8 Ways to Read More in a Foreign Language

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⏱ TIMESTAMPS
0:00 - The Prize & The Problem
1:10 - Non-Fiction
2:38 - Translations
3:28 - Kindle Books
4:48 - Parallel Texts
6:14 - Side-by-Side Reading
7:26 - Blogs
8:30 - Graded Readers
10:21 - Children's Books?
11:32 - Take Action!
📜 SOURCES & ATTRIBUTIONS:
@creatorways
creatorways.com/basic-lightin...

[@hugobourgon198]

The exception amongst kid books is "Le petit prince" because it actually is a mature topic explained to kids.

[@eisenhorn7588]

I import everything I want to read into LingQ and it has completely changed my language learning experience. Over the last 3 months I went from not being able to say anything in German to being able to converse (albeit in a broken fashion).

[@storylearning]

LingQ is awesome

[@eisenhorn7588]

@@storylearning Oh, I should mention Olly that I'm currently reading your short story and conversation books for German. These combined with LingQ have been wonderful. Vielen Dank!

[@asiatic_african]

I don’t know how to work it

[@KSLAMB-uz4it]

I import most things into Lingq. Olly's 101 conversations in Mexican Spanish is the latest.

[@asiatic_african]

@@KSLAMB-uz4it how do you do that

[@Tranquility-Base]

For any french learners out there trying to get into novels, i've found that books that don't use passé simple are incredibly useful and makes your experience a lot more enjoyable - La Fille du Train is a great example

[@keithkannenberg7414]

That's a good idea. That probably means more modern, colloquial fiction. I've been working my way through Le Comte de Monte Cristo and it took a while to internalize the irregular passe simple forms.

[@netsurfer3655]

Passé Simple, it's such an ugly tense. Thanks for the suggestion.

[@cleanthe3276]

Sadly for the French literature it's more and more common, but it's easier for you learners ! It's a different feeling of reading for us the native speakers, more direct, it's like we're forced to live the action with the character. I personally don't really like it, I feel like I'm reading a blog or a diary. And it seems that the writers don't want to burden themselves with the complexity of the "passé simple". It's not a tense that we use while speaking so the writers need to make an effort to use it ! But I understand that it's easier for you, start with that kind of books of course. I just hope that you will be able to read other novels afterwards. Passé simple is also part of the French language. I'm at the end of the Harry Potter German's version, I don't have any problem reading the verbs in the past. Is it such a difficulty in French ?

[@au5166]

Thanks for that book reference. I've been learning French for over 4 months but made many mistakes. I'm now using lingQ which has been a big step fwd (I didn't do this in the beginning and regret it). Question: when you're reading, how often do you stop and look up a word or phrase? Do you focus a lot on structure? Do you read aloud? I'm still a little stuck in the traditional teaching methods of knowing each word and the sentence structure. I need to "let go" and let the natural process work for me. Any advice?

[@JackCoxMSquirrel]

Your graded reader in Swedish got me into reading Swedish after a number of failed attempts. Now I'm onto authentic novels. Really great resource.

[@storylearning]

That’s amazing, well done!

[@qwert36130]

Olly, thanks for this video. I’m currently reading a non-fiction book in Spanish called ‘Cultura en el mundo hispanohablante’ it’s for learners in the range of A2-B1. It speaks about all the countries that speak Spanish, whether it’s official or not. I like it as it’s colourful, has pictures, there’s a small amount of activities for understanding comprehension and each country is structured into 5 sections: info about it, daily life, celebrations, culture, and travel. Good for those that want to learn more about Latin America, Spain etc.

[@519djw6]

*For those learning German or Russian, I have some suggestions regarding children's books that do not contain nonce-words, but rather real language that one will come across in everyday life: For German, the books of Erich Kästner, the most famous of which is "Emil und die Detektive" (Emil and the Detectives). And for Russian, many of the short stories by Lev Tolstoy (not necessarily written only for children), such as "Акула" (The Shark).*

[@dg7438]

Thanks. I'm learning Russian, so anything helps.

[@519djw6]

@@dg7438 Пожалуйста!

[@APlusRussian]

@@dg7438 you can also try the Russian translation of Thumbelina - ДЮЙМОВОЧКА. Some useful colloquial expressions in that one!

