4 steps to learning a language with books

Have you ever read a book in the language you are learning? I'm not talking about textbooks. I'm talking about novels, or the kind of books that you would read for fun in your native language. If not, you NEED to start. According to many prominent linguists, this could be THE most effective way to learn new vocabulary in the language you are learning.
In this video I outline my 4 step method for using books to learn a foreign language with free voluntary reading (sometimes called "extensive reading")
If you would like to support me on Patreon, you can do so here: / fingtam

[@jt659]

I thought the thumbnail was a toothbrush and a book, I was intrigued.

[@mitchellperilla739]

I thought it was a joint and a book 😂

[@miguelrebolledo6291]

There are several components to speaking Spanish online . A place I found that succeeds in merging these is the Fergs spanish blueprint (google it if you're interested) definately the best remedy i've heard of. Look at the awesome information .

[@samhivern9860]

@@mitchellperilla739 Thats hilarious haha

[@katirisherman9169]

The proper way to read

[@Realmariah510]

Me too

[@LynMa80]

Harry Potter's book to learn are very good, since the language evolve at the same time as the children grow. When you take the first one, the language is really basic, good for 11 years old, really easy to read and follow, and the older they get, the more sophisticated the language is becoming.

[@richardhartung1576]

really ? I just analysed the whole series with an text analyzer and it showed me just that i need to learn 6000 more chinese characters just to understand the basic meaning , not the detailled meaning of the books hhhh i assume there are too many "fantasy words"

[@LynMa80]

@@richardhartung1576 Of course it will be difficult for the spells, the houses, the school, the places and the name of the characters, , there's a ton of made up words, but the context helps a lot with that, it's not a difficult world throw in the middle of nowhere, you'll know what it was as soon as it appear, they'll even explain most of the time, like when they explain what a "muggle" is.

[@LynMa80]

(but I must admit I never tried with a language so vastly different like Chinese.)

[@richardhartung1576]

@@LynMa80 sounds great, i really want to read the series. Just checked the first book individually and i am reaching ~70% +

[@hristijanl.3997]

not true but ok

[@adlershofresident5184]

Reading Harry potter in German and it's amazing how quickly the number of words I don't understand on each page reduces

[@Esperance66]

How?

[@pointblank5338]

This actually works if you stick to it! This is how I learned English in school. I had average teachers in school and were a bookworm, so I took it upon myself to translate the first Harry Potter book from my native language in English. It was quite difficult to do so in the beginning because I knew almost no words in English. I did that for the whole series and it became easier with each completed volume. Fast - forward 3 years, I obtained a C2 Cambridge Certificate. Did the same with German, got to Level C1.

[@saufiilyas7381]

Thanks for the suggestion. Wondering if you have more tips in order to C2 Cambridge Level? Would much appreciate it. And if you have more tips for speaking or else?

[@justinbieber6351]

So you Always looked in the dicionary for every Word that you didnt know

[@bigdog4166]

This seems to be a common method taught to kids in the U.S where English is their second language or ESL the teacher usually assigns them books and they implement this very technique

[@sammondaw]

Hello, do you recall how long it took to get to German C1 level? Just curious. Also, do you have anyone to converse with, and if so, how are your listening and speaking abilities through this method? Thanks !

[@Narraciones_envolventes]

I tried to do it a moment ago and it's really helpful. I'm going to continue with this activity... By the way, I'm learning German too...

[@TechTins_Projects]

This is what I have found very useful. A very simple recipe. When you are brand new to a language. First buy only very short children's primary books. one short sentence per page. Buy as many as you can (at least ten). These books were specifically designed to introduce very young children to their own native language. 1. For each page first score as a percentage how many of the words you know of the short one or two sentences (ie. the page text). 2. Then in a notebook write down all the words and look them up in your app or dictionary. Write down their meanings. 3. Then re-read the page again to understand it. Do this for every page. 4. Your note book should devote a page with scores per each page of the book. Index your notebook as you go. You then have a great look up facility. Also research has shown conclusively that writing down words you have looked up, will help you retain them in memory. 5. Don't worry about words or phrases you can't find. Just skip over them. As you only need 75% of your chosen language (plus your native speaker can help you with these anyway.) Once book is finished (only a few days as books are very short) . Go through each page again as a second pass and score as a percentage again how many words per page you know compared to first pass. Do one more full pass and tabulate the scores again. Then move onto next book. Once reached 1st pass of next book go back to previous book and do another pass and tabulate scores. Then leave first book. Do same treatment on all subsequent books. In this way not only will you get the thrill of discovering what the book is about but you will also get to see a real percentage score of how many words per page you have reached. Eventually you will reach the 75% score. Once you have reached 75% on the children's books only then move up to teenager books (Now with teenager level books, just do a single pass, as no need to do multiple passes once your reading books with more than 50 pages full of text). Once you are consistently reaching 75% per page on any of the teenager book's pages then any books can be read after that. Forget about feeling foolish for buying nursery level books. These are the first books you should definitely stick to and read, as you are now effectively a small child in the new language. So these books will be ideal for you. Only move up in age when you are scoring 75% or more per page on your current age level books. At same time as doing this, pay for an hours help once a fortnight to a native speaker, to clarify any words concepts you could not work out.

