Comprehensible Input: How To Make Input MORE COMPREHENSIBLE In Language Learning

Comprehensible input is a very popular topic, but I think there is often a big piece of that conversation missing when a lot of people talk about it. I think this relates closely to the issue of perfectionism in language learning. Today, I discuss my thoughts on this and focus in on how you can make input materials MORE comprehensible and achieve wonderful results in acquiring language and building fluency!
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[@gansogames4927]

Another tip is to consume content that you've already consumed in your native language. I read a lot of books in Spanish that I've already read in English.

[@RobinMacPhersonFilms]

Yep 100%! I meant to mention this in the video and right after was like “damn it” haha thanks for posting it 😄

[@jnnschnll9008]

Best advice! I currently reread my favourite childrens' novel "Sofies Welt". As a child I listened to the audio book over and over again. I'm amazed how much I can understand in Japanese, simply because I already know the story.

[@drts6955]

I honestly think it depends on the person. I recognise this is a great strategy but I can't bring myself to do it. I prefer to struggle through a classic in the original. It's easier as it interests me. My Irish took a massive jump when I discovered very old fashioned dialect books. Way more difficult but ended up reading so much more as loved

[@marty.l]

That's very good advice.

[@jerichogonzales1290]

I'm using disney plus to learn Japanese finished watching the parent trap.

[@mannymoonstone8486]

I really appreciate this. No one really talks about making things more comprehensible, just that it needs to be.

[@RK-yx6ir]

Exactly! "Don't waste your time on anything but things you can understand a ton of" K.... I don't know the language yet...

[@jakebarratt5652]

I totally agree!

[@jjjessika]

exactly! i just got so confused how i'm gonna make it comprehensive and where to find those comprehensible materials

[@michaelyuan3382]

During high school in the U.S., I started reading English extensively with a vocabulary of probably just a few hundred words but forced myself to look up every word I didn't know. As I read more, the number of words I had to look up decreased from 80-90% to maybe a handful on a page. Within 2-3 years I scored within 99%tile on the SAT. If you have the determination and the self-discipline to look up all the necessary words, any level of reading is comprehensible input.

[@pilarguerrero12874]

I am an English teacher (Spanish is my first language) and I do my best to show students how they can learn and improve their English using methods that are suitable for them. When I watch your videos I feel I am not lost in my own ideas, because I agree with what you are explaining about comprehensible input - and how to make your own comprehensible input. But what makes me the happiest is to realize the influece KZbin and the Internet in general is having on education. Eight years ago I did an MA in TEFL and when I see the content you are sharing here on KZbin, I feel hopeful. Your ideas challenge what I learned in the MA but they support what I always felt was true for me deep inside. Thanks a lot, Robin. I have enjoyed your video immensely!

[@RobinMacPhersonFilms]

Hi Pilar! Thanks so much for this wonderful comment, I really appreciate you sharing this! I agree with you and I'm very optimistic about the positive impact the internet is having on education. I can hardly even begin to express how grateful I am that I've been able to study and learn so many things online and see/hear/read so many peoples' ideas. It's honestly so nice to read that you feel my ideas challenge what you learned in the MA but resonate with what you feel is true deep inside. I absolutely love trying to present new ideas or at least new ways of thinking about established ideas, but it's always a bit scary. So it's very encouraging to read that you found this helpful and enjoyable. Thanks so much for your support and encouragement!

[@derekgreen7319]

I know duo lingo gets hated on. But it really helped me get to a very basic low reading level and from there I was able to go to graded readers in spanish. And I even got the audio books for them. Getting to books and audio books is the key. So do whatever it takes to get that early level of reading

[@RosalioRedPanda]

Similar story for me. It’s not too bad for a starter to European languages.

[@jsweebles2150]

I agree, I think Duolingo is good as a starter and for supplementinf study. I think it does better at having many languages which can be hard to find maybe. Many hate on it for the random sentences bur atleast it teaches words in a context.

[@brandonmeza3077]

I agree learn the basics to be able to understand a story and from the i use audio and physical books to learn more As for output I practice speaking and writing using apps such as tandem

[@negan.defender]

it never has the languages i want to learn 😔

[@derekgreen7319]

@@negan.defender well if you want to learn obscure languages , that's sort of the nature of it.

[@connorgioiafigliu]

I always love looking back after I finish a book in a foreign language and seeing how my annotations become more and more spread out as I get closer to the end!

[@blueicer101]

These techniques are crazy good advice. It's really amazingly simple and clear. Obviously when you only comprehend 10-30% you won't learn because it's not comprehensible input so just take the extra time to comprehend it, theres no shame in that. And when you don't get an entire thing fully just watch it again. Im really glad i watched this video.

[@luluirizar6291]

When I was studying english it was very difficult because there were no internet no cellphones no computers (in the 80's) but I used books dictionaries and tv ....and I 've learned it....now I'm very fortunate because internet has everything at my hands and free . 😬 happy about that!!!! A2 in french .

[@tommybinson]

Same for me in French! Ditto for learning guitar - then versus recent years. 😊

[@prudenceblue]

So nice to hear this! I’m studying Italian and I just decided to start reading through kids fables starting with Cinderella. These have the added bonus that I know what’s going on, I just need to be absorbed by the language. I’m also journaling in Italian and hopefully next month I’ll start a KZbin channel in Italian for my crafting projects.

[@coolbrotherf127]

I still think that memorizing vocab, at least in the very beginner phase is really important. When I started learning Japanese, I worked really hard to memorize about 1000 common Japanese words with their kanji and it made my comprehension shoot way up before I had even really studied much of the grammar. Between studying vocab and some immersion everyday, I progressed much more quickly than the traditional classroom setting. Part of comprehension is understanding so even just knowing the dictionary form of a word can go a long way towards understanding sentences that were above my current level. With a good basis for vocab from the start, I didn't need to use graded readers or children's books/shows to start understanding Japanese.