[@dg7438]

@@APlusRussian thank you

[@lucie442]

I’m German and hate more suggestions for great books to read:)

[@tonyobrien6282]

I've been learning Irish with Duolingo and now I've started to read children's books at about the 10 or early teen ages. They've been great for building vocabulary and understanding language structures. I've tried books for older readers but it's still a hard slog, so I wouldn't dismiss this phase of learning.

[@talideon]

It probably helps that Irish has a rich literary tradition, and a lot of great translators, all things considered. I mean TG4 managed to get SpongeBob and South Park (animated, but not a kid's show, naturally) accurately translated with excellent voice acting, and they run on a shoe string!

[@mollyrooney7268]

what books do you read? im an irish student and would love to know so i can increase my vocab! thanks!

[@tonyobrien6282]

@@mollyrooney7268 I started with 'Oícheanta Sí' by Mícheál mac Liammóir, as it has English/Irish pages side by side. Then 'Amach' by Alan Titley, 'Lá leis na Lochlannaigh' by Máire Zepf and 'Hiúdaí Beag' by Eithne Ní Ghallchobhair; an advantage with these is that they are all around 60 pages long, and its tiring when you first read in another language. 'Katfish' by Ógie Ó Céilleachair is very good, a book of short stories, 90 pages this time. There are translations of children's classics available too; 'An Prionsa Beag' by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry and 'An Leon, an Bandraoi agus an Prios Éadaigh' by C.S. Lewis for example.

[@mollyrooney7268]

@@tonyobrien6282 thank you so much! really appreciated because i found it really hard for find books in irish so thank you!!

[@mollyrooney7268]

@@tonyobrien6282 also how have you been getting on with studying irish, i find it so hard lol and ive been learning it for like 9 plus years haha...do you have any special study tips?

[@senshtatulo]

I like to read Wikipedia in different languages. It can be challenging, of course, but it's also fun. I pick whatever topic I want, and then read about that topic in whatever language I want although many topics are not available in minor languages. And if I get really stuck on a word, Wiktionary is right there, too.

[@keithkannenberg7414]

On the topic of parallel texts and side by side reading, one thing that I've done is to have a digital copy of the translation but to only refer to it at the end of chapters. Read a chapter in the target language extensively, then go back and reread the same chapter in the translation to make sure you haven't missed important elements of the story. This lets you immerse yourself in the target language and avoid the temptation to have your head in a dictionary or the translation, while still taking advantage of the translation to help you understand the content. As I've gotten better with my target language I no longer reread the chapters in English but will check back occasionally to clarify something I was struggling with. This seems better than intensively reading that troublesome passage.

[@kerim.peardon5551]

Interesting. That's how I've been watching TV shows on Netflix: once in Polish, then again with the English subtitles turned on to catch the details.

[@jeffreybarker357]

Glad to see you getting back to stories as a tool, Olly! Appreciated your honest on kids’ stories and your thoughts on graded readers.

[@storylearning]

Cheers Jeffrey!

[@mickeyFin7]

I almost jettisoned this video at first because it was in a language I couldn’t understand. Then I realized it was in the Queens English. I quickly adjusted my brain and took in a lot of valuable information. I am trying to learn Spanish. Thanks from a Minnesota Yankee. By the way, I understood every word. Ya sure you betcha. 😊

[@KirbyLinkACW]

9:01 I'm actually really glad you brought this up, because I'd always mention that I'm reading a Japanese grader reader or the like, and they'd always fight with "that's not authentic."

[@storylearning]

Ignore the purists!

[@kerim.peardon5551]

Everyone reads graded readers when they're learning their own language. Why would you suddenly jump straight into adult books when learning a second language?

[@TheDanishGuyReviews]

Just started a long Swedish novel. It's going very well so far. I've even learned new words through it thanks to figuring it out from context.

[@azotic1]

At the risk of adding another comment to recommend a children's book that feels better than typical for that kind of thing, in my efforts to read more Icelandic, I've been having a lot of success with the Icelandic translations of Ben Clanton's "Narwhal and Jelly" series. These books are mostly presented as conversations between the characters, they don't suffer from having lots of specialized vocabulary that's not applicable elsewhere, and they're really funny for adults as well as children. I'm reading a range of different kinds of material, but these are among the most entertaining I've found at my level (which is probably in the A2 range.)

