> read a paragraph out loud on the spot and sound natural As someone who reads aloud a lot, I contend that this is a subtly different process than simply readi

> read a paragraph out loud on the spot and sound natural As someone who reads aloud a lot, I contend that this is a subtly different process than simply reading quietly on your own, and something that must be practiced. You need to set up a "reading system" and a "speaking system" and have them operate independently, like a drummer doing a polyrhythm or like patting your head and rubbing your stomach at the same time. You also have to throttle your "reading system" to a slower pace than is natural to fluent readers reading silently. They say that poorer readers "sub-vocalize" which limits their reading speed -- well, fully vocalizing does too. All this to say that you can't conclude someone is a poor reader just because they can't read aloud naturally; nor even can you conclude that someone good at reading aloud is a particularly great silent reader.