Extensive Reading: How To Get Started & Measure Your Progress | Conversation 3/4 w/ Jared Turner

So we've talked about what extensive reading IS, but how do you get started? What are some good ways to measure your progress and know that you're improving? That's exactly what we're covering in this third episode of my Extensive Reading conversation series with Jared Turner from Mandarin Companion.
Visit www.mandarincompanion.com to check out their books, and @mandarin_companion on Instagram for their hilarious Mandarin Chinese memes!
//== Links ==//
❤️ Join my wonderful Patreon community:
/ robinmacpherson
❤️ Follow me on Instagram @
_robinmacpherson
✍🏼 Try my foreign-language Journaling app, Journaly!
www.journaly.com
📖 Check out my book, How To Maintain Languages:
www.robinmacpherson.co/shop
💌 Join my delightful newsletter & access my free downloads:
www.robinmacpherson.co/newsle...
Watch the full playlist of this series here:
• Extensive Reading Conv...

[@Mateo-et3wl]

People should keep in mind that although children's books might not be helpful, juvenile or young adult books can be great (age 8+, 10+, 12+). These are books native speakers read on their own and the language is not babyish.

[@MargaretNahmias]

Especially if you're intermediate.

[@joannechucheerup]

It's totally true, I've just realized it recently (what a shame), I wish could understand it earlier.

[@SouthernGeologist]

On that note, I think comic books are often a good option.

[@rickaspentv]

I just bought Harry Potter in french.. So I'd agree with you. 🙃

[@aciuschristophores7789]

Gym analogy: Reading is the Compound Exercise of Language learning, since it directly improves your other 3 (listening, speaking, writing) as well.

[@RobinMacPhersonFilms]

Hi everyone! I hope you're all enjoying this series so far 😊 Just a quick note as in the previous episodes some people expressed concerns or frustrations around finding materials that you can read *at the extensive level* , particularly in languages that aren't so commonly learned or simply don't have such a wealth of these tailored materials available. Some people also felt discouraged because they thought I might have been saying this is the only way you should be reading and 98% comprehension seems incredibly high, especially given the previous point. I just want to clarify that Extensive Reading is just one method of reading, and Jared is incredibly passionate and knowledgeable about it so I brought him on the channel in order to share a deeper dive on that method and his perspective with you all. However, this doesn't mean you can't still have wonderfully productive and enjoyable experiences with other forms of reading, especially if materials like graded readers aren't available in your language. I made the following video to share my views and to address these concerns, and also to show how you can make materials more comprehensible 😄 I hope it's helpful! kzbin.info/www/bejne/rJ3FcmeOrtWEo68

[@rachelharris708]

I like the idea of the method, but there's a slight problem with that. As someone who's totally blind ( b2 in French and a2 in Italian), I have to use auditory content( usually podcasts) in order to emerse myself in these dialects. That's because I don't know the braille systems for either dialect. Do either of you know anyone who is proficient at French or Italian braille?

[@joannechucheerup]

Follow up, it's an interesting question.

[@oswaldocaminos8431]

I think it is quite useful and enjoyable.

[@lazstan]

I read harry Potter in Spanish with an English copy next to it...it took 7 months.... Then read the second book by itself in 6 weeks..then reread the first one in 18 days...

[@KatSchlitz]

I think children's books **where we already know the story** can in fact have their place in the beginning, since we know full well that we don't speak like they're written, we can perceive them more as poetry, unusual phrasing, a "little ditty" to learn vocabulary and short phrasing. Then our brain already knows it is not how we talk, but the new words can be overlaid upon memory structure that already exists, and the learning is fast, colorful and fun. And there are interesting differences! For example, "Green Eggs & Ham" translates into French as "Les Œufs verts au jambon" -- and there is so much to learn even from the title! For example, a good part of a lesson for me came from why it is "au" and not "et" and I won't forget it! Plus it is fun to keep saying phrases repeatedly such as "When I say no, it's no!" -- repeated phrasing only happens in children's books and poetry, and it is powerful. Phrasing will be remembered and can be adapted to adult circumstance. With stories we already know, starting for the earliest beginning, we can learn more quickly: It's much more fun to read a children's book that says "Good night moon, good night cat, good night old lady, good night mittens, good night picture of a cow jumping over the moon..." than to look at a vocabulary list of words: good, night, moon, cat, lady, old, mittens, cow, jumping (hello conjugation!), and so on.... Also the story's or phrase meaning can be understood much more quickly when we already know the story. Yes, young children's stories **we know well already** and have read more than once in our native language can in fact be powerful boosts to get out the starting gate with speed.

