[another-dave]

I think it depends on what stage your at. With English as my first language, I certainly improved my vocab massively and was aware of a lot more things like idioms/styles of speech once I was old enough to read independently.

Found that too learning French that once I got enough proficiency to read was really useful in the amount/style of French I could expose myself to and helped me push up past a plateau of confidence in my spoken French (though not fluent still, so just IMO, take that for what it's worth!)