[@superlambda4144]

Totally agreed!

[@TheCompleteGuitarist]

All you did was aclimatize yourself to the language. You should read up what all this means. I would suggest Bill VanPatten as his work is recent and in line with Chomsky and Krashen. Native speakers in all languages still make comprehension, grammar and linguistic errors with parts of the language that they don't use often even when they 'know' it. Basically your anecdote says the science is wrong and all the grammar teachers are right and yet, grammar teachers barely ever get close to helping all their students to fluency and yet everyone who learnt their native language using the methods outlined by the science and those teaching themselves more regularly get to fluency. I would add, in your favour, that your motivation (no one memorizes 1000 words without motivation) was an ally. Yet native speakers still achieve all that without the motivation. I say this as a language teacher (of 35 years) invested in finding the best strategies to help my students and as a language learner. I learnt spanish without having to memorize a single thing.

[@coolbrotherf127]

@@TheCompleteGuitarist I would like to clarify some specifics because I think you misinterpreted my original comment. I should have specifically said "acquired" and not "memorized" as that sounds like I just looked at individual words for hours until I knew them. I did use Anki to help review words, but most of my study was just from watching native level online video content and TV shows according to the immersion methods purposed by Krashen. The original comment just means that I didn't have to completely memorize a grammar book to start understanding Japanese. I did read through one, but used that as only a basis for understanding native content without spoon feeding myself simplified content. As I got more advanced, I did have to study the more difficult grammar structures to more fully understand them so that my output would be more consistently grammatically correct. My method boiled down to watch as much as I could and quickly look up anything important that I didn't understand.

[@TheCompleteGuitarist]

@@coolbrotherf127 I learnt spanish without using anything and I learn grammatically correct forms simply by reading in the target language. I've never read a grammar book for spanish and I teach with out grammar. I don't expect my students to speak if they don't want but they have to listen. By the end of the year my students speak better and understand more than my colleagues who focus mostly on explaining the grammar. Grammar rules only help students understand rules but don't help in acquisition or language use. If you have to think about how to form a phrase then you haven't acquired anything. Trust your brain. It knows what it is doing. It has what is known as Universal Grammar. An innate tool that helps with mental representation. I would highly recommend Language Acquisition in a Nutshell by Bill Vanpatten, which outlines key aspects of the challenges scientists face in understanding what language is and how we acquire them. You can also find lectures by him online.

[@AlexG-bc7ji]

The point about repetition of content is critically valuable. I've noticed the same thing--when reading a novel in my target language, my comprehension of a given chapter jumps dramatically on the second read. It's hugely valuable. With listening based content I'll often listen to the same thing 4 or 5 times in a row until I dont' have to even think about what it means anymore. Makes a huge difference.

[@tommybinson]

Good advice. Repetition of a text or recording helps to embed the vocab and structures in the mind.

[@pac167]

Your subscribers are skyrocketing, I'm so glad to see that. Such a great channel, I don't understand how it didn't happen sooner

[@FernandaLima-qc1qv]

This channel was one of the most incredible things I've found.

[@amelieveegaert8841]

Your enthusiasm is contagious. Thank you for another great video. Great insight! Et j’adore tes pulls!

[@HingYok]

What I recently did is very similar and it worths it! I found a "what if" parody video of Dragon Balls Z with subtitles but without translations. The moment I found it I knew it would be very funny and enjoyable for fans like me, but I had no idea what they were saying. So I made a transcript, looked up for the vocabulary and expressions, and wrote down their definitions. When I reread the script or rewatch the video for fun, I use these notes as references for comprehension.

[@undekagon2264]

I totally agree with you. I always tried to use resources which I thought would have content speaking to me and worried much less about comprehensebility. Motivation is key in learning (not only language learning)

[@tuliobgood]

Thank you so much for information included in this video. Now i`m learning english in this pandemic time. Many years Ive tried to learn english by myself, but I didnt know the technques, and strategies. Since two monts ago, more or less I`ve been listening and watching english material, to get input. And its great, AT same time I`ve known about great people like you, Steve Kauffman, Lydia Machova, etc. The languages world and polyglot is really interesting. Thank you one more time for your support and tips and techniques given to every people as me who washing to improve the the learning of foreingners languages. Please excuse me grammatical mistakes . Regardings from Venezuela. muchas gracias amigo Robin, DIOS te bendiga.

[@tullochgorum6323]

I find TedX talks an excellent source of comprehensible input at the lower-intermediate level. The language is clear, there's a minimum of slang, and the topic gives a clear context. Plus there are often professional transcripts and translations available. I find films, current affairs etc FAR more difficult, The language is more informal, there's are many more obscure cultural references, and it's all-round a more advanced project to try and work with them.

[@AmyCampion512]

Hi Robin, Great ideas! On the flip side, I have also made simplified materials (InnerFrench, Francais avec Pierre, Francais Authentique) more challenging and more useful to me at my level by listening to them at 1.5x speed. I recently discovered your channel and I love what you are doing. Thought-provoking, clear, and concise. Very motivating! Thank you.

[@markkeilys]

that's one of my goals, to be able to listen (to Japanese) at 2x speed as i do in English.

[@melaniesyx]

The speed changing tip is brilliant! Thank you! I listen to InnerFrench too and always thought that it was too comfortable for me.

[@tommybinson]

Great Idea. I had been increasing the speed on slower-speaking YT videos, such as the AI-voiced ones. My aim is to make native speakers easier to understand. There, street interviews on Easy French also help. Conversational speech can be much harder for the ear than scripted speeches.

