrakazamxD]

I've been learning english for almost a year(I'm not counting school because we all know what you end up getting from it), when I started I just dived right into it and started listening to native speakers, I really love videogames so that's the kind of video I started watching, at first I wouln't understand anything hahaha, the only two words I was able to understand were ''I'' and ''you'', and I'm not kidding whatsoever, the first week was really hard, I put on the subtitles and I could recognise the words I was taught in school but as I wasn't taught how to pronounce them I wouldn't know what was spoken in the videos, and in a matter of like 1 month, which is approximately 20 videos of 30 minutes each, of course writing down all the new words and pausing and replaying them, I was able to understand the 60% of what I would listen to, it was amazing. Months flew by and it's already been almost a whole year!(almost 11 months because I started on 26th January 2018) I know my english is not perfect, I'm not a native of course, but I can make the rightful assumption that I can understand the 90% of what I listen to, for example I understood this whole video without putting on the subtitles(I know it's just 7 minutes but you get my point hahaha), the thing is that I lack in practising with natives to improve my speaking, I don't know if someone will ever read my comment, but if you do, I want you to know that it is possible! It is normal not to understand anything when you start from scratch, all you need to do is to never give up, go for it! I hope that by sharing this, people will start to know that you can't learn a language just by going to school and reading books, a language can mean a lot to someone, I'm sure that when a native hears the phrase ''I love you'' they'll get emotional, like me when I hear ''te quiero'' in spanish. It'll sure be a long way, but not an impossible one! Good luck! :D

[mykolastefanenko]

Stefanie, you are so natural, real, smart and gorgeous at the same time) So happy to watch your videos and hear your voice. You've got one of the best pronunciations I've ever heard. Thank you for your lessons!