Help! I don't remember anything I read!
This is so common! I can't count the number of times I've been reading a book and lost track of what the book was saying. There I am, at the end of the page, and I have no idea what happened. It can be so frustrating.
But it also makes sense. I'm a professional tutor. I have helped dozens of students develop better study skills. Read on to learn more about how reading out loud can help your improve your memory.
Table of Contents
How It Works
Our ancestors invented writing long after our ability to remember things developed. For most of human history, if you needed information later, you had to commit it to memory. This involved hearing information spoken over and over again. Then, you had to repeat all that information back until you got it right.
When writing came on the scene, it freed us from having to store everything in the brain. Furthermore, for thousands of years most people could not read. As a result, people read written information out loud. In the meantime, people could forget that information.
That means that when we silently read, it doesn't do a lot to help us memorize information. We're walking down a path that was never designed to help us with memory. It was actually intended to help us forget!
Things have changed. Now, most of the reading we do is silent. As it turns out, reading out loud looks very different in your brain compared to silent reading. Those differences are one of the reasons why reading out loud can help improve your memory. AP students can use this strategy to help master the content in the course.
Reading information out loud helps people recall information. Here's how to make the most of this strategy:
Select a Passage To Read
Reading a textbook out loud can be onerous. Instead, consider shorter pieces of writing. This could include shorter passages from the textbook, your notes, a few slides from a PowerPoint, or a set of vocabulary words.
In AP World History and AP US History, this strategy is great for historical documents. People created many historical documents to read them out loud. Speeches, poems, plays, newspapers, and letters are great examples of this. You may not need to memorize this information, but reading these sources out loud mimics the way people in the past would have read them.
Find a Place to Read (and Companions)
It's normal to feel self-conscious reading out loud. It may even bring back terrible memories of popcorn reading in elementary school. This strategy works best when you are alone, or with a study buddy that you know well. You can use a fan or white noise machine to further dampen the sound of your voice.
Pets are also great for this strategy. Your dog won't judge you for not knowing how to pronounce a word or needing to look up a definition. Your cat will, but they'd do that anyway. Plus, pets help put us at ease and reduce feelings of stress. This is important if you've had negative experiences before or are feeling stressed.
Read Out Loud!
Read the material out loud. As always, don't rush through. You'll save time in the long run if you do it right the first time.
Layer on Other Strategies
This strategy is so flexible. You can use tons of other strategies at the same time to make the best use of your valuable time. Here are some suggestions:
- Retrieval practice
- Note taking
- Annotating
- Elaboration
Why It Works
Hip Hip Hooray, Hippocampus!
First, reading out loud activates part of the brain called the hippocampus. This part of the brain is not as active during silent reading. The hippocampus helps move information from your short-term memory to your long-term memory. If it is more active, that is a good sign that your memory is also active.
The hippocampus is also associated with a type of memory called episodic memory. This type of memory stores information about personal experiences. This is notable because facts are usually stored as semantic memories. Humans are generally better at recalling events than facts. This suggests that you can get your brain to store this information in a way that makes it easier to retrieve later.
Self-Reference Effect
Reading information out loud takes advantage of the self-reference effect. This effect states that we remember things better when information involves us. You can get this same effect by relating concepts to your life and experiences. As it turns out, reading information out loud also uses this process. You said the information, and that lets you trick yourself into caring about it more. We like our own voices.
Production Effect
The production effect describes a specific benefit of saying words out loud. Essentially, people tend to remember words that they spoke out loud better than words they were exposed to in other formats.
This effect was demonstrated in a study by researchers Noah Forrin and Colin MacLeod in 2017. They had participants study information using one of several techniques. These techniques included listening to a recording of themselves talking, hearing someone else talk, reading silently, and reading out loud. They found that participants consistently preformed better on memory tests when the participant spoke the words out loud.
The researchers concluded that speaking may create memory benefits because of the speech itself. Unlike a recording, speaking requires you to coordinate the muscles in your face and mouth. Listening to a recording of yourself may trigger the self-reference effect. However, it doesn't allow you to benefit from the action of speaking.
When It Doesn't Work
Every strategy has limits. Here are some times when you should consider using a different technique.
Public Place
This is not a great strategy if you are in a public place. If the space is very quiet, you'll disrupt other people who are trying to focus on their work. If it's very loud, it's difficult to focus on your voice. Also, it's normal to feel self-conscious about reading out loud. It's difficult to focus on your work if you are anxious.
Lots of Reading
One of the reasons this method works is because it slows you down when you read. Unfortunately, that means that it takes longer to complete a reading assignment. For short passages, the time difference is minimal. For long passages, finding enough time can be impractical. Reading several chapters of a textbook out loud is tedious and takes time away from other things.
In this situation, use this strategy sections that are particularly significant. Or, you could read silently, take notes, and read your notes out loud.
Challenging Reading
This strategy is not the best choice if you are struggling to understand what you are reading. Focusing on vocabulary can help make the reading easier. Using the elaboration technique can help you make sense of the information.
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