[@bsmith3506]

My lifelong goal is to own the Harry Potter series in 7 different languages, and be able to read them all. So far I have 1st in Welsh, 2nd in French and 3rd in Polish. 😁

[@entelektuel.yolculuk]

Yohohhohohoho interesting. Are Welsh and Irish and Celtic same languages? Is Welsch still spoken in Wales?

[@blueCatJugend]

@@entelektuel.yolculuk Welsh and Irish are different Celtic languages

[@entelektuel.yolculuk]

@@blueCatJugend hmm, I see. Which of them is still spoken? And does an ordinary Ireland citizen know English?

[@blueCatJugend]

@@entelektuel.yolculuk Almost all of the Irish people know English well and most of them know Irish as well. English and Irish are official languages of Ireland

[@Suki272]

I use a Kindle to help me read in Spanish. It has a built in translator and when I look up a word, it saves it automatically in a list for me. I like the idea about re-reading books, but it also helps to read a series of books by the same author, like Harry Potter, Percy Jackson and Hunger Games. The authors tend to have their own favorite vocabulary they consistently use. Then you don't have to get bored reading the same book 4 times. Just a thought. : )

[@jenniferwilson9579]

So true! I am reading a Sherlock Holmes story in Spanish and I am enjoying it and learning some new vocabulary.

[@FingtamLanguages]

Jennifer Wilson awesome! Glad to hear it’s helping. Thanks for commenting! 😃

[@Mimieq]

Man, That was AWESOME!!

[@nganluong1872]

so useful tips!!! thank you

[@undekagon2264]

I do a bit of the opposite. I read wikipedia articles about topics I like in a foreign language in which I am maximally A1. I create dictionaries from those and look up almost everything and directly put grammar notes and everything together. I can spend several hours with a few worfs and have my fun with it, but I like the basic concept here very much.

[@michalstyber9484]

Hey! Thanks for wonderful tips. I personally start with reading combined with listening to audiobook at the same time, then I underline the words I don't understand, I make a list of them, translate them and use quizlet to learn them. Then I read it again and listen to it again. And it works. Everytime.

[@user36271]

I started using this method a couple of days ago and I'm happy to see that it worked for somebody

[@mr.sherman-music]

This was so helpful! Thank you!

[@fatimaalobeidly70]

Thank you for this super useful video !

[@Tehui1974]

Thanks for the tips bro. I'm starting to read more books in my target language, so I'm still working out the best method for me.

[@aljawharaalmohsen]

Wow I’m amazed and thankful for this brilliant video 💓

[@petergreppel2195]

Thank you for giving us a step-by-step guide! This info is gold! Merci!!!

[@sherston]

Brilliant. Thanks for this, top advice which I shall put into action :)

[@snows4770]

Dude I cannot wait to try this, thank you so much!

[@brandondouglas2436]

Excellent advice! It is very helpful and effective. Thank you for sharing. :)

[@beaudenefinger3312]

This was such a helpful video, thank you!

[@mouniahafnaoui1820]

This is the most useful video I've watched today. Thank u so much for this.

[@Tushinho]

Nice video!! I finished reading hp a couple of days ago in english, and it was quite challenging bc my level of english is not the best, but i enjoyed it nonetheless.

[@wamyarabel1288]

Finally, a video that is actually helpful !!

[@joeluisbenitezdiaz9658]

Awesome. I started readin the boy in the striped pajamas several weeks ago in german and i could never really get passed the first episode cause i stopped every single time i saw a new word. This method really makes sense, i’ll try it.

