Inner Speech and Speed Reading: An Analysis of Written Texts Internalization
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
Silent reading frequently entails engaging the “inner voice,” a phenomenon in which individuals sub-vocally articulate words in their minds. This inner voice is understood to stem from the internalization process, wherein external verbal speech transitions into internal dialogue. However, the mechanisms through which foreign language learners internalize written content, particularly in a speed-reading framework, remain under-explored due to the inherent difficulties in observing such a process. To shed light on this, a qualitative study was carried out; it employed journals and the recall technique to examine the initial stages of internalization of written text by foreign language learners within a speed-reading program. This program aims to enhance the pace and comprehension of reading English texts. The study reveals that learners start to internalize the written language through a series of inner speech uses such as subvocalization, literal translation, repetition, fluent reading, and the formation of mental imagery associations with the language. The findings further indicate that, as learners advance in the speed-reading course, their mental translation efforts become more subconscious, facilitating the transition to using inner speech as a cognitive tool through associations with mental images. This shift may play a crucial role in the efficiency and efficacy of acquiring reading skills in a foreign language.
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
The authors of the manuscripts accepted for publication in HOW journal are required to sign a nonexclusive license agreement allowing ASOCOPI to reproduce the full text on the Internet or in any other available source. Authors retain copyright of their manuscripts with the following restrictions: first publication is granted to ASOCOPI; nonexclusive agreements with third parties can be established as long as the original publication in the HOW journal is properly acknowledged.
References
Alderson-Day, B., & Fernyhough, C. (2015). Inner speech: Development, cognitive functions, phenomenology, and neurobiology. Psychological Bulletin, 141(5), 931–965. https://doi.org/10.1037/bul0000021
Alexander, J. D., & Nygaard, L. C. (2008). Reading voices and hearing text: Talker-specific auditory imagery in reading. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 34(2), 446–459. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0096-1523.34.2.446
Armagan, K., & Genc, Z. (2017). Impact of timed reading on comprehension and speed: A study on Turkish EFL learners. Journal of Education and Learning, 6(3), 204-2016. https://doi.org/10.5539/jel.v6n3p204
Baddeley, A. D., & Lewis, V. (1981). Inner active processing in reading: The inner voice, the inner ear, and the inner eye. In A. M. Lesgold & C. A. Perfetti (Eds.), Interactive processes in reading (pp. 107–129). Erlbaum. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315108506-5
Baddeley, A. D., Thomson, N., & Buchanan, M. (1975). Word length and the structure of short-term memory. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 14, 575–589. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0022-5371(75)80045-4
Baddeley, A., Gathercole, S., & Papagno, C. (1998). The phonological loop as a language learning device. Psychological Review, 105, 58–173. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295x.105.1.158
Chang, A. C. S. (2010). The effect of a timed reading activity on EFL learners: Speed, comprehension, and perceptions. Reading in a Foreign Language, 22(2), 284–303.
Council of Europe (2001). Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment. Cambridge University Press.
Curtis, A., & Bailey, K. M. (2007). Research digest: Diary study. On CUE Journals, 3(1), 67–85.
Debbabi, A. S., Alsheyokh, R. S. M., Al Kous, R. K. M., Maimoun, S. A. A., Humiedan, M. M., & Mansoor, M. (2019). A study of Saudi English foreign language (EFL) learners: Impact of timed reading on learners’ reading speed and level of comprehension. International Journal of Applied Engineering Research, 14(19), 3778-3782. https://doi.org/10.7575/aiac.alls.v.9n.5p.11
Ehrich, J. F. (2006). Vygotskian inner speech and the reading process. Australian Journal of Educational and Developmental Psychology, 6, 12–25.
Falla-Wood, J. (2018). The role of mental translation in learning and using a second/foreign language by female adult learners. Journal of Global Education and Research, 2(2), 98-112. https://www.doi.org/10.5038/2577-509X.2.2.1001
Fernyhough, C. (2004). Alien voices and inner dialogue: Towards a developmental account of auditory verbal hallucinations. New Ideas in Psychology, 22, 49–68. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.newideapsych.2004.09.001
Filik, R., & Barber, E. (2011). Inner speech during silent reading reflects the reader’s regional accent. PLoS ONE, 6(10), e25782. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0025782
Gagl, B., Golch, J., Hawelka, S., Sassenhagen, J., Poeppel, D., & Fiebach, C. J. (2018). Reading at the speed of speech: The rate of eye movements aligns with auditory language processing. BioRxiv. https://doi.org/10.1101/391896
García, F. L., Morales-Cabezas, J., & López-Sako, N. I. (2020). Speed reading and inner speech: What verbal reports suggest. MLS Educational Research, 4(2), 54–68. https://doi.org/10.29314/mlser.v4i2.363
Guerrero, M. C. M. de (2004). Early stages of L2 inner speech development: What verbal reports suggest. International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 14, 90–112. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1473-4192.2004.00055.x
Guerrero, M. C. M. de (2005). Inner speech – L2: Thinking words in a second language. Springer.
Guerrero, M. C. M. de (2009). Lifespan development of the L2 as an intellectualization process. An ontogenetic sociocultural theory perspective. In K. de Bot & R. W. Schrauf (Eds.), Language development across the lifespan (pp. 107-124). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203880937
Guerrero, M. C. M. de (2018). Going covert: Inner and private speech in language learning. Language Teaching, 51(1), 1–35. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0261444817000295
Huey, E. B. (1968). The psychology and pedagogy of reading. Macmillan.