[@lio.wagner]

Reading my favorite books in different language is my go to language learning tool, also very useful in audiobook format, set it to slow and you can really get used to the way words are pronounced as well and at the same better helps with understanding native speakers. Plus it’s great for busy people who are on the go

[@SpanishWithLiliana]

This is so true. When I began learning English, I read a lot (after I learned the basics), and that helped me so much in my writing and comprehension (not so much on pronunciation though). Thanks for the tips.

[@LewisOsborne]

I was really enjoying understanding most of your beginner Spanish book and now im onto the intermediate the concentration is needed again 😮‍💨

[@Algazhan]

Thank you Olly for everything you do! You are great!

[@storylearning]

Wow, that’s a nice comment to receive :)

[@nadiayc85]

thank you! great ideas.

[@allencallahan1478]

Superb content, superbly presented - as usual. And gorgeous Brazilian soundtrack!

[@rclose23]

Great information! In addition to using Olly‘s short stories in German, I have found great benefit from first writing down the text in German, I am using Luther‘s 1912 Bible, in a nice journal and then translating. I know the Bible stories already, grammar is simple and repetitive, plus I get the added benefit of looking carefully at the spelling. Love your videos and continue to be encouraged to spend a few minutes each day interacting with my target language.

[@travelcrip715]

Just finishing your beginners Spanish one and I read the intermediate one and my first Spanish book last year called Abrazar el éxito. Gonna buy your war Spanish book but some of the reviews on amazon mention you use British, English, Scottish etc interchangeably. I'm sure I'll enjoy it anyway.

[@brittrecruitment4415]

Very good, thank you Oli

[@neverstoplearning2]

I'm learning ASL, and THIS video helped me understand how I could apply "Storylearning" to that...I have found many great youtube channels in ASL and most of the time they have closed captions...parallel reading! Eureka, I get it. Thanks a mil.

[@UnschoolingtheSpitz]

I really appreciate all of your videos! You are always so positive. Also, it is refreshing to watch interesting videos with my children without any cussing 🤬 Keep up the good work; we are inspired to continue on our journey towards fluent Spanish ❤️

[@netsurfer3655]

Here's something that works for me. I chose an author - the first time I did this, it was with Dan Brown's books on the "Da Vinci Code" - and then read the series. I find that the author tends to use the same or similar words and constructions, and this gives me the repetition I need but without learning by rote. Mind you, I'm not entirely against rote learning. Also ... whilst I am it ... can anyone give me any suggestions for blogs in the French language?

[@tomate3391]

> I find that the author tends to use the same or similar words and constructions I came to the same conclusion. That is why, at least according to my experience, the first third of a new book with a different author is more difficult than the rest of it.

[@netsurfer3655]

@@tomate3391 yes, I agree. I have the same experience.

[@perdidonoglobo]

I love your videos. Every time I learn something new. I recently bought a Kindle Fire so that I could read from a screen a little bigger than a smartphone. The tablet came with Alexa, so I sometimes ask her to read ebooks to me while I follow along with the text. Mostly I am trying to read without looking up words because I want to understand solely by the context. But now that I know, thanks to you, that I can touch an unknown word for the translation I might be doing this at times... but not too often. I still want my brain to be engaged even while enjoying a good story. Btw, I liked very much your 101 Conversations in Mexican Spanish. I plan on reading it again, this time without the help of that ubiquitous AI. Thanks a bunch.

[@Dannykhc]

I've gone through the first five Asterix books in German, as I ploughed through them, I compiled a glossary on Word document so I can look up certain words again quickly when I reread them. Great for getting used to using the familiar second person du, the comics used du a lot, and a lot of useful phrases such as "kommt nicht in Frage" and "auf der Stelle" and verbs such as besiegen and erbarmen. Currently going through the 6th comic, Asterix und Kleopatra.

[@jojoflark835]

And for your next reading.. TINTIN ? You found a very good way to learn a language

[@chrislowe6926]

Parallel texts in two languages you are learning can be very good - each of the languages supports the other. And because neither text is your native language, you won’t be overly reliant on one of the texts and not read the other.