[@rennyoroll]

I've started to read The Hunger Games in French a while back, and it really helps since I've read THG in English sooo many times so it's simple.

[@lynntfuzz]

This is such a great idea!!!!!! Thank you!

[@alagunoff]

Thanks for the video and tips!

[@mrbrian826]

Very helpful and useful stuff. Thanks!

[@secretariatgirl4249]

Probably the best overview I've seen so far!

[@faria246]

Thank you so much for guiding us.....

[@omarperezprada8473]

Great Video Fingtam

[@ninjaquest]

Really interesting, thanks for the advice! I'm definitely gonna give this method a go 👍

[@melodiousramblings8470]

Hère from the time of covid!!! Such an amazing video it helped me so much with French! I just wanted to thank you!

[@alibobsmarland9572]

Great video. I started reading Harry Potter in french a couple of weeks ago and it really helps if you enjoy it and also have a knowledge of what the plot is.I also downloaded the french audio book so I can listen as well as read at the same time.

[@FingtamLanguages]

Hey! Thanks for commenting! Yeah, listening to audiobooks while you read is a great way of learning the pronunciation. Especially for languages like French where the spelling of words doesn't match up exactly with their pronunciations. Good luck with your French!

[@alibobsmarland9572]

Thanks for replying. I find that by downloading the book on my laptop as a PDF file, I can then copy and paste a page at a time into Google translate. This allows me to read the french on the left hand side with the English translation on the right. Then any words I don't know I can copy and paste them into the ANKI spaced repetition system and review them at the end of every chapter.

[@FingtamLanguages]

Alibobs Marland WOW, that seems like a lot of work! But if that is the method that works best for you, then by all means keep it up. How long have you been using that method for?

[@Mimieq]

Alibobs Marland Can u pass me the link of the pdf book and the audios I like your method.

[@blazeberthelot2629]

I have been looking for the Harry Potter books in french but also at a good price. If you guys could help me out I’d appreciate that

[@yyc5506]

Thanks for these tips

[@hieuhuynh7838]

Thank you. It’s really helpful.

[@tireddaisy1685]

thanks for tips , so helpful

[@dhirpratap2460]

Hey,that's a master plan,bro.Most practical video. 🙏🙏🙏

[@Sman-eg1zs]

Great video, really helpful. Thanks

[@najidastar3996]

Thanks for the info 💯

[@user-ny6rp7zo7w]

Thanks for sharing your tips on language learning. This video really helped!:)

[@FingtamLanguages]

이성봉TV SBTV Awesome! Glad to hear it helped! Thanks for the comment! :)

[@kenan5015]

This video is very motivated. I decided to buy a new book after this video.

[@ricardomd4229]

This is a great method to learn/practice a foreign language. I love and enjoy a lot reading in English, as much as I do in Spanish, which is my first language

[@lukemiller5242]

incredible methodology,, really keen to apply these great ideas.. thanks:)

[@sadburrito5506]

It was really helpful, thanks a looot!!!!

[@tanishajones2716]

Buenas ideas! Gracias por el video

[@audralarsen4421]

I've only seen a few of your videos but they are great! You have a knack for explaining things simply :)

[@FingtamLanguages]

Awe, thanks so much for saying that! I’m really glad my videos are able help people!

[@PadamaaPaadamaa]

Great technique mate.. love it :)

[@sonaidebnath1015]

Really helpful tips.

[@writtenwordsschoolofenglish]

When on a trip to Germany many years ago, I bought a handful of children's books. It was such a fun way to learn the language. It helps to have a basic understanding of the language first, but it's a great way to practise and build fluency. Also, reading aloud helps with speaking skills.

[@srovorake6626]

Thanks for the recommendation of The little Prince and the tips. Bought Harry Potter in English and The little prince in Dutch now. Really looking forward to reading them :)

[@jade8520]

I love these tips! 👏👏👏

[@FingtamLanguages]

Hi Jadela! I'm glad you liked the video. Thanks for the comment!

[@WonderfulDay2023]

Me too

[@FingtamLanguages]

@@WonderfulDay2023 Hi! Thanks for the comment. Glad you like it :)

[@debbiegehl1562]

Muchas gracias Fingtam languages por el video excelente y claro con muchas ideas útiles para me y otras personas.

