The ability to read lips is often called art. This is actually a valuable skill that anyone can master. Such mastery is a hidden ability of a person, which, if desired, can be developed and used.
Why should we study lip reading? What is the name of the person who has mastered such a skill? In Western practice, they are called lip-readers. In Russian, this term is not used.
Who can use the lip reading skill?
People begin to study lip reading for various reasons. Some were interested in books and films about spies, where the main characters used this skill to “overhear” important information. Others chose this method on the path to self-improvement. And the third is such a skill is vital. For deaf and hard of hearing people, lip reading is the only way to perceive information.
Even if you do not have an urgent need to have a perception of speech from the lips, you can say that in life such a skill can be useful to everyone. This makes it easy to communicate in situations where you need to be quiet and not ask again when something is not heard in a noisy place. In general, this skill will help to better understand others.
How to learn to read lips?
Lip reading is a skill that a person can develop in himself through learning and training. Naturally, someone has a predisposition to develop this skill, and someone has less, but we can safely say that lip reading can be mastered by everyone. Depending on the presence of an innate tendency to this type of perception, different people for this may require a different amount of time and effort.
What is the difficulty of learning?
It would seem that it is difficult to remember the movements of the lips when pronouncing each letter and syllable? Not so simple. The lip pattern is different when pronouncing different letters. But there are some letters that are pronounced differently, but “look” the same. For example, it is difficult to distinguish the consonants "F" and "B". It is almost impossible to distinguish, pronounced "B", "M" or "P". And finally, the hissing sounds: "W", "F", "H" - a problem for perception. Among the vowels there are pairs of such sounds: “O” - “E”, “U” - “U”, “A” - “I”. These letters are called invisible.
You can learn to perceive such sounds by placing them in syllables and connecting logic and conjecture.
Self-study exercises
The first assistant in the independent study of lip reading is a mirror. What needs to be done is to pronounce letters in front of the mirror, then syllables and words, then phrases and expressions. In doing so, pay special attention to your reflection. Your main task is to remember the movements of the lips when pronouncing the most used syllables.
Further in the training we will be helped by television. Take your favorite movie that you have watched several times. It is advisable that you remember what the dialogue is about in this film. Turn off the sound and look, trying to visually perceive the conversation. In the next step, you can watch news or unfamiliar films and TV shows in the same way. It will become noticeable that if you do not know what they are talking about on the TV screen, it becomes more difficult to perceive information by lips. But the main thing is practice.
Relatives and friends can become your assistants in the study of lip reading techniques. Ask them to “talk” with you without sound and try to catch the meaning of such a speech in everyday life.
Arrange a "hunt." You can just sit in a park on a bench to watch the vacationers and train reading lips.
Problems you may encounter
There are also some nuances that can complicate the learning process :
- Unknown topic of conversation - this can become a problem in the initial stages of training. It disappears when practical skills of speech perception from the lips appear. In rare cases, when the conversation is on highly specialized topics, using terms, speech may not be perceived even by professional lip readers.
- Fuzzy articulation is an individual feature of each person. One can pronounce words, clearly fixing each syllable with facial muscles , the other uses facial expressions less when talking, which complicates understanding.
- A fast pace of speech - can complicate perception, since articulation changes with a high-speed conversation. Very fast speech can be understood only after long practical training.
Special courses or computer program - what to choose?
There are several options with which to master the technique of reading lips. We have already examined how you can get this skill yourself. But if there is a choice: studying at home using a computer program, or enrolling in specialized courses, what will be more effective? How can I quickly reach the goal and learn to read lips?
Learning with a computer program is a "communication" with a synthetic person. It pronounces the text, your task is to perceive this text without sound accompaniment. There are different settings and tips. Those who used this program to master reading lips say that it is very easy to understand such a robot, it has bright facial expressions and expressive articulation. But the problem is that, getting used to such ideal conditions, it is then very difficult to adapt to the perception of living people, each of whom is individual.
That is, such a program can be useful for mastering the theory and the basics of perception, but for the practice of lip reading, you need to choose and study human speech, although this is more complicated.
In the courses, the training takes place in a group. During the classes it is possible to see the articulation of many people and compare the features of their facial expressions. This immediately gives you hands-on experience. Although such training can take longer, it is definitely more effective. In addition, lessons are taught by qualified sign teachers who are able to interpret all obscure and controversial issues.