[@haleymorrow6507]

I've been reading French after being in classes for about 11 years (Canadian) and I've found that reading books I've already read is very helpful, such as Les Étoiles Contraires (Yhe Fault in Our Stars), or just reading 'children's' novels such as Le Petit Prince or La Dame Rose are great. They are beautiful stories while being on the easier side for reading. I also tend to write any words I don't know in pencil on the page so that I can keep re-reading the book until I don't need the assistance of my dictionary

[@MyOm100]

I'm reading Spanish children books with a lot of drawings. It has helped me a lot, and there is also a clear and easy story to follow. So as long as I can follow that, I can understand what's going on even if I don't understand all the words.

[@Daniel_Firmino]

10:21 In my opion, chidren's book could a good way to learn a langage because of its simplier vocabulary and figures, however it's better that you read this kind of book that apeals to adults too like books that was addapted of a great children movie you liked or a book that you feels nostalgic about or ones about cultural myths of your target language.

[@loisavci3382]

It helps to remember that your first novels in a new language do not have to be great literature. An entertaining whodunit or other light reading might be a better place to start. It also helps to stay with a single author for a while, until you master the vocabulary that author uses a lot, and then move on to another one.

[@senshtatulo]

Indeed. I have read several romances in Spanish, and while I've given up on romances in English (because they tend to be basically the same story), it's very helpful for all the ancillary information (structures and vocabulary) given in the new language.

[@tonycanderton1975]

it so interesting you have really opened up the study of how to learn a language I am a remainer and against brexit and I am planing to move to France language is the one thing that will be the most important step vive la Résistance

[@ninjavox365]

My mother bought me Harry Potter à l’école des sorcières when I said I wanted to learn French. I started reading it at school during study hall but I stopped at around page 50 because it was just exhausting on my mind. I could actually tell what was happening in the story and my friends loved my accent when I read.

[@irinaspalve8356]

I bought the same book but in Spanish. But in the beginning of last summer it was too much for me. Now I had a look into the book, it didn't seem too difficult anymore

[@jooshozzono7249]

@@irinaspalve8356 eso pasa con el español XD es fácil de aprender porque es fonético en su mayoría, pocas letras mudas y en su mayoría siguen reglas gramaticales uwu keep it up, aprender inglés es divertido XD todo lo que me gusta viene de los gringos uwu

[@sabertooth4587]

Never thought of reading screenplays that's a nice idea if you can find some in your target language. Personnally, I remember I also started by following japanese artists (or anyone I was interested in really) on twitter. It's nice that tweets are pretty short. Ofc I didn't understand everything but I still got to at least practice kanji since beginner kanji are usually commonly used.

[@artiesolomon3292]

I find this an excellent source of where to go in reading a foreign language. I learned the hard way exactly what you say about children's books which are widely available in our libraries. I have lists of words and their meanings from kids' books which I will never see again.

[@storylearning]

Thanks Artie 👍🏼

[@foreverlearningfrench]

Oui, je suis d'accord avec toi Olly. Les podcasts sont excellents pour apprendre les langues. De plus, les livres pour enfants ne sont pas toujours faciles à lire.

[@rogeralford1285]

Interesting point about children’s books. I use them, but try to find ones that interest me. I’ve been reading the Mortina series by Barbara Cantini in my Italian studies, which are illustrated books about a zombie girl. I really love the stories and the Tim Burton-style artwork is great. And they’re authentic Italian.

[@Ecosse57]

thanks for the tip! any others?

[@MayankChawla86]

The remark 'Childrens's books are not easy' is both funny and true! Lol, Thank you Ollie!

[@darrenmeachem8290]

The kindle thing is great. Just a little limited with my target language ( Brazilian Portuguese) and my beginner level. But will keep going :)

[@learnvoiceart18]

Great job👍👍👍 regards 💞

[@langolingo8092]

I love that room

[@vitotigani]

Bravo, concordo con tutto quello che hai detto!

[@DWTin]

Olly will you do a Short Stories in Welsh book one day? I saw you were doing an Irish one, so a Welsh one would make sense too.

[@storylearning]

Yes, it’s in the works

[@fsKarrena]

Sir I love your shirt and videos!!!

