Speak Out Loud To Learn And Remember A Language

Communicating verbally is a crucial part of learning a foreign language but studying any important information by speaking out loud helps you remember better than silent reading. Tests have shown that reading words aloud led to remembering 77% of them correctly, and was more effective than reading them in silence. Even when studying grammar and vocabulary for written tests, including interactive communication activities can keep learning interesting and productive and help you retain more information.

Keep talking

Learning a language is a cumulative process and you will always be learning new aspects of it on your journey to master it. Unlike other subjects where you can learn material and move on, language needs to be practiced to keep it fresh in your mind and to keep on building on what you already know.  However, when you do need to revise for a particular test, interactive activities will enhance your learning more than simply reading the text and copying out writing.

Put it into words

Remembering and revising vocabulary is a large part of preparing for a language test, so you need to make sure you are making the most of your memory skills. Make some flashcards for tricky words that you tend to get stuck on and then ask someone to test you. This is a good way of keeping a check on how much you have learned with your revision. You could also try teaching someone a rule of grammar or summarize a book you have read as explaining something out loud helps you learn. If you understand something properly in the first place, it is much easier to remember it in a test.

Say it out loud

Before an oral test, practice speaking as much as you can. Over 50% of Greek people speak English, so you shouldn’t have trouble finding someone to chat to. If you’re on your own, having the radio on is a useful way to help consolidate your listening skills although active engagement is better for memorizing words. Try repeating some of the phrases you hear. Speaking aloud means you can practice your pronunciation and accent at the same time.  

However you like to learn, studying out loud can really help consolidate information and help you remember not only words and phrases but also grammar and other information. When you’re well prepared, you can then enjoy showing off your language skills at your next test.

By Jennifer Dawson