[@lenorewelby318]

I totally agree. And I have noticed too how much just the different titles of books in Spanish teach me. I commented below about some other thoughts about kids books and their value.

[@karenbaily]

Thanks for this series it is great! I'd like to speak in favor of children's books. They are not beginner level reading however I have found picture books to be especially fun. There are so many clues as to the content that it becomes more comprehensible. I read picture books over and over again understanding more each time. As a retired teacher and parent of 5 I absolutely love children's literature. The stories and the art are well worth reading for pleasure. They may not be exactly created for language learning but I enjoy them so much that I am willing to work harder for them. I love the aha! moments as I begin to understand more and more! 😊

[@jakobpaddy3097]

I really agree about the idea of avoiding kid books, but I would say there are some exceptions. Harry Potter in German for instance is a great way for an intermediate to extensively read and learn a ton of phrases, idioms, and verbs.

[@IowaLanguages]

Very informative and practical! The idea of recording how long you can comfortably read without becoming exhausted is great. I loved the comment about "laughing in Chinese" or "crying in Chinese" and that eventually there's no need to translate while reading. It must be a great place to be. Like having 2 brains lol.

[@RobinMacPhersonFilms]

Absolutely! As I'm sure you know by now haha I'm a big fan of *making progress tangible* and I think this is another nice way to do that. Also yes it's great having those first emotional experiences! For me, there's another thing that happens which is when I read a novel in French, 50% of the times that I laugh or chuckle to myself are things that probably aren't even funny to native speakers. I just enjoy the way that things are phrased and expressed in French so much that it makes me laugh. I really love the experience of being able to observe, appreciate, and enjoy things like that - features of the language or the people who speak it - alongside enjoying the story!

[@ImeldaFagin]

One word: Tintín. Hopefully there’s a version in the language your studying. Words like ‘practical’ and ‘measure’ are anathema to me. Maybe I’m a 71 year old rebel, but I don’t care how fast I read or how much. If the book and I are a good match in terms of interest and level then I’m happy and motivated to read. The books I can read right now in Spanish are more action and dialogue oriented. Pensive thinking is harder and I’d have to switch to intensive reading through those parts. But for me, its simply finding books I like. Another thing I love is to find spanish translations of books I really loved. My end game is to read Never !et Me Go in Spanish.

[@crazychase443]

100% agree! Who cares how slow I read or how many words I don’t know. If I’m going at a pace I like, and understanding enough to enjoy it then that’s the most important part!

[@bobafruti]

Tintin is great for kids too, my daughter didn't like rreading much, but then I got her started on Tintin and she read every single one. Then she just didn't stop reading.

[@salamatunnafiah9033]

This is really useful.... Recently I've done mini thesis for my degree about developing Arabic-Indonesian extensive reading material... And I'm really obsessed with extensive reading since I learned English through reading so many novels.... And I love it

[@fernandokavafis8841]

Slow reading is not necessarily painful. Nothing wrong with reading a book above your level of understanding a language. Reading is incredibly useful tool, no reason to limit yourself in this way. The only advice that I can offer, read what you love and love the language that you learn. Re-read your favorite books in a language that you want to learn.

[@victorvila1389]

I have to disagree with the rule of 5 fingers. Even in my native languages I will sometimes come across pages with maybe 5 words that I don't understand 😅

[@KaMi-gz1il]

Lol totally true!

[@MandarinCompanion]

Hi Victor, Jared here. You bring up a good point! Sometimes we may encounter that many unknown words in our native language! However, because you are fluent in your native language, you are much more capable at handling unknown words and understanding them based on context. If we take the same scenario in a language you are still learning and have even an intermediate level of proficiency, you may not have enough overall understanding of the language to be able to pick up that many new words with ease. An easy mistake for any language learner is when we take our L1 (first language) learning experience and apply it to our L2 (second language) attempts to learn. Yes, it is language, but how we learn a second language is very different than how we learned and CONTINUE to learn our native language.

[@patfromamboy]

Are those words without translating that you can’t understand? Because I have to translate everything into English to understand. I’ve been studying for over 8 years now but I still can’t read or converse. Thanks

[@Diotallevi73]

Five unknown words on a page are very easy to deal with, I would say.