[@WingChunBoyz]

I watched this video 3 times lol. There was a lot to take in. All in all good stuff bro thanks again! 😀

[@azriel9499]

Your story about wanting to watch that movie, but not having the subtitles and watching it anyways inspired me to try out something similar in my own language learning (ironically, I'm studying french as well). I've seen noticeable improvement with my oral comprehension, which has always been lacking, since then. It was the key I was missing, I think, to bring my listening skills nearly level with my reading skills. Great video as always!

[@SilentJaguar68]

This is really a good angle for the comprehensible input arguments put out by people. When I was learning Romanian, I had to do a lot of this with the different materials because there's very little subtitles for any content in Romanian, and there's a lot less materials. And there's definitely a lot more learning that goes on with the modification and creation process of the different materials you encounter, because you're engaging with it a lot more actively 😎 Awesome video Robin! Looking forward to the Jared Turner video this Friday!

[@RobinMacPhersonFilms]

Glad you could relate to this! I'm not sure how you feel looking back on your Romanian, but for me - in a way - I feel like it was actually kind of nice in hindsight having to struggle through with these imperfect bits of content and the absolute delight once managing to understand the *messages* within. Managing to track down the missing pieces of a story, or the first time I listened to an episode of my Japanese audio drama and realized OH MY GOD I UNDERSTOOD THE GENERAL STORY!

[@SilentJaguar68]

@@RobinMacPhersonFilms after the first 8 months of initial grinding, I had my first real breakthrough when I realized that I could understand a lot of spoken language in videos and in conversations! I believe it was probably the fact that without subtitles, I had to really focus in on the language and that skyrocketed my listening ability through the roof! Still plenty of words I don't know, but the listening foundation has made everything certainly easier))

[@IowaLanguages]

@@SilentJaguar68 I love your "silent" username, is there a background story related to language? Just curious.

[@RobinMacPhersonFilms]

Good morning you two! 😄 ☀️ Yes I totally agree it is this "struggle" and the grind that can make all the difference in pushing our skills to be able to understand authentic content. Even when I do have the luxury of having some more tailored materials, I will always still love struggling through some authentic content to push things to the next level 🤓 @Tricia haha I remember when I answered a question on my daily language diary videos and was like "Silent Jaguar asks..." Oh by the way, have you thought about writing a Journaly post in Romanian? I'd love to see that! 😀

[@SilentJaguar68]

@@IowaLanguages I wish there was a cool story behind it, but it was a username I picked for this account back when I was in Highschool 😂

[@EmanualCriativo]

This video is such a relief! I am Brazilian (and your Portuguese is amazing BTW) and now I am studying Lithuanian, as I live here now and damn it! There is so little material available that it makes it very daunting to find sth good. This weekend I watched a movie (Trolls) twice and I really felt like you mention in the video, I could grasp much more the second time! Thanks for sharing this valuable knowledge

[@Ryosuke1208]

You should really do interviews with Matt vs Japan, Steve Kaufman, Days of french and swedish, talk about stuff that most people don't talk about. It would be really cool!

[@jakebarratt5652]

Thanks so much for this, Robin! This is so useful.

[@KimReadsBooks]

Thanks so much, Robin! It can be discouraging sometimes to see so much content from the polyglot community on YT about the importance of input being comprehensible when the resources that facilitate this may not even exist for some languages (e.g., no movies or TV shows with subtitles, etc.). Being reminded that it can be just as rewarding to using some ingenuity and taking a DIY approach is really helpful and motivating :)

[@James01281]

Thought-provoking stuff, Robin. I think there are times when you can produce your own comprehensible input, but I think you need to have a certain amount of familiarty with the language otherwise it will be entirely too frustrating. A little frustration and challenge can be a very good thing if it is something you can overcome, but too much can put you off that language altogether. Feeling competent is essential to staying motivated!

[@AdemirAlijagic]

Just recently started to watch star trek in french, which I've watched plenty of in English, and I love how much I absorb by context just by enjoying something "passively" 😁

[@marty.l]

Can you use Netflix or other streaming service in your favorite shows to other languages?

[@mitriburiqueza]

Thanks so much for this fantastic video. I love your content. it helps me a lot to do a better job with my students.

[@TheKonkehagia]

I think you have the best channel on KZbin about language learning! Keep up the great work, take care! ❤💙 (I like your mug, too hehe)

[@andymounthood]

Good contribution to the language-learning community and good summary of your past videos. I just shared this video on Twitter and Slack.

[@RobinMacPhersonFilms]

Thanks so much for supporting and sharing, Andy! It's great to see you and I really appreciate you helping me to share this with others

[@peggymccright1220]

This is just what I needed! Thanks so much. I have subscribed. I learning Spanish and I would love to see your series on reading in Spanish.

[@bibliophilicdesires8143]

Idk if this helps anyone but english is my third language and the way I got really good at it was once in third grade my brother said that I couldn’t read Jane eyre cause I would t understand it and so out of 7 year old spite I read it twice. The first time I barely understood anything and the second time I kept I a dictionary with me so every time I saw a newword I would look it up and then I would repeat the sentence and I would know the word and how to use that word and then in after finishing it I knew so much more English than I did before so that’s one habit I’ve kept when learning new languages it seriously helps in both comprehension and vocabulary

[@babysinn]

This is the video I needed to see, this information is very helpful thank you so much 💯

[@LeeJCander]

Love this video mate. I literally just accept I'm going to suck for a long while. Like when I began playing guitar. Just accept you'll be rubbish and keep going! Read, listen, both at the same time in the target language, in your own etc. Eventually I found I can loosely follow a short story that before I'd have had no clue. Just keep going. I'd say I understand 25%ish now of what's going on. I'll listen/read through something once. Then again whilst looking up the meanings for certain words or phrases that I am unfamiliar with. Then again with my new understanding. I'm trying to do this a minimum of one hour a day... I'll just keep going until I get it. I struggle with being able to speak but I figure once I understand a decent amount I'll try to converse with a native and get lessons.