[@paulocesar4125]

Dude, great tips!! Thk u

[@beataszabowska3801]

Great advice. 😊👍

[@nazaninkhoshnazar5898]

it was very useful thank u.

[@paflagonian]

Thank you for your help so informational. I am learning German and I have maybe 30 German book in my house but till now I wasn't finished one of them. I hope your video will help me. 🤞

[@cynthiakrysak4461]

Good tips thank you!

[@Dustinthewind607]

Great video! Those were some excellent, practical suggestions. Thanks!

[@FingtamLanguages]

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed! :)

[@karolinajedlickova4209]

Great tips, thank you for this video :)

[@FingtamLanguages]

Hi Karolina! Welcome to my channel, and thanks for the encouraging comment :)

[@JaneLasso]

Very usel tips! Thanks a lot! Greetings from Mexico.

[@amiah1224]

you're an inspiration

[@PersonalFitness11]

Very helpful video. Thanks

[@maggiekgreen]

Great method!!

[@medeeannexo]

I love the glossary idea! I will definitely be doing this!

[@FingtamLanguages]

Awesome. Hope it helps! :)

[@roger4786]

This was very helpful. I'm Brazilian so my native language is the Portuguese... I remember that I learned a lot of Spanish reading texts of different subjects on web and reading books too, now I am trying hard the English which is obviously a challenge bigger then Spanish compared to the Portuguese by many reasons. I'II put your tips into practice!!

[@pktlogic]

This works awesome!!!

[@joestevens4962]

your friendly helpful approach is wonderful. Thank you. I will try your suggestions )))

[@FingtamLanguages]

Awesome! Glad to see my videos are helpful :)

[@iolif]

tanks for your explain.

[@josephsuso6174]

Great steps.

[@KevinAbroad]

I reaaally love this idea of reading children's book. I give people the same advice! And definitely true that you need to be in that "comfortable but not too comfortable" balance when you read a book. That's what I tell my students. It's also good practice because when you learn a language, there's always gonna be times where you won't understand some words (in real life situations for example). So it's good to get used to not always understand everything!

[@thandekakhumalo8261]

Great content! Thank you🌻

[@FingtamLanguages]

Thank you! :)

[@jfighterfpv3932]

I agree with a lot of your ideas about reading. I have been using the program Lingq to do the same things. You can upload books, news articles and anything else you want and the program will both highlight and instantly give definitions to unknown words.

[@FingtamLanguages]

Jeremy Holt Hi Jeremy, thanks for commenting! I’ve heard Steve Kaufman talk about Lingq, but I’ve never used it personally. It sounds like a great program. Thanks for sharing!

[@michelleonardo4389]

That's such a great video. I started learning English on my own almost six months ago and now I feel like I was ready to start reading some book in English. I made sure to write the essential of what you said down and I'm gonna try putting it into practice from now on. You've got a new subscriber.

[@cyndaqueen6179]

Omg you only started six months ago?! Your English is so good, I would have thought you’ve been learning for way longer. Must have been eager! :D

[@michelleonardo4389]

@@cyndaqueen6179 thanks, buddy. Now it's gonna turn almost one year hahahaha, but I don't consider myself as a speaker fluent yet.

[@extensionsbest1950]

Great technique

[@Odiaquetudoacontece]

Great tips, I've been reading books in English (I'm Brazilian), and I've been trying to not look after every word that i don't know, it's hard at the beginning, but now I can see that is the better way to read. I'm going to follow your tips now on, tks. There is only one thing that I like to do different, instead highlighting the text I put a post-it. ;)

[@entelektuel.yolculuk]

why do ye ever wanna read if ye do not know a hell lot of words in a language? It just doesn't make any sense First alphabet and phonology, then grammar, then at least 3000 vocab consisting mainly of verbs, then reading or writing or listening or so forth

[@charlesgoller71]

Great tips! It really surprises me that many well known language learning systems don’t spend much if any time emphasizing reading and writing. Liked subbed and Thank you!!

[@FingtamLanguages]

Charles Goller Thanks for the comment and for the sub!

[@niroshansubash838]

Thank you bro..

[@MarkBH70]

I think that's a great step-by-step approach! The only thing I would add to what you said is to review the words every time you pick up the book, and get bilingual books, so you can see the English, and highlight the English and foreign language. However, unlike I've done, I think your idea of only highlighting two words is better. I was very impressed! This fleshes out what Steve Kaufmann was saying: making it practical. My problem is, although French and Spanish seem easy to find and pay for, Portuguese is steep. The 4-Hour Work Week was something like $65 on Amazon and about the same, all included, on eBay.