[@RobinMacPhersonFilms]

Hey Roman! Always great to see your comments. Personally I am with you. I think that I’ve engaged in so much intensive reading over the years (which for me has historically simply meant “stuff that is really hard but that I’m super interested in and happy to engage in a healthy struggle with”) and I tend to foster such a deep level of curiosity, I’m not phased at all by five unknown words on a page. It is really interesting to get Jared’s insight on the specific best practices of Extensive Reading, though. I think for me, the biggest take-away from this series is that I will be using these as different tools for different things. Personally, as I’ve talked about a lot, the ***struggle*** is almost ***essential*** to truly making the transition to being comfortable with authentic stuff, be that reading books or engaging in full-on discussions at a dinner party table with native speakers. So I will never stop engaging with hard stuff that I am deeply curious to understand. However, I think I will also incorporate more extensive reading with a bit more intentionality for the purpose of building automatic processing, improving fluency, and the other benefits we’re covering in the series. I’d love to get your thoughts!

[@Diotallevi73]

@@RobinMacPhersonFilms Haha I am still watching and voilà you come up with a reply :-) Okay my comment on the whole video would have been like this: 1) I am interested in things a native reader would read, not some artificial stuff. Therefore in modern Greek I read newspaper articles, film scripts and (very slowly as I need to import it page by page) a novel at LingQ.com. I know this is not the most efficient method but I like it. At the same time, I get listening input from Spotify (pop music) and KZbin (VLogs, films). LingQ gives me the freedom to do both intensive and extensive reading, that's fine. If I were to study Mandarin Chinese or Japanese, I would consider graded readers, though. That novel caught my interest because I stumbled upon it when I visited Athens and because I like the author (Ian Rankin). Otherwise as long as I am an intermediate, I prefer e-books for studying at LingQ, and they should be originals, not translated stuff, so that they build a bridge not only to the language but also to the culture, places, people etc. 2) I get triggered when people tell me what I should not do. Childrens' books: It's such a great coincidence that you mentioned "Män som håtar kvinnor" again because I wanted to use the Millenium trilogy as an example why it can be quite useful to read childrens' books. Jared is completely right, I think, books that are meant to be read by parents to their children are not very fascinating for grown-ups, but when you look at literature for let's say 5-9 year old children and if you concentrate on literature originally written in your target language, you will have contact with the culture the native speakers grow up with. This is a plus in itself , I think, but it also can increase the fun you will have while enjoying content for grown-ups. The Millenium trilogy references the works of Astrid Lindgren, for example. IIRC, the author never explains them because you are supposed to know them. If Pippi Longstockings or Kalle Blomkvist are just generic names to you, you will miss the fun. Childrens' books don't need to contain massive amounts of words you will never use. Their advantage over fictional literature in general is that they trigger strong emotions and tend to be less complex but stil interesting enough. Bottom line: I mostly read literature for adults, but I would not recommend to people never to read books for children. They should do what they like and what interests them. In my case, in Swedish I have the audio edition of "Mio Min Mio" waiting for me on the shelf, a novel for children by Astrid Lindgren I never read. As soon as I will be done with "Flickan som Lekte med Elden" (Millenium trilogy pt. 2) this one will follow :-) Thanks for this series with Jared :-) Dialogues between language learning experts at KZbin are a challenge because most of the time you agree upon 90% of the theory but you two have a wonderful kind of chemistry together and keep us entertained and informed perfectly :-)

[@Sarahkiroglu]

Actually there are some pretty great childrens books out there (sometimes they are actually also for aldults 😏) But I am also a mom of 3 so I have been through quite a lot of them during the last many years ...both in danish, english, german, french, swedish and turkish ☺️☺️

[@RobinMacPhersonFilms]

Hi Sarah! Thanks so much for sharing your perspective on this. I have to admit, although I have tried many many many different methods for reading, I haven’t really used children’s books in my own learning yet. So I appreciate people sharing their experiences, especially if they have found something different. Did you find that you had to look through a lot of children’s books that were not suitable and happened to find a few gems? Also, did you find over time that there were certain things that helped you more easily identify the good ones? I’d love to know your favorites for Swedish! Also, I know the lovely @Tricia Sutton might really appreciate some of your favorites in Turkish! 🙂

[@hayesdabney]

Right! German children`s books called Pixi Books are very useful.

[@cheekibreeki747]

Thank Guys, for all that comforts me in my daily practice

[@nictegki]

Thank you so much guys!

[@oswaldocaminos8431]

Dear Robin: it is very useful the hints both of you are sharing with us, that have a lot to do with meaninful concepts and words (among other things, of course). I deeply appreciate such an approach!

[@kaia8167]

This is just the kind of info/advice I've been looking for when it comes to studying French. I'm fairly fluent, but I've gotten rusty over the past few years, mainly when it comes to basic vocabulary. Now I know how to go about fixing that!