[@TheFiestyhick]

Definitely one of the better language learning channels

[@amstabomitdembabo5984]

I did the same with Dune in English :) Just knowing how the characters are connected and what their plans are, I had no problem at all to read the rest of the novel fluently.

[@arnelarboleda2870]

This is great. Ive watched Frozen like 80 times that i can rewatch it just by imagining. Now, im gonna watch it in Japanese dub. Thank you

[@jamesm.9285]

Thank you!!! I'm studying Vietnamese and am new to the language. The concept of making comprehensible input is important because good resources are so scarce (or costly haha)

[@RobinMacPhersonFilms]

Hi James! Welcome to the language community! I actually just started learning Vietnamese too - are you learning the northern or southern accent?

[@user-uq2cv2hf6e]

Your videos really help! hope to see your next video.

[@dylanrodriguezchavarria3812]

Watching this video i´m doing comprehensible input and learning how to make comprehensible input

[@doraornellas3707]

Thanks a lot! It is A good vídeo and I am stydying French and I am doing this.

[@josueabuter5069]

Great video!! Thank you!

[@ahmadsyarifudin6739]

Thanks for these usefull tips, Robin! This comment section is also filled with useful tips.

[@heidiloesti3267]

Totally agree. I used to look for interesting articles on the internet and read them with the help of Google translate. Google knows the words, and I spot the mistranslations (but translation only to English, not to my mother tongue, that would be too many mistakes). So Google helps me reading difficult texts even at a beginner stage, and I do think it makes me progress a lot. I don't really care about graded readers.

[@tactics40]

Automate the Boring Things with Python on the bookshelf. Great book.

[@annak4891]

på svenska: jag gjorde samma saker som du med podcaster, jag skrev två avsnitt och översätte dem, efter det kunde jag lyssna och förstå nästan allting när lyssnade jag resten av den där podcasten utan tekst eller översättning. Och med filmer har jag samma upplevelser som du! Jag ville titta på alla Almofovars filmer, det var ungefär 8 år sen så de var utan översättning i polska eller engelska men jag var så envis att jag såg dem bara med spanska undertekster och ibland utan dem också. Tack för dina tipsar, jag kopte fyra svenska böcker och jag ska använda din metod med första kapitel:)

[@lengguahita7761]

Thank-you so much! Your channel is giving me so many useful language tips that I can apply to my language learning situation. I'm learning Chamorro and our resources are more scarce. Just last week I was wondering about how to train my listening skills. This video came at the right moment! Si Yu'os Ma'åse! (Thank-you!)

[@RobinMacPhersonFilms]

I'm soooo glad to read that you're finding my content to be useful @Shai Reads! That's so cool that you're learning Chamorro - it looks so interesting! I wish you lots of success and please feel free to comment anytime! Si Yu’us ma’åse 😄

[@user-bj6vp4dt7d]

You're reminding me of all the chamorro classes I had to take in elementary school. Most teachers at my school taught it so bad, i didn't learn anything. Lol. But That was before anyone knew about comprehensive input (One of my teachers taught it by song and that was fun though.)

[@23051984zx]

It was really useful for me!!!!Thx a lot!!!Awesome!!!!

[@angelnokare6906]

Great information. Yeah and it is true. After i watch the same youtube video for the 3rd time i can even laugh at some jokes.. sometimes :D This is great. The “1st chapter” method seems like a great idea. I’ll try applying it to webtoons/webnovels and see how that goes for me . And yeah.. many youtubers say “95 or more %” for reading while i could sometimes understand the whole episode and the next episode is like 40% if I push it. Not caring about that and just rereading/rewatching might be the step here. Great insights :D

[@classichuang5567]

Your vedio is comprehensible for me, thanks.

[@juliusjohnson5967]

I write a lot of things down I say in English, and then I translate those sentences in my second language. That way I know which words I use more often. That is quite comprehensible to me.

[@trailsofsamurai4975]

Super, I will follow this method , thanks

[@goldenrain7421]

This is very helpful! Thank you sir Although the content I like to consume repeatedly is rare, I'll try it out.

[@IowaLanguages]

I appreciate the tips on creating comprehensible input! I struggled with finding Tamil content for 8 years. I'm excited that your new app, Journaly, will have a filter for choosing a language level, for instance "beginner Turkish". That way we can find posts at our comprehension level and read them and learn from them. :-)

[@RobinMacPhersonFilms]

Absolutely Tricia! The language level feature is actually the next thing I'm working on and one of the final things before we finally go into public beta testing! 🥳 Ahhh I'm so so so happy we got the post editing & archived comments feature released yesterday!!! Thanks for being such a wonderful supporter, I absolutely cannot wait for you to be able to find lots of posts at your level on Journaly when we have lots of users and a bustling community on there at last ❤️

[@IowaLanguages]

@@RobinMacPhersonFilms Çok, çok heyecanlı! Very, very exciting!

[@daadaa6356]

@@RobinMacPhersonFilms can I ask if the app is still available? I can't find it on the App Store

[@gmcenroe]

I am learning German, well reviewing it because I learned it 40 years ago. I use Duolingo which I find pretty easy. I am watching the German TV series "Dark" that I watched before in English so I know the story. Now I put it on German audio with English subtitles which is fun. During my day I try to think in German, if I have an English sentence I try to construct the German sentence in my head.

[@alkionefeuerkunst]

Thanks for this vid. Regarding tv I always wondered regarding the subtitles...

