SUBVOCALIZATION:
EFFECTIVE WHEN LEARNING
A NEW LANGUAGE
By Alfredo Arango
The internal speech we use when reading even silently is a natural process that offers great benefits. This process is called subvocalization.
The main results provided by studies conducted on the role of subvocalization when learning how to read in the native language apply to reading when learning a new language. The reason is that no matter what language a person is learning, native or foreign, subvocalization plays an important role in the comprehension of sentences and paragraphs.(1) It does it by enhancing what is just a visual stimulus (grapheme) into an articulatory/auditory code (phoneme) that is “more durable and flexible,” according to a comprehensive study published on the Journal of Experimental Psychology.(2) This is particularly relevant when implementing curriculums that have a strong reading component.
To further understand the mechanism involved in subvocalization, we can consider that the additional articulation done in the larynx contributes to open more paths for cognitive and memory function, reducing the use of working memory resources (cognitive load). Scientist think this articulation facilitates the integration of concepts already understood and archived in the brain with new concepts being learnt and memorized. In order to learn new data, the brain needs to retrieve previous knowledge. Saying the words -not just looking at them- helps to perform these complex processes in an easier and faster manner. It is like an editing computer having several processors instead of one, and separate dedicated video and audio cards instead of a combined generic one. In simple terms, we have more chances to understand and remember if we see and hear.
Despite all the research supporting the benefits of subvocalization, it still has detractors. Among them are the proponents of high-speed reading and those who confuse subvocalization with reading aloud. As a result, they try to eliminate students’ subvocalization every time they have a chance. What are the consequences of preventing students from subvocalizing? What are some of the specific findings that we can borrow from studies investigating the role of subvocalization in learning a native language so we can apply them to learning a new language?
The same research indicates: “Our results have shown unequivocally that preventing subjects from subvocalizing substantially impairs their ability to detect semantically anomalous sentences, whether the anomaly is produced by substituting inappropriate words or by changing word order within text.” In other words, without the natural inner speech, the students tend to make more mistakes related to meaning (semantic) and order of words (syntactic). These kinds of mistakes are the most common a person makes when learning a new language: assuming meanings that are wrong and ordering the words in a sentence using the grammar from their native language.
Besides semantics and syntaxis, the other great challenge people face when learning a new language is memorization, which is any way related to understanding. Some curriculums require learning dozes of words per day. The mentioned study is clear about how the inner speech makes memorization easier: “Levy (1977, 1978) and Slowiaczek and Clifton (1980) have shown that an articulatory code may be important in reading tasks where a substantial memory load is involved. Our own studies have shown that the articulatory code may provide a very useful additional cue in detecting relatively subtle changes in the wording of text, particularly where changes of order are involved. Order information is of course crucial to syntactic interpretation, and it is possible that articulation may be particularly helpful in processing syntactically difficult prose.”
In conclusion, by discouraging or prohibiting students to subvocalize while reading to learn a new language, instructors make learning much more difficult. So, let’s not shoot ourselves in the foot. Let them subvocalize.
References
(1) Daneman, M., & Newson, M. (1992). Assessing the Importance of Subvocalization in Normal Silent Reading. Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 4, 55-77.
(2) Alan Baddeley, Marge Eldridge, and Vivien Lewis. The Role of Subvocalization in Reading. MRC Applied Psychology Unit, 15 Chaucer Road, Cambridge CB2 2EF, England. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology (1981) 33A, 439-454
June 9, 2019
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Alfredo Arango is an educator, writer/editor, and translator, who has been teaching languages (Spanish and English) to children and adults and developing curriculum in the U.S. for for 20 years.
Photo by AnnieSpratt
@anniespratt