tl;dr: has anyone had success improving reading speed/comprehension with audio books?
EDIT: guys thank you for the comments but i know i need to read more😭 let me ask the ppl who helped have way better reading than listening: did using subtitles while you watched shows help your listening ability?
i want to improve my reading speed and comprehension. i got a japanese audible subscription, and reading the physical book while listening to the audio book has helped immensely, but i’m wondering if this method is actually effective or if it’s just listening comprehension practice with extra steps.
i am an intermediate-advanced learner who’s already done every text book, passed N1, got to level 60 on wanikani, lived in japan, etc. etc. mainly coasting on my listening skills thanks to hours and hours of youtube (i am not claiming to be a master of japanese, i just want to point out that i’m not a beginner).
i’m not interested in reading children’s books or manga. the grammar/vocab/kanji in a native japanese novel are just challenging enough, but my reading is so slow that even if a book is interesting, i lose interest after a while because it takes forever to read a book. i’m at a weird place where sometimes i see a sentence written down and have no clue what it means until someone reads it aloud and then it makes perfect sense.
has anyone else done this and seen improvement or been in this situation and have tips for improving reading without wanting to die💀
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6 comments
I’m nowhere near your level, but to me it sounds like you just need to put in as many hours into reading as you have with listening, and then your speed should improve?
Well…sorry to tell you but unfortunately the only way to get better at something is by doing it. You won’t get good at reading without reading so using audible, while a great source for listening, won’t really help you read. If Japanese novels or light novels are just challenging enough that it decreases your reading speed then you just need patience practicing….by reading more of them. If you start getting too tired or bored, it is ok to step out for a bit…maybe even drop that particular media for a few days, do something that may not be even a book…maybe a lighter piece of media and then later pick the book back up
What slows you down? Kanji? Is it that you have to think of the pronunciation before you say it? Have you seen an increase in speed from reading books with furigana? Or is it the reading comprehension itself?
Either way, speed comes with time. You have to keep going at it until it just comes so natural to you that you don’t even have to think about it.
I’m the opposite from you. I’m pretty happy with my reading speed and comprehension but listening I feel lacks….i do get the gist of the scene in movies and shows for both anime and jdramas without subs, but it could always be better. But at the same time, I have not been listening even half the time Ive been reading, so I fully expected not to be as good listening…yet 🙂
Maybe a better question is to ask if you even like to read at all? Do you read novels in English? Sometimes it’s not for everyone, an audiobook can certainly help in this regard. Watching things with JP subtitles has helped me reading speed personally. I used to have to pause videos all the to relisten or read the subtitles to catch up. I don’t really do that anymore partially because I can internalize it fast and other times because what I missed in reading I heard it being said. The combination has been extremely help for me, helps in VNs and audiobook sources too. I can now somewhat keep up with reading chats of live streams with 5-10k people in it commenting. Traditional reading is faster for me too, particularly in my ability to “skim” articles for information. Far from perfect, long way to go for me. However I have felt the improvement.
You’re so far ahead of me lol but I think you just gotta remove those training wheels.
>i’m at a weird place where sometimes i see a sentence written down and have no clue what it means until someone reads it aloud and then it makes perfect sense.
Think about how you’ve gained your reading speed in English (if that’s your native language), even with reading comments here on reddit, you’re not listening to them right? There was a point in all our childhoods where books stopped being read aloud to us. We don’t even realize a transition happened at some point. We just forgot the years we spent as kids to get here. You now have to make that conscious decision as an adult and put in that same time/effort lol.
>i got a japanese audible subscription, and reading the physical book while listening to the audio book has helped immensely, but i’m wondering if this method is actually effective or if it’s just listening comprehension practice with extra steps.
Well, do you feel reading without the aid of audiobooks has become any easier since you’ve tried it? If not, there’s your answer.
In my experience the only way to get better at reading is to read more. There are no shortcuts.
I’d love to be proven wrong, though.
as a non-native english speaker i can swear by audio books’ efficacy to improve one’s listening comprehension for english (i guess, it must be the same for japanese as well)