[@khouloudbahri1311]

I speak 3 languages but learning the 4th one is the most challenging bcz I just couldn't stop my mind from switching from french to german , then from german to english , and I sometimes switch to my mother language ''Arabic" , so I decided to delete all the translations websites and to stick to a Deutch-Deutch Dictionnary , I personnally think that this is the best way for me to learn it. I think that the most important thing about learning a language is to think in that specific language and to understand its logic and the fact to choose to switch between 2 languages or more like in my case will make the learning process less enjoyable yet so tiring ,and also I'd rather to stick with 1 page for 2 hours and I learn at least 10 new words than to read 200 pages/day and to learn only 2

[@nathanielscreativecollecti6392]

Thanks for validating my current study habits while giving some new ideas! Are you planning on releasing new books to read in Japanese? I look forward to your Japanese short stories.

[@storylearning]

Yes, japanese short stories are coming out in May

[@nathanielscreativecollecti6392]

@@storylearning Bravo!

[@Learninglotsoflanguages]

How'd you know I've been binging Stephen Krashen and thinking I should up my reading more? :) Nice video. Though I like my TL children's books because I have two young kids that like to read them with me :) And I'm an elementary teacher, so it's a fun thing to read with students, too.

[@katrina-kayalaimo4960]

Not mentioned in the video, but would also recommend reading a book that you liked the movie of. The overarching plot will probably be the same but the nitty gritty parts may not be. So that means it's still challenging but you aren't completely lost.

[@amypond1814]

I must say I like children books, though I tend to get books that are for around 7year olds and going up. I currently read “la casa del árbol” and another book series that is inspiriert by it, the first is called Todas para una. I find it very helpful and the same I do for Kids TV. I don’t like small children books nor small children TV because they are boring.

[@flamencocristobal]

Just went to Amazon for the Topics that Matter books...and it seems the only ones available are in Spanish....I really enjoy Olly's method.....I speak a good number of languages and suffered because we didn't have such resources....I'm using the Olly's Russian books...and read them with the audio from Audible from Amazon....which I enjoy....but like he said...fiction...so I do hope these Topic books come out in other languages....especially Russian!!! Thanks Olly....I appreciate your work!!!

[@storylearning]

Cheers! This year we’re releasing the TTM books in multiple topics and languages

[@thetjhproject]

Along with this advice i still find children's books useful for word use

[@tomburton8279]

All solid recommendations I wish I used when I was learning French. But I'd be curious to hear your recommendations for input or reading options in diglossic languages like Arabic. To simplify, the formal written Arabic is quite different to the spoken dialect I am learning, specifically Levantine Arabic (Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Jordan). The problem is that few written materials exist for my spoken dialect (A bit different for the Egyptian dialect which is relatively well catered for). The vast majority of the written content in the Arab world, outside of texting, in my experience is in formal written Arabic (referred to as Modern Standard Arabic in the West). Beyond a smattering of graded readers, the reading or reading + audio options seem thin. I'm at roughly a lower intermediate level, and I am unsure whether to: 1. increase my tolerance for ambiguity while focusing on compelling audio/video content which is usually at a higher level 2. go down the Benny Lewis-esque in-country conversations/immersion for extraverts route 3. get back into reading Modern Standard Arabic which has loads of graded content. My suspicion is that this dilemma means that excellent comprehensible reading-oriented products like yours, or LingQ, avoid many Arabic dialects because of the scarcity of written content. Hope that makes sense and would love to hear from other Arabic learners, those with a similar issue, or a solution. Cheers!

[@user-tv2iq9kd9q]

Why do you want to read Levantine Arabic? I mean, if most of the media is in modern Arabic, isn't it better to focus on that? At least now I'm trying to improve my knowledge of modern Arabic. I know there are some books, here in Israel there are, when I started learning Levantine Arabic I mostly read song texts

[@londongael]

Olly, I love your content and the way you present it. There is so much excellent advice in this video, but I have to disagree (somewhat) about children's books. I love good children's books, in any language, including my native English, so, for me, that would be reading something I am interested in. (BTW, it's a lo-o-ong time since I was a child!) They are not *all* full of fantastical or obscure vocabulary - many are about everyday life and daily routines, with lots of illustrations to give context. They tend to be short, which helps in the early stages. The best ones are simply good books, in authentic language, that any reader can enjoy or get something out of - non-fiction kids' books are a great resource as well. Many English language children's books are widely translated, so, for some, they can be a good source of familiar material. Of course, kids' books do not appeal to all adults (some adults are just not old enough to appreciate them ;-D ) , in which case, fair enough. But if they do appeal to you, I would say, why not read them in your target language, along with other materials?