[@o_felipe_reis]

Hey Robin! I love this topic! Your approach towards it was amazing! Btw... I'm not a big fan of learning two languages at the same time and I ended up doing it with Spanish (C1- more maintaining for future exam...) and German (intermediate plateau, between B2 and C1)... I have loads of Spanish comprehensible input daily but when it comes to German it's tough... I was not studying German ultimately and now it's challenging for me to understand what I listen in a way I can learn it passively. Anywaysssss.... great video Robin! ;-)

[@RobinMacPhersonFilms]

Hey Professor X! I'm glad you love this topic, it's something I've been dying to talk about more for a while now and I really hope this will help a lot of people embrace the struggle and the joy of grappling with content and making it what they need it to be at that stage of their journey. That's interesting with your Spanish and German. So are you actively studying Spanish and mostly using passive study for your German? As always thanks for the amazing support and great comments! :-D

[@o_felipe_reis]

Robin for sure you help many people! No doubt man! Thanks a lot! I'm actually studying Spanish passively (just a little bit everyday to keep it in my brain) and with German I'm making more effort, studying through intensive reading a lot and passively watching KZbin videos and even the B2 audios I have studied before. I'm really impressed how I lost the grasp of German. In spite of that I'm trying to have fun hehe! Thanks for your response!

[@thedavidguy01]

Like you I learned to read in French without graded readers. If I were to do it over again I would definitely find graded readers, but I succeeded without them. After 3 years I'm reading classic French literature with a 99.9% level of comprehension. In addition to your suggestions, I found it useful to read as many books as possible by the same author. Not only does a lot of the vocabulary and expressions repeat in a book, authors tend to use the same vocabulary and expressions in all their books. Series by an author are particularly great. I found detective stories useful, too. I don't read them in English, but they usually have compelling plots and lots of dialogue, which makes them easier to read and motivates you to read to find out who done it.

[@StefanyD.]

Valeu ❤️🦋 ☕ eu amo teu jeito de ensinar

[@kay9man159]

I like it. Thank you

[@expmin1]

I actually feel that I learn the most where there's content I DESPERATELY want to understand but there's no translation or subtitles. Of course if it's waaaay beyond your reach it might not be possible, but I found I could get through content that is much more difficult than what I thought I could figure out, both listening and reading, and what I learn that way often sticks more quickly. So my impression is that even if you consume content at a lower speed, you might need fewer repetitions and that would compensate somewhat. In my experience, how much I engage with the content seems to matter more than getting the suggested ideal 98%

[@ewncilo]

you are awesome and very helpful.

[@imSUPERcereal0]

I’m trying to learn Japanese. It’s been a very slow process. Sometimes I enjoy looking up a word or phrase and trying to memorize it, but that still doesn’t mean I’ll hear someone say that same word or phrase right away. So I started watching Japanese News for an hour after I wake up and after work throughout the week I try to watch one or two anime episodes and or podcasts. Then all the time while scrolling on my phone I see shorts about learning Japanese, so I watch those too. Even if I don’t understand most of it, I still enjoy watching and taking in the input. I need to start reading soon too, just haven’t taken the time to.

[@pigozs]

I'm reading light novels in Japanese for which I already saw the subtitled anime way back. It really helps because of I can't understand a sentence I can drop it ans still understand what comes next, instead of banging my head on a single sentence.

[@Aliraza10107]

Any idea where I can get night novels in German language?

[@stellasterling6535]

Do you have a place where you’ve compiled your favorite resources for different languages?

[@bolt8987]

You might find out your own resources, obviously don't rely on others methodologies, but only learn from them. Cheers!!

[@stellasterling6535]

@@bolt8987 hmm yes I have my own resources! But it would be nice to have a place where users could share their favorite resources. As an example he talks about the mandarin graded readers, I have my favorite Japanese graded readers or a great KZbin channel that has easy German. Those kinds of resources may be helpful to everyone especially for learners at a lower language levels that aren’t looking for very specific vocabulary:)

[@jsbart96]

I use the Notion app. It has a web extension so when you find a website with good recourses, you can put it straight into a Notion page

[@akramobada]

@@stellasterling6535 what about intermediate level or upper than that

[@camistudio999]

best explanation

[@LAX2hard]

I really appreciate all the videos on Chinese. Could you make more videos on your experience with Japanese? Could you also mention some of those Japanese podcasts you used sometime?

[@michelgolabaigne595]

I realized that I'd rather listen to you than learn the languages ... :) Your videos are addicting ... :) I will use your "language shows" as an emotional trigger. By the way, this is one of your motivational tricks ... :) Thank you Robin I love your work Michel

[@pianoatthirty]

It's because he's got good energy. Anything done with good energy gets transferred into the final product. This is most obvious with food, when a person cooks "with love". Robin does this with his videos. For language learning, I've found that using books (+the book read out loud by a native speaker as audio) with good energy work well. "A New Earth" by Eckhart Tolle is such a book.

[@marianolancellotti3855]

Hi Robin! Maybe you can think "oh no, this guy writing again!" but each video that I see, I feel that it's better than the previous one! After Part II with Jared I felt frustrated because, in my case, I can't understand 98% of the books or films that I read or see. But no matters, I keep going on! My language target is English and in my case, I know that 95% of the contents are in English but I can't find good content that I can call "comprehensible input". I started to read "The Alchemist" by Paulo Cohelo and sometimes I see films like Forest Gump (American English) or Actually love (British English) and I don't know if are good choices. After this video, I understood that I need to see the film several times, and I going to put into practice the tips that you share in your videos! Apart from that, it's the first time that I've written so much in English! Thank you so much Robin!

[@dominicnault1233]

Dude, despite your few errors here and there I understood everything you said. Don't cut yourself short, you're doing fantastic.

[@marianolancellotti3855]

@@dominicnault1233 Thank you for your comment! Could you tell me the mistakes? I'm trying to improve it because I need it! Thanks again!