[@MrsDanonino]

Can you recommend graded readers in German? I love your videos! Always learning something new with them ❤️

[@kurtthecat3995]

Check out the series of books by Andre Klein on Amazon. They are excellent.

[@michaelshort2388]

Oly Richards makes some good ones.

I would recommend the books by Claudia Peter (Editorial: Verlag Liebaug-Dartmann). She has a lot of A1 level books, but also higher levels.

[@jandrews8365]

Really liking this series. But now I have to wait again for another video!

[@alobo_78]

Happy Friday! Muy interesante esta serie de los viernes...

[@RobinMacPhersonFilms]

Happy Fridayyy Annie! ☀️ Estoy feliz de que estés disfrutando esta serie de los viernes 🤓

[@lgdneuro9586]

Excellent video, i wish more people would see this, i am sick of people recomending on so many social media, Go read a children book. And it is quite refreshing to hear from someone with experience it is the wrong approach. I am a physician and used to read scientific papers, and i would really love if you could share all those Scientific papers. Also while i am at it if can make more videos about your Setup for learning lenguages. Like the one you did with notion. Would like to see more in depth how you manage and keep track of your learning.

[@mariajosebarrazarojas1966]

I've already seen all three videos, I'll be trying it, thank you so much,

[@RobinMacPhersonFilms]

You’re very welcome María! Thanks so much for watching and I wish you good luck with your reading!

[@Atilioam]

Very interesting dialogue. A lot of good ideas and advices. Thank you.

[@timstevenson7454]

I have been studying Chinese at uni for 2 years now and know about 500 characters but am struggling to read your entry level books with any fluency. I think this continual input will really help. So far we've just learned small phrases and words. Love your work!

[@hayesdabney]

Thanks for this video.

[@maggiemondo7459]

These have been excellent tips on language acquisition. On your recommendation I bought one of these books in my target language - German - and am really enjoying the process. Actually, it is more fun than doing Anki cards, isn't it? Also I have found it confidence boosting being able to comprehend the easy material and can say to myself 'Well done, me!' When you're enjoying it and feel you're making progress then the project is going in the right direction. Thank you for the suggestions, chaps - much appreciated.

[@lenorewelby318]

I think there is a place for certain kids books. Take, for example, Laura Numeroff’s series, which includes books like If you give a Moose a Muffin, Si Le Haces Una Fiesta a Una Cerdita, Si La Das Una Galletita a un Ratón, etc. It’s a fantastic series for comprehensible exposure in Spanish to the future tense coupled with the subjunctive-and the phrases that typically precede it. Tons of repetition. And the vocabulary is all super relevant to everyday life of adults. Spanish is my second language and this helped me so much. Another source of comprehensible input that I have found helpful is communicating in a WhatsApp group with parents raising their kids to speak English or Spanish in a country where it’s not the main language. Of course, I can get questions answered, but just reading comments or listening to audio comments is such a great source of input. I also think Duolingo’s podcast is fantastic. It’s at an intermediate level. My daughter and I read every night in Spanish and her Spanish comprehension is improving exponentially. Thanks for such an interesting series!

[@susannedembowski1576]

Thank you for such a brilliant and helpful channel. I don't altogether agree about the rule of 5. If you only have a problem with 5 words on a page then to me you are at a stage where you are ready just to enjoy reading in your target language. But to use reading as a tool to help learn the language there can be lots of words you don't know. I am reading Ollie Richards Short stories in French and am really enjoying it. Some pages there might be 3 words I don't know others are much more. However looking up the words and seeing how the sentences are formed is a great help and much more interesting because the words are in context rather than a vocabulary list. As you mentioned it's a bit like being a detective and trying to figure it all out.

[@hayesdabney]

I read _The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo_ in German while listening to the audiobook. Did the same in German with _Jurrasic Park_. Really helped my German.

[@hammaswalh6600]

This channel is the best!!

[@RobinMacPhersonFilms]

Ahh thank you Hamma! I really appreciate that 😄🙏🏼

[@jan_kisan]

and daaammn i like that outro music, it's simple but gorgeous

[@someoneelse6934]

You guys are working so hard that you forget to change your shirts each week! ;-p Just kidding. Great series so far and it has rekindled my passion for reading for learning languages. Right now I am learning my 5th (Spanish) and 6th (Japanese) during quarantine. Mandarin is next on my todo list once I am at an intermediate level. Thanks guys. Looking forward to the rest of this series.