[@clairegittens3707]

Learned that kids books thing the hard way. My first book in Japanese was “Ruby the Red Fairy.” Spent the whole book bored out of my mind and only finished it to say I had read a full-length book in Japanese. I forgot the entire content of the story 3 seconds after I closed the book. The next book I read was Harry Potter and it took eons and fantasy has a ton of words you will never use. ( Like, the only time I use the Japanese for wand is to tell the story of how I read Harry Potter and learned wand, a word I have never once used.) However I did actually learn words and I got comfortable with seeing a bunch of kanji in a row, something that is usually frightening when you start out in a language with a different writing system. Long story short. I have not read a kids book as a learning method for myself since.

[@APlusRussian]

You mentioned Kindle. Are audio books fair game? 🤔

[@storylearning]

Sure, audio along with text always helps

[@netsurfer3655]

Reading English translations (or watching English movies, etc, dubbed into, in my case, French, is an interesting way to go. However, somehow (PhD for someone?), they just seem easier to grasp. I'm not talking about stories with which I'm already familiar but ones I encounter for the first time. I have my own ideas about this but, thoughts, anyone?

[@Emilio_Russo]

As an italian and a fan of Kazuo Kamikura, i'm amazed to see that the italian versions of Kamimura's works are bought by fans all over the world.

[@jackherbic6048]

For japanese did you read a lot of books with furigana first or did you jump into Kanji from the get go?

[@frankie1233]

Fan fiction guys; you can choose what interests you, often vocab repetition, choose the level of difficulty and if it’s a translation of a popular fic like atyd on ao3 you can parallel read.

[@tony.ponkeo]

Hey, Olly! I’m an intermediate Spanish learner wanting to tackle “Don Quixote.” Should I read the English translation first or dive right in the original Spanish?

[@annehabermeier7523]

Anybody has recommendations for Levantine Arabic, a language that is only used for oral communication since everything that is written in Arabic is written in Fusha? Or anybody has general tips for spoken languages? I believe in reading as a great way to improve, but I find it quite hard with my current target language

[@yaoiboilover]

I have harry potter in Japanese :3 Do you think reading aloud will help with speaking? I think it helps me to make sure I am reading (and not skimming as I have a tendency to do in reading in general). Would love to know what you think

[@abigaillafey7171]

I thought your name was familiar. I bought one of your short stories books in German a while back

[@cristinal6166]

Hi! I'm learning your language, although I have a good level, I guess. My question is: would you recommend reading newspapers or novels?? I mean, are newspapers more useful than novels according to you? Thanks!

[@fishalish90]

Do you have any plans to publish short stories in European Portuguese? I'm struggling to find appropriate books that aren't in Brazilian Portuguese. Thanks

[@davidm943]

How would I be able to find a link for finding that MUJI book? Thanks!

[@caydo9959]

can you done of these videos but about learning while watching tv?

[@Pblancostuff]

Hi Olly, if you’re interested in a subject that’s been covered in a book, but you import it into LingQ and have around 35-40% unknown words, would you still suggest to read it or would that be too distracting? I’m at the stage where I’m just just under intermediate in Spanish and therefore the beginner books are now very boring but the Spanish novels are quite difficult to read fluidly because of vocabulary deficiency. How many words should one know on LingQ before reading non graded, non children books/content?

[@seoul_mate]

Hi, fellow Lingq user here. As Steve Kauffman rightly pointed out, there is no special moment where you feel ready to jump into native material. What he means by that is there is no smooth transition between graded readers and native texts. I have personally studied Korean texts with 70% unknown words. It is tedious at first, but keep persevering. I would urge anyone to ditch sheltered reading as soon as they are past the beginner stage.

[@Pblancostuff]

@@seoul_mate Thanks for your reply. Can you still follow the story at only 30% comprehension? How can you personally tell that you're learning? I can't wait to get out of these graded books but the jump up seems quite significant.

[@seoul_mate]

@@Pblancostuff It's a bit difficult but manageable thanks to the pop up dictionary. I can see I am improving because my word count is going up and my comprehension is better than it was a few weeks/months ago. At the beginning ,you could opt for native short stories and articles as the format is shorter and less daunting than a full length novel. When I open my graded readees now, they seem fairly easy to me which is another sign of improvement.

