Hmm...

I've taken to staying home on Monday and Wednesday mornings and eating lunch while watching the midday news. I notice especially when I watch tv, but also on the phone, that I rely on watching people's mouths move to understand what they're saying. I have a tendency to watch people's mouths even when they're speaking in English, though I generally have no trouble if I can't see them. In French, however, I really have trouble understanding someone who's not in front of me. I have a much harder time talking to Madame on the phone than I do at home. Or if a piece on TV is being narrated by someone offscreen, I don't get nearly as much as I do if the reporter is shown. Even if I don't know the vocabulary, if I can see their mouths, I can at least figure out where each word starts and ends and imagine how they would be spelled - a narrator is just a jumble of sounds at times.

I have no idea where this comes from. I used to play games when I was younger of seeing if I could read people's lips - or maybe it's just because I'm such a visual learner - then again, maybe I'm just weird. :o ]