[@adamstarritt7572]

Got to 5:50 and need to comment here as I may forget to at the end. At the start of this video, I was thinking that I may need to read children's books because other stuff is not going to be comprehensible. I'm so glad that this has been discouraged and why not to that I feel that my book in Spanish I've bought is not a waste of time. Such great great content. Also cramming it in in double speed!👍

[@msdanascully11]

My personal experience in learning a few European languages is that reading books might have helped in expanding my vocabulary, but I don't think it ever improved my abilities in speaking. Maybe, loud reading a bit more because it makes you feel less uncomfortable in hearing yourself speaking, and makes it easier to speak, a language that is not your native one. But for that, I personally find papers and magazines more helpful than books - although I love reading books, dont get me wrong, but I never found it would improve my spoken language(s).

[@Seantorky3]

I have B1 spanish, there is soooo much material.

[@WingChunBoyz]

I’m going back and re reading my Mandarin Companion book. I try to read a chapter a day, but I think I can comfortably read 2 chapters. Also I’m curious, you said you are trying to do a full splits. Do you do train in martial arts, yoga, gymnastics?

[@ym3306]

What is the point of learning a language through reading if I don't run into new words and collocations, grammar etc? I agree though that high comprehensive level of reading makes the whole process interesting and gives you a lot of joy and therefore motivates you to come back to it later.

[@M_SC]

I’ve been about to buy graded readers for a while and because of this series I’m going to buy an easier level (the lowest) because I see the value in it now. Cool, thanks

[@RobinMacPhersonFilms]

You’re welcome Esther, that’s awesome! What language(s) are you going to be reading them in? 🙂

[@M_SC]

@@RobinMacPhersonFilms Japanese

[@MandarinCompanion]

@@M_SC Jared here. So happy to hear this! So glad these videos have been helpful!

[@alvinscott1331]

Hi Robin I am enjoying this series of videos. For once I'm watching your videos with a couple of days of being released instead of months...Yaay!! Any way I watched your video on making comprehensible input more comprehensible after watching this video. In the video you mentioned that you would listen to a podcast multiple times and each time you level of comprehension increased. That made me wonder if re-reading the same text multiple times would/could improve reading comprehension the same way relistening to a podcast increases word recognition and comprehension?

[@jorgealejandroyanezpenaloz4747]

Great video again. On the other hand, do you mind sharing that research that Jared mentioned; the korean one that suggests that people who read a million words are learning the target language as if they studied abroad or in the target language country?. keep going!!

[@budekins542]

Children level books are definitely useful for adult beginners.

[@thejuiceweasel]

I always assumed that Harry Potter would be easier to read than "proper adult" material, but actually, I just bought Stephen King's "Cujo" and it's way easier in my opinion. Nowadays, if it's possible to use the "look inside this book" function on Amazon, do it, it's quite useful in deciding whether or not the material might be for you.

[@Alma-si5rh]

Awesome informative videos, thanks!!! I have a question, I'm interested in increasing the speed at which I read in a second language, I'm quite advanced in French but I do take the time to translate an unknown word and often record it in the context of the sentence where I read it with a gold list type method. This seems contrary to the idea of increasing the speed at which I'm reading, should I ideally not be pausing to translate and write down sentences with unknown words? Also, is it helpful to learn speed reading techniques which I could then apply to an L2? I've often wondered about increasing my reading speed in English, which my first language! Thank you!!

[@ElKoshkin]

Great video, great series! Question: there should be a phase/time when you learn new words; when does that happen? As you move up a level?

[@RobinMacPhersonFilms]

Absolutely! The idea of extensive reading is that at the “sweet spot”, you will indeed still encounter a few new words every page, and since you are reading at a higher level of comprehension and therefore likely a much higher speed, you will be able to learn a lot of words over time because you’re going to cover a lot of material. Then there is of course the moment when you jump to a higher level and might encounter even more words on average until that level becomes easier, and so on. So I think if you should be acquiring new words throughout the entire process 😊 does that make sense?

[@ElKoshkin]

@@RobinMacPhersonFilms Totally. Thank you!

[@LolLol-ch7sl]

When reading, do you think it is best to use audio along and do you read out loud? Or just read inside to yourself, without audio?

[@michelgolabaigne595]

There is a very important aspect, "the reading speed". The slower you read, the more boring it gets ... and boredom kills the progress ... Robin Your notes on your study program could be very helpful ... have you ever explained how to do it ...? I think it would be important for a lot of us ... :) Thank you both for the great series of videos !!!