[@Pblancostuff]

@@seoul_mate Ok well thanks for your insight. I might try and get to 3,000 known words and then transition to books. Currently on 2500 known words. Have been using KZbin transcriptions from Spanish/English language vloggers because the graded content got so tedious. The transcripts have been serving me well, a lot of repeated words and a variety of different topics, but can't wait to get stuck into a good novel.

[@ivm1646]

How do you know what is your level in order to get the right book from graded readers and what’s the website of them???

[@shankaranand2130]

When are you going to release German uncovered intermediate course please ❤️

[@storylearning]

Really soon, I think April

[@ianstobie]

Children's illustrated HISTORY books may be an exception to your general point about children's books, and may be worth considering. I agree that generally children's books are pretty dull for an adult, and stuffed with irrelevant vocabulary. But I found a cheap children's history book in my target language to be both helpful and interesting. The subject matter was already largely familiar because I'd read up on it in English. But the kids book was full of dates, timelines and fanciful illustrations of the key incidents and people. The language was fairly simple. And it was fascinating to see how they presented their own history to their children.

[@amiirezashojaee5291]

what about reading and listening to it's audiobook at the same time?

[@jimmeven1120]

There's children's books and then there's children's literature, which is not the same thing. Publishers have a category they call "young adult fiction", that is, real literature meant to appeal to readers aged about 11-15, and it may or may not be of interest to an adult. Philip Pullman would be a good example in English of a "young adult" writer who is also widely read by grown-ups. If anyone is looking for good not-too-difficult Dutch literature, I recommend Jan Terlouw, author of Koning van Katoren and Oorlogswinter. Almost every Dutch person you meet has read those two books.

[@RogierYou]

Any thoughts about magazines and newspapers?

[@evilruss2]

OMG when is World War 2 in Simple German coming out?!?!? I recently re-watched the Hobbit films and realised its been years since I read the book. Thinking of your suggestions, I brought the Hobbit in German. It's difficult because Tolkien uses a lot of flowery language in the Hobbit, but it is material I really want to read and I'm making progress.

[@MDobri-sy1ce]

Hey, Olly do you list your live streams?

[@storylearning]

Not really doing live streams any more

[@MDobri-sy1ce]

@@storylearning Awww. I was hoping the old ones were archived if people wanted to watch though.

[@jondoucet1575]

I want that shirt! Lol how and where do I get one?! I have six of your books already also!

[@storylearning]

Pampling, in Spain

[@jondoucet1575]

@@storylearning thanks! Time to book some flights. Thanks for all the work you do! It’s appreciated.

[@kamen_aruno]

For japanese , visual novel is quite interessing because you have the combination speaking dialogue and transcription. If you are into gaming, J-RPG with a lot of text and dialgoue can very motivating. I thing about game like persona, Tales of serie and Legend of Heroes. Especially "The legend of heroes" series which a very detailled and large world building. There are vocabulary for everything : daily life, school, politics, economics, technology, culture, etc . Playing these game is quite rewarding and you could learn a lots of word and expression in very immersing and wonderfuld world =D If you are in anime, magazine anime are quite good too for reading . Like Monthly Newtype and Animage. Lots of review and interview from anime staff, light novel writer, voice actor. It's also very instructive. Japanese is quite harsh but thank to its very fascinating pop-culture , we can have a lot enjoying material to learn it =D

[@lucie442]

Any suggestions for beginner books in Japanese for kindle?

[@herbanAlaska]

No individual book lasts a week with me. 😅 To choose one method and do it for a week I would need 2-5 books a week to do something fresh.

[@bellevoor]

On the contrary, Children's books can be repetitive and come with pictures so it's a good way to learn vocab and grammar structures. Think the Very Hungry Caterpillar or Green eggs a d ham

[@bobbirubinstein8462]

Your WW2 and Climate Change books in Spanish are great because I already know so much about these subjects. Looking forward to more nonfiction in Spanish.

[@rengirl94]

I feel like people that give the advice to read kids books don’t appreciate how incredibly nuanced and complex children’s books can be

[@YogaBlissDance]

They really aren't at least in Enlish but as Oily says they often contain nonsense words of funny word order etc. And they are truly dull dull dull for an adult.

