Read and Look Up - A technique to improve speaking fluency

Wadjasay? American English Pronunciation Practice

Read and look up. Part One:

“Read and look up” is a technique for improving your foreign language speaking and reading. It is easy to do. Here is how.

1) First, choose a text. It’s okay if the text contains a few new vocabulary words, but not so many that you can’t understand the overall meaning.

2) If possible, print the text so you can mark on it.

3) Divide the longer sentences into parts. Here is a sample sentence without divisions.

—— It was a lovely day so I decided to take my dog for a walk in the park. ——

Here is the same sentence divided into logical phrases. (I’ve labeled the parts a, b, c, and d.

(a) It was a lovely day / (b) so I decided / (c) to take my dog / (d) for a walk in the park.

Now read part (a) SILENTLY to yourself. Then look away from the page (or cover it) and say “It was a lovely day”. If you forget one of the words, look at it again, read it silently again, and then look up and say the phrase out loud. Repeat this with phrases b, c, and d. If the text is easy for you, it should sound like this:

Once you can recite each part easily, do it again with fewer divisions. SILENTLY read a, for example, then b+c, and then part d. Remember, when you speak out loud, you are NOT looking at the text. You are reciting or repeating the text from memory.

It was a lovely day / so I decided to take my dog / for a walk in the park.

And finally, read the whole sentence silently, take a breath (!) and see if you can recite the whole sentence without looking at it. If not, practice it again in parts and then try the whole sentence one more time. It should sound like this:

This technique can not only improve your speaking, it can also help you memorize phrases, sentences, or even entire paragraphs. Also it is okay to try dividing the sentence in different places. Choose divisions that sound good and work as small parts of the sentence.

Part Two:

Here’s some text from a biology book you can use to practice the Read and look up technique. If you are a beginner, start by practicing with just a few sentences. If you are a more advanced speaker, work with as much of the text as you like. Listen to me read it first, and look up the definitions of any words that are unfamiliar. Take your time. Don’t rush. This is not a race—it’s practicing your pronunciation, comprehension, and fluency. After you have practiced for a while, listen to me again. And remember—do NOT read the text aloud. Read silently, look up or cover the text, and then say the phrase or sentence aloud.

Intro to Cells:

“Close your eyes and picture a brick wall. What is the wall's basic building block? It is a single brick. Like a brick wall, cells are the building blocks that make up your body.

Your body has many kinds of cells, each specialized for a specific purpose. Just as we use a variety of materials to build a home, the human body is constructed from many cell types. For example, epithelial cells protect the body's surface and cover the organs and body cavities within. Bone cells help to support and protect the body. Immune system cells fight invading bacteria. Additionally, blood and blood cells carry nutrients and oxygen throughout the body while removing carbon dioxide. Each of these cell types plays a vital role during the body's growth, development, and day-to-day maintenance. In spite of their enormous variety, however, cells from all organisms—even ones as diverse as bacteria, onion, and human—share certain fundamental characteristics.”

[Link to my

Intro & Outro Music: La Pompe Du Trompe by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com

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