[@elizabethgardner6832]

Part of it may be how much frustration you can tolerate. A lot of people wouldn't be able to deal with only being able to understand 50% of the text/dialog at first and still persist as you have. There's a big range between 50% and 98%. El Principito or fairy tales would be a much easier place to start than an adult novel such as El Tiempo de Costuras. However, I do get your point about not waiting for perfection and being willing to stretch yourself beyond what feels immediately comfortable. I picked up El Tiempo Entre Costuras a while ago but decided it was too hard (judging by my underlines from that time, I understood about 93%). I've already read three of the Harry Potter books, a few Oz books, and have now started on Jane Austen albeit very slowly and I've been reading it with a teacher. The difference is that I've read all those books before in English and am very familiar with them in general. Up till now, I've generally decided that a book was about the right level if I could understand all but 10-12 words. Many I can figure out from context. Most of the time, I don't look up words anymore unless one of them comes up repeatedly and it bugs me. For El Tiempo Entre Costuras, the idea of having to look up 15 words per page for 600 pages (15 x 600 = 9000) seemed like more than I was willing to do. Of course, not all those words will be unique. Your idea of looking up all the words that I don't understand in the first chapter seems possible to me. It's still 12 x 15 = 180 words, which is a major effort, but I could try it and see how I like it. Then there's Japanese where I can understand maybe 3% of the words on the page. That's a different story.

[@paulwalther5237]

98% being ideal? I don't know if I'm at 98% in English 😆. I've had other people quote this 98% or whatever number but I'm happy if I get 50% quite often. I think you're right that we should look for ways to make any material more comprehensible. Steve Kaufmann of course talks about content of interest and he's right. If I buy a book and I'm really psyched and interested in what's in it then this will help so much when it's inevitably difficult. But I'm still very interested in graded readers because there's something to be said about material being the right level too. This is why language learning is so fun once you get past the textbooks. You're always looking for something new to do.

[@Dudewhoswinning]

Thanks for the tips!! It's very relevant to my case. I'm learning punjabi, which despite having over 100m speakers, doesn't have a lot of material aimed at beginners. On top of this, whilst it is widely spoken, and in fact there's a bit of a punjabi film industry, there are no punjabi subtitles. Yes they have english but i find the english just means I stopped listening to the speech. I've also been struggling to find audio books and their matching book titles. Rather than graded readers im resorting to children's books for now. Once I get bored of the children's shows, books and audio I'll definitely just take the plunge and try to just listen, understand and maybe transcribe some films and podcasts! On another note: One course I did find was Pimsleur which has one unit of audio. What are your thoughts of using Pimsleur?

[@jackatthekilns]

I will read until I feel lost, looking a few words as I go. Then I go back to the beginning and reenforce and move a little further and then repeat

[@alobo_78]

Happy wednesday! Estoy aprendiendo a través del input comprensible y otros métodos... avanzando siempre y todos los días lo cual es esencial para adquirir el hábito

[@RobinMacPhersonFilms]

Hola Annie! Feliiiiz miércoles a ti ☀️ Estoy de acuerdo, avanzando siempre y todos los días lo cual es esencial para adquirir el hábito 📆 Sigamos mejorando cada día. Ánimos! Abrazos 🌻

[@alobo_78]

@@RobinMacPhersonFilms ¡excelente tu español....! estamos en contacto :)

[@RobinMacPhersonFilms]

@@alobo_78 gracias! Te prometo que pronto voy a hacer un vídeo en español para ti!

[@alobo_78]

@@RobinMacPhersonFilms siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!!!!!!! será genial! estaré esperando pues! Thank you Robinnnn :-D

[@loot6]

One other thing you'll notice when you talk to someone directly is it's much easier to understand than when talking to them in the telephone because when you can see the mouth of the speaker it's much clearer whether they formed a 't' sound or a 'f' sound etc so you miss a lot less since you're more sure what each word is. Of course you made the comparison with someone in a film where you would probably be able to see the mouth of the speaker, depending on the scene, the angle etc.

[@letrong9802]

Hi Robin Macpherson, as a big fan of you since 2018, recently i felt happy because your dedication for learning a new language was recognized. Thank you again and forgive me because of my broken english. :P

[@RobinMacPhersonFilms]

Hi Le Trong, thank you so much for supporting me for such a long time :D I am really happy, too, that my channel seems to be getting recognized by a larger audience now, I can't believe it! Keep up the great work with your English! :D

[@loot6]

Another tip is to watch dubbed material - ie films or tv series originally in English. In this way, depending on the language you're learning you'll find that they speak significantly slower because the dubbing has to match the original English which was spoken more slowly than many other languages are. I'm learning French and I noticed that watching tv series or films dubbed in French was much easier than watching actual french tv or films since the French seem to like to speak at light speed if they can.

[@cpnlsn88]

Make your input comprehensible. The news is usually comprehensible but can be made more so by repeating the news (short programmes). One can look at headlines in different languages. I must admit I like repetition. I believe the brain is working things out and filling in gaps. Most of this is unconscious. This is why lyrics can be misheard. Where comedians do this as a routine they give subtle cues and nudges such that your brain genuinely hears "I believe that your hot dogs go on". If you can't make out a phone message you replay it a few times. Your brain fills in and works out the messages. So some repetition can be a good idea. As for conversation most people think about it as speaking. Another way of thinking about conversation is to obtain comprehensible input. A native speaker will speak slower, simplify their output and rephrase if you don't understand.