[@rengirl94]

Yoga Bliss Dance i guess it depends on the content. I’m having a way easier time reading non-fiction books written for adults in target language. And a lot of kids stuff does have really emotionally moving characterization that requires reading between the lines and would be lost of language learners.

[@talideon]

I would disagree a little with the last one: books that are *solely* intended for kids are probably best avoided, bit books that are aimed at kids but also enjoyed by adults are good. A good example might be the Artimis Fowl books, which have lots of translations, are written with language a kid would understand, but don't talk down to them and are enjoyed by adults. I think it's unwise to brush off kids books without some kind of qualification.

[@lucie442]

Kids books are also very boring to me and not engaging enough, or I might not have found the right ones yet!

[@asadkhan-um6uo]

Hi Olly, Do you have world war II book translated into German? I would like to buy it. Thanks

[@tomate3391]

I never understood why they recommend for beginners to read children books or even worse, fairy tales. Once I was asked if the person should read the fairy tales of the Grimm Brothers to learn German. Hell no! :D. They have many outdated words or expressions and I don't think they are easier to read than other novels at all, especially for advanced beginners. I usually only read stuff for native speakers. As I started to read in Spanish I read short articles of news which I had already seen in German or transcripts of videos. Or following Live blogs with additional videos is a great way to read (and see what you have read). Later I switched to books for native speaker. First I read it on my computer with a reader in which I can search by only one click in the internet at different ressources (like wiki, RAE or dictionaries) and mark the sentences, with the benefit, that I know how many times I had to look up words or expressions.

[@arturodiaz8018]

Alguna sugerencia para portugués brasileño????

[@franklinnpotato1302]

1:44 i can't believe this.. I'm actually reading that book and he opened it in a spoiler

[@storylearning]

😵

[@nendoakuma7451]

Yeah, good observation. Non-fiction does tend to be easier than fiction, on average.

[@user-us7zt5fz5j]

Didn't know this video is referring to beginners, I was hoping to be able to finish a whole book in 2 days instead of 5 lol.

[@palacioed17]

How do you look for the script of a movie in Japanese? Where did you buy it?! 😍

[@storylearning]

In japan!

[@browndiamond779]

Hey

[@Yujiitadori7273]

How about reading the chapter in English, and then reading it over again in the target language?

[@storylearning]

Sure, if you find it works

[@Sheycompany]

I personally love reading children’s books

[@gabguy]

Please fix your “Short Stories in Turkish” book (the Kindle version) which lacks the letter 'ğ' in all of the stories! It is very confusing to try and read like that.

[@katewaters5092]

I.am not a fan of parallel text either - too easy to cheat and not trust yourself. I would rather have have a whole different book (in my language) to go to if I absolutely need to.

[@cottingcandles1645]

I'm someone who doubts her doing constantly. Can you "not learn" while reading? My biggest fear is that I keep reading, watching videos and tv shows in French and at the end of the day, I still haven't reached my goals. I have been studying French for 6 months intensively now (2hrs tutoring lessons per week, 2+ every day of video content, writing multiple short texts each week, 2-3hrs of grammar study per week). The only other language I've ever learned before was English, as German is actually my mother tongue.

[@mikehawk817]

Probier doch einfach mal ein Examen für ein gewisses Level, z.B. B2 etc. Außerdem könnten Gespräche mit Muttersprachlern auch hilfreich sein, um zu schauen ob man vorankommt

[@cottingcandles1645]

@@mikehawk817 ich spreche 2x pro Woche für 1h mit Muttersprachlern. Ich habe schon diverse Tests online gemacht. Da bekomme ich alles von A1-B1. Das finde ich irgendwie nicht sehr zuverlässig, leider.

[@mikehawk817]

@@cottingcandles1645 Würde mich mal beim Tutor erkundigen!

[@foreskinh8ter]

hwow

[@yellowstone169601845]

Man, you are way too down on kids' books. There are many many amazing children's books out there that are at least as compelling for adult readers as they are for kids. Some examples: The Wizard of Oz, Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland, The Hobbit, Le petit prince, Die Unendliche Geschichte, Where the Wild Things Are, Wind in the Willows, The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, Harry Potter, Charlotte's Web, Watership Down, Treasure Island, and many books by Roald Dahl and Dr. Seuss.