Is binge-reading of any value?

[Ольга]

Waiting for someone to bring up binge speaking, hard-cord binge speaking, and binge speaking with warm-up.

Wonderful idea! With a partner or without?

[neofight78]

I believe verbal diarrhea is the official term. But then some might object on the grounds that speaking is good for you while diarrhea is not

[Theodisce]

But yeah, except on the weekend, how long would it normally take you to finish a 15 hour audio book?

I would say it depends on many factors, including how interesting an audiobook is. Probably between 4 days and two weeks. If I have to force myself to listen to it (because its in one of my weaker languages or because I find it boring but still somehow want to keep listening), it may even take as long as two weeks.

I understand that there are various types of learners but I'm also convinced audiobooks are worth giving them a second chance. I do not only mean audiobooks by the way, lectures may be actually easier to follow. I guess the brain will eventually adapt to this kind of activity, but it may take some time.

I would never just sit and listen- what a horror it would be! The crucial part is to do something else while enjoying the audio (like driving to work, having a walk, washing dishes).

[the1whoknocks]

I think so.

I suspect that binge reading could be valuable similar to the reasons extensive reading and listening are helpful. One such way might be feel for the language. The way I think of it, the more exposure I get to the language, the better my feel for it becomes; regardless of where this exposure comes from. Personally, when I do anything for an extended period of time in Spanish, I find myself thinking in that language and processing it long after I’ve finished that activity.

Lately, I’ve been trying to write more and I might have been underestimating the importance of feel until now. Being able to identify what sounds weird to a native will prompt me to change what I’m writing, or at least ask for confirmation. I found myself writing a few sentences that were grammatically correct, but just didn’t sound right. I am happy to have been able to identify a couple of these 'off' sentences before publishing, but think more exposure to the language in any form will allow me to do this to a greater extent.

While binge-reading, even if I were not to acquire any vocabulary or grammar (I think I will), or even remember that I were to read about, I think it would at least count as useful exposure to the language as long as I were mentally engaged with what I'd be reading. Also, the fact that one is able to binge read something suggests, to me, that they’re at least interested in the material which might help with staying mentally engaged with the language.

Depending on one’s goals binge-reading may or may not be the most efficient activity, but I think it is at least valuable. I'm going to try it. Another question might be; how much might be needed for it to be useful or, do I need to really need to remember what I read for it to be useful. I binged-watched a couple of shows in Spanish and I think doing so was useful, but the things I remember about the series are limited. I would have remembered more specific things and probably have followed the sub-plots better, had i watched them more slowly. I would expect a similar experience with binge-reading.

[SophiaMerlin_II]

I understand that there are various types of learners but I'm also convinced audiobooks are worth giving them a second chance. I do not only mean audiobooks by the way, lectures may be actually easier to follow. I guess the brain will eventually adapt to this kind of activity, but it may take some time.

I would never just sit and listen- what a horror it would be! The crucial part is to do something else while enjoying the audio (like driving to work, having a walk, washing dishes).

I'd be willing to get it a try again, sure. I may have just had bad luck in the past.

I can't do anything while listening to things If I put the radio on while I clean or wash dishes, the noise is just there, I'm not actually listening to it. To wash dishes and listen to TV in my L1 would for example take such an extraordinary amount of effort that I honestly wouldn't even want to do it. To try and do that in an L2 I think would kill me

A notable case / exception would be the following: While I was growing up, my Father like to watch Spongebob very late at night. As the TV was on the same wall as the head of my bed, I would often be woken up by it, and have listened to many episodes of Spongebob this way. I would estimate that I have heard more episodes of Spongebob than I have actually seen. So an audiobook might work for me in such a situation: dark, quiet, and extremely bored. Or perhaps on a long distance bus trip, as I cannot read in cars or busses. I've never tried to read on a plane, but that would be the thought.

But all in all, I have very weak listening even in L1, so that probably contributes. I cannot, for example, understand most lyrics in most English-language songs. Growing up I actually didn't think most music was -IN- English, I thought it was in gibberish and like many children, I made up my own songs ... in gibberish. That's actually something I still enjoy doing

Then again, it would probably be very beneficial for me to force myself to do it, specifically because it is so difficult for me ^.^

[Systematiker]

I believe verbal diarrhea is the official term. But then some might object on the grounds that speaking is good for you while diarrhea is not

The next time someone tells me I talk too much, I'll just tell them I'm a binge-speaker.

