Can You Really Learn A Language Fluently Just By Reading?

Honestly, Olly, are you really saying that I can learn a language by reading? 

I’m not surprised that people ask me that question so often. After all, I wholeheartedly believe that stories are a powerful way to learn a new language and help you become fluent faster.

Obviously, reading is central to my StoryLearning method — which leads many people to assume that reading is the be-all and end-all of language learning. 

And, of course, it's not. So, what am I on about? Why am I so convinced that reading is a vital part of learning to communicate fluently in a new language? And do I really believe that you can get fluent in a foreign language just by reading? 

No, I don't! 

Of course, there's much more involved in learning a new language than reading can provide. But I do believe that reading has a tremendously important part to play in the language learning game. 

And here's why. 

If you prefer watching videos, hit play to watch the video version of this post. Otherwise, keep scrolling to read the article version.

You Need To Know A Lot To Become Fluent

I often think that people underestimate just how much young children learn when they start speaking because it seems such a natural process. 

Babies explore all manner of sounds, rolling them around their tongues and spitting them out with their milk. As toddlers, they demand food, toys, and cuddles and master the all-important n-word (NO!).

Everyone talks to them, so there's a tremendous amount of input before children start to string words together and speak in sentences. And it takes even longer before they can confidently express their thoughts in words. 

Believe it or not, adults go through the same process when they learn a new language. 

So, what do you need to know?

1. Vocabulary

Let's face it, you can't even get a half-decent cup of coffee if you don't know the right words, let alone carry on a conversation. So, unless you're a mime artist, you must memorise some vocabulary before you can say hello, or ask for a cappuccino. 

Now, I won't underestimate the power of flashcards and word lists. They play a vital role in getting words and phrases into your brain. But reading helps them stick! 

Reading those words over and over in the context of a story helps shift all that vocabulary into your long-term memory, so you can pull terms out when you need them. 

2. How The Language Works

Young children absorb a heap of understanding about grammar and syntax (the linguistic term for how sentences are put together.) And adult language learners need to know that stuff too. 

If you tried to learn a language in school, you're probably all too familiar with boring exercises, answering questions, and conjugating verbs. Like me, you probably came away none the wiser.

That's because you were learning grammar and syntax in isolation. (No, I'm not talking about the kind of isolation we went through in 2020! I mean, you were practising exercises with no real meaning or importance.)

The great thing about reading is that you see something in context. Those tenses and strange verb forms make more sense because you're encountering them in a real setting.

What's more, you'll keep meeting them in the story, exposing you to many examples of how this new language fits together.

3. What's The Buzz?

Now, another thing you need to know to be fluent is the general vibe of the language. How people sound when they talk, what idioms or slang they use, and (crucially) the difference between formal and informal speech in that language. 

These aspects have a lot to do with the country's culture, and you'll notice that with languages spoken across many countries.

US English has a different vibe from Australian English, for example. And Brazilian Portuguese is not the same as the language they speak in Portugal. 

If you can't travel to those places, reading about them can help you pick up the vibe and see how the language works in a particular setting. 

But how do we get to the point where we know enough stuff to start speaking, understanding and communicating correctly?

Input learning — and I believe in doing that through the power of stories — is the key to success, along with (I'm not going to lie and say it's easy) a lot of hard work.

What Happens When You Speak In Another Language?

Your Mouth Gets A Workout

Yes, you read that right! Your mouth has to get physically fit to speak a different language.

Even though you've spent your whole life speaking your native tongue, your new language will include different sounds.

So, your mouth needs to develop a few more muscles to cope with new tongue movements or how you hold your lips to create a specific sound. 

I'll never forget my time in the Canary Islands when I first learned Spanish. 

I met up with a Spanish friend and a bunch of his friends from school. There we were at 10 in the evening, sitting in a beautiful bar by the ocean.

Music playing, waves washing the shore — a magical setting. We laughed and chatted non-stop till four a.m. when the staff finally told us to go to bed. 