[@RobinMacPhersonFilms]

This is definitely a good point! I'm glad that "reading speed" came up in the conversation! Absolutely! Here is a video I made a little while back about creating my tracking sheets: kzbin.info/www/bejne/nXezdHSGiqeSkNE And here is a video I made more recently showing myself creating the one you saw in this video, from my series documenting "reviving my German skills" 😄kzbin.info/www/bejne/a4iue3-vg8eanKM

[@michelgolabaigne595]

@@RobinMacPhersonFilms Thank you for your answer and for the links! Maybe it will work in my case too ... :)

[@dirtmonkeyal]

The funny thing about Japanese is that I think you do want to pick up a few children's books, and that's because of the ... ONOMATOPOEIA WORDS. They ARE used a lot in spoken Japanese. Because a lot of them don't even have to do with sounds, but emotions or state of being. Like soaking wet, or tired and beat down. Japanese use them all the time.

[@vicsheldon427]

Thanks for the podcasts. I have been reading aloud in Chinese, but that doesn't allow me to read faster because I am constantly stopping to correct my own pronunciation and tones. Would you recommend reading silently?

[@daniellelouzado]

What would you recommend for people who are still at that painful reading stage? I’m trying to learn German and I’m finding it very difficult to recall words. I can speak French and Spanish at a conversation level and didn’t seem to have the same issues that I have with remembering words in German. I would appreciate any advice you might have - also thank you for all your great content!

[@davehalls9928]

Thanks Robin and Jared for the videos, they’re very helpful. It’s encouraging that given that many of us can’t travel right now to the countries of our target languages, we can still make good progress. I did have a question. I’ve been learning Spanish for about 6 months and I’m using a variety of methods - text books, Duolingo and a couple of other apps. I’ve searched for beginner readers on Amazon and there is a large number of readers available, but some of them seem of questionable quality. Also, some of the beginner readers still seem to me beyond my level and would definitely be at a pain reading level. Do you (or other commenters here) have any suggestions for good Spanish readers for my level (preferably Latin American Spanish)? Thanks!

[@kaia8167]

I'm not sure about graded readers, but I really recommend checking out News in Slow Spanish. They have both Spain and Latin American Spanish, and there is a LOT of reading content that is also accompanied by audio from native speakers. The monthly subscription is a little pricey if you don't have much (or any) money to put towards language learning, but it may be worth it to you depending on how much you end up using it.

[@MichelleF1320]

I'm a beginner in french. And I do mean beginner. Technically extensive reading is still far off for me however I love fanfiction. Since I've gone through all the english ones of my favorite tv ship and landed on a french one, out of pure frustration I have now incorporated translating it into my study sessions. Its slow going, but I reaaaaaaly want to read it. I'm not sure if this is helping or hurting...? The fanfiction app do have a "read aloud" function that helps with knowing what the pronounciation sounds like. Surely input can't be bad?

[@SilentJaguar68]

Does Jared have the paper and/or the university that these reading studies came out of? I would love to read those studies, as it's quite a big interest of mine! I'm sure others on this channel would like this too!

[@RobinMacPhersonFilms]

I can definitely follow up with Jared on this and try to get you links to those studies! 😄

[@MandarinCompanion]

Jared here. Good news! Here is a link to the Extensive Reading Foundation's website that has a list of virtually ALL academic papers published about extensive reading. Have fun! erfoundation.org/wordpress/bibliography/

[@SilentJaguar68]

@@MandarinCompanion thanks so much Jared!!

[@donw6372]

Do you have a copy or video on how you create your tracking sheet?

[@stephanivaz3204]

for me what works was start reading romance books, I'm already read a lot in my native language and romance for me is one of my favorite genres and read romances in english is works a lot because have a easy vocabulary and for me is too easy became attached with the history

[@jan_kisan]

even reading with half the words being familiar is okay. i started a book in French _understanding_ only a few words on a page. and i finished it _not understanding_ only a few words on a page. just don't use the dictionary. get what you can about the unknown words from the context they're in, and move on. go with the normal speed even when you understand just a fraction, and it'll not be "pain reading". that fraction will grow.

[@saramohammad7290]

Any book recommendation for intermediate reader please??

[@patfromamboy]

What is a graded reader and where do I get one in Portuguese? Thanks

[@ruthloewen3884]

Like many other commenters, I think children's books can be very helpful when your comprehension is low. There may be graded readers available in your language (in my case, German), but there will never be enough such reading material to allow lots of reading. On the other hand, there is generally a great deal of kids' literature. And there are kids' books at every level, since kids too need 'graded readers' in their own native language. I benefitted from reading kids' books until I reached the stage when I could handle simple adult books.

[@MargaretNahmias]

I think it depends on your goal. For vocabulary acquistion children's book may not be ideal. However if you are looking just start reading I'd say they are fine. Adults book can have obscure vocabulry too.

[@nictegki]

Where do I actually buy GRADED BOOKS? thank you!