[@betosouza2490]

That was a nice video. Last week I posted a comment about my perception of extensive reading with 98% level of comprehension and I'm grateful for the answer to my misconception. I do like your videos a lot and that gave me the idea to learn a new language by listening and reading a book from the "zero", as you said you did with spanish. There is a couple things I would like to ask though. Again don't know if I will get an answer. For a moment suppose that of all languages that you currently speak, you can only speak your native one. However you do have all the knowledge about how to learn a new language. With this in mind which language would you start to learn first? Would be a language that share vocab/grammar structure in order to be easier to grasp the new language? Perhaps you would prioritize japanese since you do like it so much? What would be done different from the "first time" you've learned the said language? Oh well, thats a lot of questions. Thank you for your videos and the inspiration.

[@bondbert]

Thanks for the tips, Robin..which graded readers do you like for German? I am at the level to start diving into reading and would like your recommendations.

[@SmallSpoonBrigade]

When they're talking 95%, that's usually what you're shooting for. The reality is that all words are not equal, not understanding adjectives and adverbs is likely to cause fewer problems than if you're not understanding verbs and nouns. Going below that if you're still able to follow what's going on is probably still going to be OK. But, the lower you get, the less likely you are to be able to figure out what the meaning of the words are from context. As you indicate, you can also go through and just collect the words that you don't know and look them up. Then select the ones that are the most useful or interesting and learn those. I've been doing it with the German language version of Harry Potter, I read through, learn the words that I can't easily infer and it's been getting easier. I also make a point of listening to radio and seeing what words I can understand and if I can follow the general gist of the speech.

[@lucyrobertson2631]

I would love to know what podcasts you used for Japanese. I'm just at the level now where I need to start consuming material more extensively to improve vocabulary and comprehension

[@pikatwinky28]

Great video. I have a question, is recommended to look up words in a dictionary when you do this stuff of "filling the gaps" or is better to grasp the meaning of words by the context of the material itself?

[@yourthainesss]

Hello, Robin! I'm your fan from the Philippines 🇵🇭. I just wanna know if you still find ANKI or spaced repetition as an effective method in language learning? Thank you! 😁

[@InappropriateShorts]

5:44 bruv, 50% if fuqing amazing. I’m listening to a slow podcast episode a couple times per day & am learning something new everytime, But its still less than 10% comprehensible

[@Limemill]

And we're going back to where we started: intensively read and look up vocabulary you don't know and can't figure out after encountering it 2 or 3 times and voila, right after that your input from the same book will become a lot more comprehensible. You don't even have to memorize that word, you will still passively absorb it after meeting it in many more contexts later on. And this is how we slowly but surely move from purely passive, extensive input absorption Krashen-style to Paul Nation's Four Strands

[@polyphoniac]

It seems to me that people are drawing certain erroneous conclusions from Krashen's "comprehensible input" theory. One is that "learning" is somehow inimical to "acquisition", and especially so if it demands great effort. The value of comprehensible input, as Krashen has pointed out elsewhere, is that it is conducive to the sort of massive exposure that, over time, brings familiarity with that staggering aggregate of word associations, collocations, lexical phrases, denotations, connotations, etc. which make up a language and which will always far exceed the scope and limitations of even the most comprehensive course of instruction. That, of course, is a lifetime project, even in one's native language. Its benefit comes not from making things easy for the learner but rather from its efficiency in bringing about the sort of extensive and ready familiarity without which acquisition is impossible. There is, in fact, abundant empirical evidence that, where learning per se is concerned, the greater the effort expended on comprehending and mastering a skill or body of knowledge, the more likely one is to retain the knowledge or skill thus acquired. That Krashen makes a distinction between "learning" and "acquisition" does not mean that one can dispense with the extensive learning needed if the acquisition project is ever to take flight. In summary: don't be deterred, dismayed or frightened if your initiation into "comprehensible" reading requires initially an investment of an hour or more per page. Effortful learning is more efficacious learning.

[@loot6]

Si une page demande une heure pour comprendre ce n'est pas compréhensible input, ce n'est pas appropriée pour votre niveau. Un enfant apprend avec compréhensible input mais lorsqu'il lit un livre il n'as pas besoin d'une heure par page...

[@polyphoniac]

@@loot6 My argument was that neither approach excludes the other, not that the two are equivalent.

[@loot6]

@@polyphoniac You're saying that understanding 'messages' after great difficulty is useful in itself rather than focusing solely on trying to understand messages slightly above our level?

[@polyphoniac]

@@loot6 I am saying that each has its own utility and benefits.

[@loot6]

@@polyphoniac Mais il y a beaucoup de choses qui ont leurs avantages qui nous rendent plus susceptibles de nous mémoriser des choses. par exemple, un mot, "trébucher". si on le voit dans son contexte on peut chercher le mot et apprendre sa signification. mais si on se lève et faire semblant de vraiment "trébucher" tout en pensant au mot, on sera encore plus susceptible de s'en souvenir.

[@almonies]