It was a fabulous night — but I can still remember the deep ache in my jaw as I left the bar because I'd used so many muscles which had never worked so hard when I spoke English.  

You Learn To Speak Your Thoughts Out Loud

Have you ever noticed how difficult it can be to put your thoughts into words? 

Even in your native tongue, that can be tricky at times. But it gets much more challenging when you're speaking a foreign language.

That's because it's actually a four-step process:

1. Compose your thought
2. Reach for the right words
3. Form the sounds in your mouth 
4. Let the words flow out

So, when learning a new language, you must separately process each step until it comes naturally. That happens when you've had sufficient input (through reading and listening) and output (speaking practice).

Eventually, You Understand The Conversation

Finally, you must understand what people say if you want a two-way conversation.

That involves all of the above. Being familiar with the sounds, knowing the vocab, putting in the listening mileage and understanding how the language works.

All are vital components of fluent comprehension. 

Let's Contrast And Compare Reading First Vs Speaking First

“Speaking From Day One” involves learning by speaking words in your new language as soon as possible. And this output-first method is the polar opposite of StoryLearning's input approach.

Now, I'm not saying that speaking is a bad thing. On the contrary, I love to start learning a new language by speaking as soon as I have a few words and sentences under my belt.

I'll get on apps like HelloTalk and Tandem and chat every day. And I'll hire tutors through websites like LanguaTalk to really dig into some solid speaking practice. 

Talking motivates me and helps with that physical aspect I mentioned before about getting my jaw “match fit”.

However, there comes a time when speaking simply isn't enough. And that's where reading with StoryLearning really kicks in.

The graph above shows the path to fluency, with the vertical line showing how fluent you are and the horizontal line across the bottom showing the time taken. 

Speaking First

In “Speaking From Day One”, you memorise a bunch of essential words and phrases and use them for basic conversations like greetings, asking for directions and buying goods.

And because we use a relatively limited bunch of phrases in those situations, you'll probably understand the replies. 

That gives the illusion of fluency — and it feels great at first. However, there comes a time when speaking isn't enough.

Sure, you can ask for an apple or chat about the weather, but you can't discuss a book or the latest celebrity scandal.

You can't ask people's opinions on religion, politics, music or even what they think about their favourite sports team because you don't know the words or how they're put together to create such complex discussions.

Why not? Because those words and phrases you learned are only a drop in the ocean compared to the whole language. You need to know a lot more before trying anything more complicated than the basics. 

That's why your fluency plateaus, and that's the level you'll stay at unless you try another approach. For me, this is false economy.

Reading First

Contrast that with “Reading From Day One”, which is the StoryLearning approach; you can see how the graph progresses differently.

At first, you'll spend a lot of time with input — reading, listening and absorbing vocab, grammar and syntax. 

Eventually, you'll reach the point of critical mass, where you've learned enough to start communicating. From there, if you keep practising, you'll see exponential growth.

Use Both Input and Output As Soon As You Feel Ready

As is often the case, combining reading/listening with speaking practice is probably the best approach of all. 

Some people love the sink-or-swim approach. They jump into the language pool and start swimming (speaking) from day one.

Others are more nervous. They'll skirt around the edges and take a long time to dip their toes (i.e., speak to someone in another language.) 

But if you've spent a lot of time reading, your confidence will soar as all that accumulated knowledge pushes you towards fluency. You know the stuff — and practice can only improve it. 

Learn A Language By Reading: Final Thoughts

Whether you start by reading or speaking, you’ll have to consume vast amounts of input sooner or later so you can learn the stuff you need to know to become fluent. 

There'll come a time when you suddenly know so much that you CAN just start speaking, and it's fun because you're communicating honest thoughts and feelings.

From this point, don't sit back and think there's nothing left to do. Keep practising with reading and speaking because, in the long run, it's practice and hard work that will get you to fluency. 

P.S. If you're keen to learn more, watch How To Learn a New Language With Stories, where I outline the entire Story Learning method.