[@dianebishopdesigns]

I have found that getting hold of graded reader type books for Persian is almost impossible, there are only one or two I came across and they were single books rather than a series of books, but I could get a few children's books and there were some which were also bilingual with an accompanying audio track so you can hear how the words are supposed to sound. I find that even though I understand a lot less than 98% of the words on most pages I don't get that same sense of reading pain because I have a translation there and I can use that to try to figure out what the words are rather than stopping constantly to use a dictionary.

[@RobinMacPhersonFilms]

Hi Diane! Thanks for commenting with your experience 😊 I can totally understand the feeling of not being able to find tailored resources like graded readers and I think it's great how you have adapted with the resources you were able to find. It sounds like you are finding your way quite nicely, but I'd also like to pass on a video I made the other day sharing my thoughts on the very issue. I'd love to know if you find it helpful 😊🙏🏼 kzbin.info/www/bejne/rJ3FcmeOrtWEo68 Wishing you lots of amazing experiences with Persian! I was learning it for some time while living in Hamburg, as my two best friends there were sisters from Iran. They were just the most lovely, warm-hearted people and I loved hearing their stories and learning about their language and culture.

[@luisbarahona3352]

Nice interview, I'm learning English so I have a question. If I feel graded readers at the highest level are very easy for me. But my objective is speaking fluently with real English. Then... Should I change to normal books? Plz I'd like you make a video about reading progression. PD: your subs' number is growing pretty fast. Good job! Keep it up

[@MargaretNahmias]

You are probably ready for native level material.

[@kath3832]

Not to do with extensive reading. But.. I am attempting to learn Spanish as a second language again.. (I've have tried many times and given up over the last 10+ years.) This time I feel I have learned what helped me and what doesn't when learning a language. So I'm feeling more confident. But I am unable to do the rolling rrrr. I have watched probably a hundred videos over the years and read up on it, and still I cannot do it. This is so upsetting and frustrating, and makes me feel that I am failing in a way, before I even really begin properly. Do you know language learners who can't do this and still able to achieve fluency? Or is there any real actual advice you have on how to do this rolling rrrr. My dream is to learn many languages. I just wish I could develope this rolling rrrr skill. Thank you.

[@patfromamboy]

I don’t understand any words when I read unless I translate. When I translate in my head I have a few words on every line that I can’t understand or I don’t know which meaning to use when translating. I try reading every day but I can’t understand what I read except for an occasional line when I translate correctly. Thanks

[@alwayslearning7672]

I find sometimes that even though might know most of the words in a sentence, I can't grasp the over all meaning of the it. Very strange! How do you recommend you get to a good reading level as a beginner without studying grammar?

[@rosupay]

Great suggestions Robin, I am beginner/intermediate in Japanese. I already know hiragana, katakana and some grade 1 kanji’s. What books do you recommend for me to start? Is there graded books in Japanese? Thanks

[@jandrews8365]

This series is really good and comes with audio. They're sets of books. So this one I linked is 5 little books. They're a little pricey, so you might want to skip Level 0 and start with Level 1. I borrowed most of them through interlibrary loan, so maybe that's an option for you. The stories are a mix of fiction and nonfiction. www.amazon.com/Japanese-Graded-Readers-Level-Audio/dp/4872176243 --- Also look into the website/app Satori Reader when you know more kanji.

[@rosupay]

@@jandrews8365 Thank you so much. I never heard about these sets. They are a bit pricey as you mentioned, but I think it’s just what I am looking for. I already got the app. I really liked it, so interesting and there is a free option! Much appreciated!

[@coachwalk7485]

Spanish graded reader suggestions?

[@maduxdotca]

Perhaps I am not understanding this completely, but where do I find a book for L2 learners where I know most (but 2-3 words per page)... I am native Russian and fluent in English, I'll have to dig hard to find a book that would be suitable for extensive reading in those languages... and what do you do as an L2 learner? is extensive reading really meant for advanced students only?

[@patfromamboy]

How do I learn how to read? I’ve been studying for over 8 years now but I still have to translate everything into English to understand. Many words have multiple meanings so I don’t know which meanings to use when translating. I study and practice every day and I’ve visited Brazil 18 times. It’s like the Portuguese words don’t mean anything to me like English words do and I can’t find a way to understand them when I hear or see them other than translating. I can’t converse yet either. No conversations yet which is frustrating. I practice every day with my girlfriend and have for over 5 years now but I still can’t understand her. Thanks

[@patfromamboy]

When I’m trying to read and I’m translating many times I can’t understand what I’m reading so I have to try different meanings with the words that have multiple meanings and I often can’t understand what I’m reading because of this. How do I understand what I read? I’ve been reading for 8 years now and still can’t understand what I’m reading or listening to. I need to find a way to learn the vocabulary without translating. How can I do this? Thanks

[@julianarocha9370]

does anyone have recommendations for books in korean or french?

