How Fast Can You Read? | Barack Obama

Do you think you can keep up? Take our Speed Reading Challenge with Barack Obama’s “Yes We Can,” his 2008 election-night victory speech. Read one word at a time and follow the red focus letter. Start at Normal playback speed, then slow down or speed up to find a comfortable pace. In YouTube, open Settings → Playback speed. The reading section uses a 200 words-per-minute base cadence, with extra time for punctuation and pauses. After the spoken introduction and countdown, the reading segment is silent so you can focus. ⚡ TRY THE INTERACTIVE SPEED TEST Continue the challenge in the English Speeches Library: https://library.englishspeecheschannel.com/speech/barack-obama-yes-we-can Open the speech and select “Speed” to try the interactive reading tool. Choose your pace and practise with the text. You can also explore the transcript, vocabulary, shadowing, and typing activities on the same page. 📖 HOW THIS CHALLENGE WORKS • Follow one word at a time and keep your eyes near the red focus letter. • Start with YouTube playback speed set to Normal. • Too easy? Try 1.25x, 1.5x, or 2x. • Too fast? Lower the playback speed to match your level. 🎙️ ABOUT THE SPEECH This video uses a 520-word excerpt from the closing section of the speech; it is not the complete speech. The excerpt begins, “This election had many firsts and many stories that will be told for generations,” and ends, “Thank you, God bless you, and may God bless the United States of America.” The transcript source is NPR’s transcript of the victory speech, which identifies the text as prepared remarks provided by the Obama campaign. The political references reflect the 2008 U.S. election. 🔔 Subscribe to English Speeches for more English practice through powerful speeches. ⏱️ CHAPTERS 0:00 How the challenge works 0:23 Start reading 3:27 More from English Speeches #SpeedReading #LearnEnglish #BarackObama #ReadingChallenge