It's not just about being comprehensible. The main take away I took from Stephen's work was that it had to be stress or difficult free. Other wise your mind wouldn't remember it. Your story about reading your very first Spanish novel shows that you were not a beginner. 50% isn't a beginner. Before I knew about Stephen's work I was told that you would remember languages better if you read everyday. I picked up a book written in Russian and couldn't read anything. It would have been so much work to get anything comprehensible. The main point as I see it is to replicate what children go through. They just hear the language, we show them it in simple bite size understandable ways. They then watch until one day they start to speak. While your method of research worked well for you. That is specifically a you method. I would find that too stressful and I know because I tried. My mind would not take on anything I got this way and while I improved my comprehension from about 0.5% to maybe 3% this way. None of it stuck, unlike the words that I understood the meaning of with no work put in. I have always kept a hand full of words from the languages I have tried to learn and they took no effort to understand. I have never lost them, and I think this is the point that Stephen makes. It isn't just that you need to understand the message, but that message needs to come in a way that is fun, easy or at least stress free. While on some level the method of comprehensible input can be anything, and we can have different acceptable methods that work for each individual like reading. The idea as I took it, we all have a basic method of getting languages which is to listen and watch understandable messages. Personally I could not get comprehensible input from reading as my reading in my own language never developed because of circumstances in my life. But I could and am learning the way I learned my first language. Which is listening and understanding. I think you mean listen to a person but I am not going to make that assumption. Talking isn't something as I heard it you should do until you have comfortable doing so. You message was correct and a good one. Because we don't all have a language parent, who can tailor content to our needs we do have to get creative. But If I was to stumble upon your video before the deep dive in Stephen's work, I would have left thinking this was about reading. Not at all what is meant by, or suggested in the information Stephen has given out. While reading might be for you, finding ways to get this comprehensible input with out the ability to read is something we all can do. That is how we developed our first language. I think it would have been better to put that foot forward instead of only focusing on things that required reading. I personally can't watch things with subtitles because I am not fast enough or able to absorb at the rate they are left up on the screen for. So I completely miss the meaning behind the movie or what every it is. A note: To write this I had to copy what I wrote and paste it into a text to speech reader. I listen to what I have written to make the changes where I hear they are needed to make sure it is written correctly 🤞. I am unable to even read what I write. This is why I was so excited by Comprehensible input. I clicked on your video for the very reason I assume you made it, to help people expand their options beyond the idea of a perfect comprehensible input. I am searching for comprehensible input that doesn't require reading. While I am lucky in being so late to this party. A simple search in youtube for Comprehensible Input Thai or what other languages I want to learn reveals some great and some not so great videos of just that. It is as you said, not perfect and I am always looking for more tidbits to help me. I hope in the future you might consider things that don't require reading. 👍👍

[@smudge8882]

Which podcasts did you use for Japanese?

[@heinzkreutx3256]

There is no issue with Krashen’s notion of CI, and Robin does a good job at explaining and giving advice. However, where Krashen is misleading is when CI is equated with “learning a language “ I encountered Krashen’s work in the 1980s as part of my undergraduate studies in linguistics, and also taught theory and application of CI at university after completing my PhD in Linguistics. CI, or more accurately, comprehension, is one of several skills involved in language learning and/or acquisition. Generating your own CI says little about the “production side” things. CI allows us to focus on understanding, generally considered a passive skill, as opposed to oral and written production, skills much more complex and involved, requiring memory and retrieval, as well interactive, discursive competencies. Yes, CI and generating your own CI is a good prerequisite skill, but is not in itself a sufficient tool for overall foreign language competence.

[@Spiraculumvitae]

What readers do you recommend me in german? Thanks for your video. I'm now subscribed.

[@ChinaCoachLeBlanc]

What graded readers are you using for Mandarin?

[@regaloschimbote380]

Great

[@TheFallibleFiend]

Q: When you "made your map" of the first chapter of your first German novel, was that written in your native language or in Spanish?

Hello Robin. You mentioned that you read a summary of the novel you were reading in Spanish (if I understood you correctly). How can I do this without spoiling the reading experience (knowing in advance the plot)?

[@maladjustedmaverick6619]

I'm in the beginning stages of learning German, and have also started watching the TV show _Unsere Mutter, Unsere Vater._ I'm thinking of rewatching an episode I've already watched with English subtitles, but with German subtitles this time, and trying to match the sounds of the dialogue with the subtitles. Then I could watch it a third time, pausing frequently to look up words I don't know. Would that function as decent comprehensible input?

[@SmallSpoonBrigade]

Since you're a beginner, I'd go through the transcripts ahead of time and see if there's any key vocabulary that you don't know and spend some time learning a few of those words and phrases before continuing. Ideally, you'd know roughly 90-95% of the vocabulary, but if you just learn the nouns and verbs, you're likely to be able to get the gist fairly quickly. Ideally, all words included will contribute to the meaning, but in practice not all words contribute equally and for beginners, especially those working on listening, the nouns and verb will contribute a lot more than equal time on other parts of speech in terms of making the input comprehensible.Obviously, you should aim to understand all the words eventually, but it's more enjoyable if you're not struggling to understand the basics of the story.

[@maladjustedmaverick6619]

@@SmallSpoonBrigade Thanks for the advice!

[@AfroNinjaDE13]

What graded readers did you use for German? I’ve been looking at getting some. I’m probably at a A2-B1 level but have a decent framework in the language from living there years ago

[@RobinMacPhersonFilms]

I used this series and read all of them, I have to say they were really pleasant and helpful: A series called "Dino Lernt Deutsch" (you can get the entire series on Kindle too) amzn.to/2GQaMbP If those are too easy, the same author has another series that is harder and I'll definitely be reading myself: amzn.to/2GXmYHE That series is called "Baumgartner & Momsen Detective Stories" and looks excellent!

[@AfroNinjaDE13]

@@RobinMacPhersonFilms Super, danke!!

[@connorgioiafigliu]

I can second Dino Lernt Deutsch! It's entertaining and has really helped me with German. Also check out Erste Stufe

[@FOXMAN09]

Steve Kauffman recommended a website called Happy Scribe for providing transcription or even subtitles in many languages. It's 12 euros per hour of content with 98% accuracy apparently so that's a powerful service for content you desperately want to understand.

[@jeremiahreilly9739]

Repetition and transcription! Only 3 times? Depending on the difficulty of the material, I sometimes listened to a talk a dozen times or more. Now, as a proficient German speaker, two times is sufficient. 98% comprehension seems too high, even if it is "optimal." I read typical German novels and after years living in a German speaking country, I still have to look up a few words per page. I understand the content and plot. The words I look up are usually either technical, domain specific, erudite, or slang.

[@alwayslearning7672]

Surely children's books, like picture books and comics would be a good resource found in every country!?