Buzz
When attempting to memorize something, a simple repetition of flashcards may not be enough. According to a study from the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada, reading the material aloud can boost memory retention.
Published in the journal Memory, the study shows that reading and speaking aloud aids memory more than reading silently or just listening to someone read. The combination of speaking and hearing strengthens memory encoding. This research extends earlier studies on the production effect, a concept introduced by Waterloo psychologist Colin MacLeod, who co-authored this paper.
In the study, 95 college students were tested over two semesters. They were asked to recall as many words as possible from a list of 160 nouns. During one session, they read the words aloud into a microphone, and returned two weeks later for a follow-up. In various conditions, participants either read the words aloud, listened to recordings of their own voice, heard recordings of others reading, or read silently. Their recall was tested to measure how much they remembered.
Participants were able to recall more words when they read them aloud compared to other methods, even when they only listened to their own recorded voice reading the words. However, hearing your own voice did have some impact on memory—it was a more effective tool than hearing someone else read the words. This may be because people are naturally better at remembering personal experiences, or as the researchers suggest, the unusual experience of hearing one's own voice could make it stand out more in memory.
The researchers propose that the reason production helps with memory is partly due to its unique, self-referential nature. They note, "This may well explain why rehearsal is so effective in learning and remembering: We perform it ourselves, using our own voice. When it's time to recall the information, we can leverage this unique feature to aid our memory."
The conclusion is clear: If you want to improve your memory, reading and speaking aloud is the way to go.