[@clairefox7107]

Brilliant! Thanks for the advice! I’ve been meaning to read Harry Potter in Spanish for month now but never really knew how to approach it. Will definitely be doing this ^_^

[@FingtamLanguages]

Hi Claire! Welcome to my channel! Yeah, this is an approach that works great for me, but like I tell everyone, you should just try it out and make it your own. I love getting other people's perspectives on my techniques, so if you discover some variant of this that works best for you, be sure to let me know!

[@lordoflostorig]

Buenas ideas! Muchas gracias por el vídeo.

[@FingtamLanguages]

Hola Valentín! Gracias por comentar!

[@davidguss5277]

I recently bought a Kindle and have found it super easy to quickly check the meaning of words I’m not sure of. Whenever I come across a word I don’t know I simply press on the word and I get a translation and examples of the word in different sentences. I mainly read Spanish literature. I have tried reading both books that have been translated from English and books that were written by Spanish authors. I enjoy both but I find the books that were originally written in Spanish have a richness of language not found in translations. My favorite Spanish author is Isabel Allende.

[@bobvedder2451]

I was studying German and bought a book in a German book store and bought a book by Herman Hesse. The book was above my level of comprehension, and it was in an older form of German, but i enjoyed it.

[@user-bl4xv4dx2t]

A great method to carry HUNDREDS of books and do exactly what he says, is with digital books, that is, e-books, on your phone or tablet. With the tablet you can: highlight, look up the word and leave a note of the definition, which is a tiny blue mark in the right corner of the word. During the SECOND reading of the book, if you can't remember a word, just tap the "blue mark" you left and the definition pops up immediately! I usually leave a one-word definition, based on the context of the story, as words have different meanings depending on context. I try to select the one that best fits the context of the story. The same word may appear in ANOTHER context, in which case you can create another digital note with its meaning for THAT context. You welcome! ; )

[@saidahsyamsudin7646]

Thanks for your tip

[@FingtamLanguages]

Thanks for commenting!

[@swissm8]

i just started to read the little prince in icelandic. hard but fun

[@princesslacson6291]

I really like your enthusiasm in teaching

[@FingtamLanguages]

Thank you! :)

[@giuliamaestri3318]

Thanks!

[@Ashusername]

This was fantastically explained! I just need to get to the point where I understand that many words to begin with lol. Thanks a ton!

[@gentlefierceness]

have you tried graded readers?

[@Janbolat_Designer]

thank you

[@mayanlogos92]

I love Le petit Prince ❤ Oh and learning with plays💕🕊

[@greenmil43]

1. Find the right book for you. 2. Read purely for enjoyment. 3. create personlized dictionary. 4. Read again.

[@ravennance5705]

Great ideas!!!

[@FingtamLanguages]

Thanks Raven! I appreciate the comment!

[@GehanAdel]

Great video i love this tips

[@FingtamLanguages]

gehan adel Thanks for thé comment! :)

[@fzaalhrbe7823]

Thank you

[@mrbrian826]

Owning a kindle is also handy because you can look up words automatically and also save some useful words for learning later.

[@AkosTothHotClub]

Great video and I am especially happy that we can not smell it! ;) ("Fingtam" has meaning in hungarian)

[@FingtamLanguages]

Yes, I am well aware of what that word means! 😅😂🤣

[@Sarahkiroglu]

Thank you! These tips are great. I’ll immediately begin to incoporate them. Just ordered my first two books in turkish from ebay: küçük prens and üç kedi bir dilek 😁

[@mertylmaz9483]

why do you learn turkish? are you married to a turkish guy?

[@aquarius4953]

Others great short books . Mister God, this is Anna by Finn. Jonathan Linvingston the Seagull by Richard Bach. I like Agatha Christie, Enid Blynton. James Hadley Chase, Paul Auster .But I also like Charles Dickens, Emile Zola, Emily Brontë. Almost forget Asterix we all love Asterix in France. Gaston Lagaffe, Tintin, Black et Mortimer. Yes plays are great as long as they are written in modern language because to read Shakespeare or Molière won't help a lot to someone who wants to speak English or French.