Should You Learn to Read or Speak A Language First?

There is often a debate about if you can learn a language by only focusing on either reading or speaking and it is often asked which one you should actually focus on.

Really you can do either or both if you want. It doesn’t matter. Language learning is long and complex and it’s never as straight forward as being able to say “just do this…”.

If I had to pick an option I would lean more towards learning to read, but not for long as you really need both to get good at the language. We are also more than capable of leaning both at the same time, so you don’t need to isolate them if you don’t want to.

Learning To Read A Language First

Reading can be slow and painful as everything can be new, but this is input and this is what you initially need.

You need this exposure to the language as it will help you process things and you will start noticing patterns and structure.

When you do not know anything, you need to absorb as much of the language as possible and reading is a great way to do this. You can go at your own speed and build up your confidence. This can be much more effective than listening, which can be super fast and harder to grasp.

Reading is very good for learning a language and is something you should definitely focus on. While it can be slow, it will actually speed you up in the long run as you can really increase your level of exposure though this simple activity.

The main problem is that you are not practicing your output ability while you are reading. As good as it is to be able to understand the language; you need to be able to use it as well.

(You can read more about – Can You Learn A Language Just By Reading?)

Learning To Speak A Language First

Speaking is an output activity and when you start using it early on in your language journey you will make good progress very quickly.

You will instantly know what you know and you will be very aware of what you do not know.

The second you want to say something and realise you don’t know the word, it makes it very easy to indentify this gap in your knowledge and you can go and learn what is missing.

This sounds great, but it’s actually very limiting. You only learn what you learn. Unless you actively want to know a word, you won’t know it. Let’s say “dolphin”. Unless you want to talk about dolphins, you will have no reason to learn about this word. If you are reading it is likely to come up in whatever you are reading (obviously depends what you are reading).

So basically your exposure to the language is less if you are just speaking, as you are not coming across random words you are not using. You are not getting that same level of input.

Of course you could argue that if you are talking to someone, they will expose you to new words, which is true. You could talk to someone and they mention “dolphins” and you can acquire the word that way. That is entirely possibly.

(You can read more about How To Improve Speaking In A New Language)

Kids Speak First When Learning A Language?

It is also argued that this is how kids learn. This is true; they do speak for a long before they can read.

However, they actually get a lot of listening (input) first when they are babies long before they start speaking, so really input should be focused on first.

Also we are adults, so we can both speak and read in our native language which means how we learn a new language isn’t the same a child. We are able to comprehend and analysis both skills at the same time which means we can read from the start when learning a new language.

It Depends On Your Language Goals

How you learn your language and what you get from it is down to you. You can set whatever goal you want.

If you want to get good at reading and you’re not worried about anything else, then just read. Maybe you just want to read books and never actually speak to anyone. If you are happy with this, then just keep reading and get good at that.

If your goal is to go out and talk to people and make friends, then of course you are going to have to get good at speaking. There is nothing wrong with just doing this.

However, if you ask most people, they will say their goal is to get good at everything and be fluent and proficient in all areas. If this is you, well then you need to focus on everything until you have a good all round grasp of the language.

(You can read more information about How To Set A Language Goal)

Learn to Read And Speak The Language At The Same Time?

Really if you are learning any language you should be doing both at some point. Reading and speaking are both important and you should also not neglect your writing and listening too.

You can focus on all of these skills right from the start if you want, or you can do one then the other. Personally I would focus on getting good at reading or listening, then move over to speaking and writing as well.

Sitting by yourself and absorbing the language through input is going to give you a strong understanding and this will give you a good foundation to work off when you want to start speaking.

(You can read more about – What Is Learning A Language By Immersion?)

Conclusion   

If you are wondering if you should focus on speaking or reading, then make sure you understand what your goal is.

If it makes sense for your goal, then do it. If you want a good overall understanding of the language then you will need to focus on both at some point and you will have to accept that it will be a long and hard journey, but very worth the effort.   

(You can read more about –  The Only Study Plan You Need To learn A Language (For Complete Beginners))