[s_allard]

I have to confess that my attempt to read 6 - 8 hours of a Spanish novel on Thursday fizzled out. With my schedule it is really impossible to devote so much time to one activity unless I am away from home and the office. But did squeeze in some 3 hours of nearly continuous reading of a contemporary Latin-American novel and I have a couple of observations:

1. Reading for a long stretch does certainly allow you to get into the text in depth. This produces a great feeling because you are immersed in the world created by the author. It's very different from reading in snatches where you always have the impression that you are sort of starting over again. This stretch of 3 hours actually got me more interested in the work and gave me the urge to finish it quickly, possibly with a couple of 3-hour sessions.

2. I read slowly because I just can't skip over some words that I don't know. I really don't believe in this idea of just glossing over stuff you don't understand in the hope that something will stick. There were entire passages that I just couldn't understand properly because of the grammar and the vocabulary. I'll go over them with my tutor.

I use the expression "understand properly" because I'm not sure I really understood what I thought I understood. Just earlier today when working with my tutor I realized that I had understood the very opposite of what a certain sentence really meant. This is a huge problem because it is difficult to assess one's own comprehension.

3. You have to choose your text or book carefully. Literary fiction is full of narratives and descriptions that use a very wide vocabulary. All of this makes for very tough slogging. And for what purpose? Much of this vocabulary is hardly used in everyday speech, and there are other things that should have priority. Maybe some light fiction, the equivalent of the Harry Potter series, would be more easily read. I personally would love to binge-read a book of history in Spanish.

4. My take on this whole issue is that binge-reading - if there really is such a thing - is basically a great way to boost enthusiasm and morale because there is a sense of accomplishment. As for having any redeeming didactic advantages, I'm somewhat skeptical.

[smallwhite]

Q: Is binge-reading of any value?
A: If you call it binge-reading then most will say yes. If you call it cram-reading then most will say no.

I will start calling my vocab-cramming binge-vocab-immersion.

[Cavesa]

That's exactly it: binge reading (if we want to use the term, but I see no reason why not), just like binge watching, can be "disruptive" to our daily lives and duties. S_allard found it hard to spend 6-8 hours with a book, simply his normal life prevailed, which is probably healthy. We would certainly judge it healthy, if we were talking about him not being able to fit 6-8 hours of tv series into his day. We would judge it healthy, if he complained about not being able to play computer games for 6 hours. Why should books automatically be different?

The idea that every book is something intellectually saint is naive. Come to my room, look at the pile on my desk (half of my bookcase got broken recently, so I have almost a meter quadrate on my table), and I'll show you examples of stuff I love, stuff that has helped my learning a lot, stuff that is very well written within the genre, but that certainly doesn't fit into the reading=intelectual challenge idea. Similarily, I highly doubt most people would binge watch serious art movies for eight hours straight.

Binge reading and binge watching are of good value, as they mean hours of undisturbed immersion. But the key point of "binge", just like with binge eating, is the fact we "shouldn't" be spending so much on that stuff, especially in a row. I profit a lot from at least a few introductory reading/watching sessions, when starting this activity in a new langauge. But still, spending whole evening and night on it, that is not good for waking up early the next day, or if I take in account the 200 textbook pages I am supposed to get through instead. 8 hours in a day, no matter whether with a book or a series, that is simply not normal "just reading" without consequences, if we do it often.

[Stelle]

I'm a binge-reader - although I've always referred to it as "maladaptive reading". When I start a book in English, it's very difficult for me to put down. If I don't exercise serious self-control, then I lose entire days, stay up too late, get cranky if anyone interrupts me, don't get anything else done... Luckily I'm a pretty fast reader, so my binges have natural end-points.

Extensive reading in my second languages is actually much better for my life, because I can't binge in the same way. Sure, I could sit down for an hour or two and read, but I've rarely felt that compulsion to keep reading even when I know that I absolutely must stop. During the school year, I mainly stick to second language books and English non-fiction, since I just don't have enough time in the day. Summers are for binge-reading.

All that said, I'm a huge proponent of extensive reading. It's probably the most intrinsically rewarding language activity that I do. But I'm glad that 30-45 minutes per day feels like enough!