Kato, S. (2009). Suppressing inner speech in ESL reading: Implications for developmental changes in second language word recognition processes. The Modern Language Journal, 93(4), 471–488. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4781.2009.00926.x
Kern, R. G. (1994). The role of mental translation in second language reading. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 16, 441–461. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0272263100013450
Kurby, C. A., Magliano, J. P., & Rapp, D. N. (2009). Those voices in your head: Activation of auditory images during reading. Cognition, 112(3), 457–61. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2009.05.007
LaBerge, D., & Samuels, S. J. (1974). Toward a theory of automatic information processing in reading. Cognitive Psychology, 6, 293–323. https://doi.org/10.1016/0010-0285(74)90015-2
Lantolf, J. P. (2003). Intrapersonal communication and internalization in the second language classroom. In A. Kozulin, B. Gindis, V.S. Ageev & S. Miller, Vygotsky’s educational theory in cultural context (pp. 349–370). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/cbo9780511840975.018
Leinenger, M. (2014). Phonological Coding During Reading. Psychological Bulletin, 140, 1534–1555. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0037830
Macalister, J. (2010). Speed reading courses and their effect on reading authentic texts: A preliminary investigation. Reading in a Foreign Language, 22(1), 104–116.
McQuillan, J., & Rodrigo, V. (1995). A reading “Din in the Head”: Evidence of involuntary mental rehearsal in second language readers. Foreign Language Annals, 28(3), 330–336. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1944-9720.1995.tb00802.x
Metwalli, W. (2020). Correlation between interlanguage and internalization in SLA. The European Conference on Language Learning 2020: Official Conference Proceedings.
Meyer, M. S. (1999). Repeated reading to enhance fluency: Old approaches and new directions. Annals of Dyslexia, 49, 283–306. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11881-999-0027-8
Nassaji, H., & Geva, E. (1999). The contribution of phonological and orthographic processing skills to adult ESL reading: Evidence from native speakers of Farsi. Applied Psycholinguistics, 20, 241–267. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0142716499002040
Nation, I. S. P. (2005). Reading faster. PASAA, 36, 21–38.
Nation, I. S. P., & Malarcher, C. (2007). Reading for speed and fluency. Compass Publishing.
Nation, I. S. P., & Tran, Y. T. N. (2014). Reading speed improvement in a speed-reading course and its effect on language memory span. Electronic Journal of Foreign Language Teaching, 11(1), 5–20. https://doi.org/10.26686/wgtn.12543422
Perrone-Bertolotti, M., Rapin, L., Lachaux, J. P., Baciu, M., & Loevenbruck, H. (2014). What is that little voice inside my head? Inner speech phenomenology, its role in cognitive performance, and its relation to self-monitoring. Behavioural Brain Research, 261, 220–239. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbr.2013.12.034
Petkov, C., & Belin, P. (2013). Silent Reading: Does the brain ‘hear’ both speech and voices? Current Biology, 23(4), 155–6. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2013.01.002
Pollatsek, A., Lesch, M., Morris, R. K., & Rayner, K. (1992). Phonological codes are used in integrating information across saccades in word identification and reading. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 18(1), 148 - 162. https://doi.org/10.1037/0096-1523.18.1.148
Quinn, E., Nation, P., & Millett, S. (2007). Asian and Pacific Speed Readings for ESL Learners. English Language Institute Occasional Publication.
Rayner, K., Schotter, E., Masson, M., Potter, M. C., & Treiman, R. (2016). So much to read, so little time: How do we read, and can speed reading help? Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 17, 4–34. https://doi.org/10.1177/1529100615623267
Robson, G. (2019). Evaluation of a speed-reading program at the Faculty of International Tourism. The Bulletin of the Institute of Human Sciences, Toyo University, 21, 1–11. http://id.nii.ac.jp/1060/00010899/
Segalowitz, N., & Hébert, M. (1990). Phonological recoding in the first and second language reading of skilled bilinguals. Language Learning 40, 503–538. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-1770.1990.tb00604.x
Sokolov, A. N. (1972). Inner speech and thought. Plenum.
Tran, Y. T. N. (2012). The effects of a speed-reading course and speed transfer to other types of texts. RELC Journal, 43(1), 23–37. https://doi.org/10.1177/0033688212439996
Upton, T. A. (1998). “Yuk, the skin of insects!” Tracking sources of errors in second language reading comprehension. Journal of College Reading and Learning, 29(1), 5-20. https://doi.org/10.1080/10790195.1998.10850065
Upton, T. A., & Lee-Thompson, L. (2001). The role of the first language in second language reading. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 23, 469–495. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0272263101004028
Vygotsky, L. S. (1986). Thought and language. The MIT Press. Originally published in 1934.
Vygotsky, L. S., & Rieber, R. W. (Ed.). (1998). The collected works of L. S. Vygotsky (Vol. 5): Child psychology (M. J. Hall, Trans.). Plenum Press.
Yao, B., Belin, P., & Scheepers, C. (2011). Silent reading of direct versus indirect speech activates voice-selective areas in the auditory cortex. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 23(10), 3146–52. https://doi.org/10.1162/jocn_a_00022
Zhou, P., & Christianson, K. (2016). I “hear” what you’re “saying”: Auditory perceptual simulation, reading speed, and reading comprehension. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 69(5), 972-995. https://doi.org/10.1080/17470218.2015.1018282