[@julianarocha9370]

preferably for L2 learners

[@kjaime7030]

I get the reasons why not to go to children's books to read, but what about comic books, which are written for both kids and adults? Or books like The Hunger Games or Harry Potter, where the words are written for young adults as much as for younger teens. And yeah, those examples are fantasy and might have stuff that don't apply to real life, but I already know the stories, which might help me learn new words simply from context.

[@RyNzOr]

What if i know word but can't say it fr pm my head

[@jase8550]

Is there Extensive Reading for French?

[@lucianosaavedrapiano7327]

Hello everyone! Does anybody have a resource for german graded readers? I been looking, but can't find any.

[@kurtthecat3995]

Check out the series by Andre Klein on Amazon.

[@annak4891]

Help! I don't understand, You are saying that extensive reading is when You know already 95% words but... someone else said that this kind of reading means that i should know some words, don't care about those i dont know and just go with the flow and then somehowi start to recognize them... on the other hand intensive reading was described like when You know almost nothing and try to work on the book both words, grammar etc. thank You for videos I really appreciate Your work:)

[@brendanhansknecht4650]

Anyone have opinions on the best japanese graded readers?

[@RobinMacPhersonFilms]

I really enjoyed the series from White Rabbit Press, I read all of them with several of my students when I was teaching Japanese 🙂 www.whiterabbitpress.com/japanesegradedreaders/

[@Rosi_in_space]

Ah yes, the overwhelming number of graded reading material in ...Icelandic... 1. I think there is _one_ book, Short Stories In Icelandic by Olly Richards.

[@Ronsharo]

The only problem I find with reading a new language is getting the right pronunciation. How do you over come that if you don't have any feedback?

[@mycahfrancis]

You’d have to get the audio version as well. Hopefully it has one for the book that you choose to read

[@vswild7005]

Just start with something like Duolingo for that in the very beginning to get the pronunciation and basic sentence structure

[@Ronsharo]

@@vswild7005 I feel I don't learn anything from those apps... I really learned allot from a recording that teached me sentences and was simulating a conversation for me.

[@kevingeoghegan294]

@@Ronsharo That's it. Do a lot of listening first before you even start any reading.

[@marshallch4779]

The thing I don't like about these kinds of books is that they are often written to be understood by English speakers. They are written in a peculiar way so that English speakers can relate to the grammar of their target language. And after spending enough time going through them, if you try to read an authentic book written by a native speaker; you'll realize that you are not able to understand much, usually due to some strange grammar patterns. And it is very demotivating for me. At least this was my experience with these books.

[@ronlugbill1400]

There is a lot of reading research in L1 reading that contradicts the use of graded readers. Vocabulary growth is more limited among those who use graded readers. And the stories are usually boring. Better to follow your interests and read about something you are interested in. Compelling input is very important. Find a topic you are interested in and read books about that- cooking or Harry Potter or your favorite sport, or whatever. Something you are highly interested in. Some graded readers may be ok, but many are not that compelling.

[@brendansweeney7468]

How do you avoid learning a word with incorrect pronunciation?

[@geckofeet]

Well, not using this method for Danish would be a good start. 😬

[@gc2528]

Well, if you're learning a tricky langauge in this sense, just like english, i would advice you to get lots of listening input as well, this way you'll be getting the pronunciation of the language without any problemns, little by little.

[@brendansweeney7468]

@@geckofeet Good Luck to you! I once thought about learning Danish but I might go with an easier to pronounce Nordic Language instead.

[@brendansweeney7468]

@@gc2528 I agree. That is the method I am currently following with my target language. I commented mostly because they haven't addressed it in this series so far.

[@geckofeet]

@@brendansweeney7468 True fact:When the Pronunciation Goddess passed over Scandinavia, she was suffering from food poisoning, probably from bad fish pudding. Danish and Swedish are both very difficult to pronounce, but in totally different ways, and learning one doesn't give you a leg up on the other. (Danish spelling is, by any metric, much the worse of the two, but Danish beer is much better.)

[@matheusxavier1082]

Rob, Jared - do you think there can be a different impact if I read books on my cellphone instead of reading physical books?

[@Mary-S11]

Interesting question, I had it in my mind as well.

[@gc2528]

I think not. A lot of people read on Kindles nowadays, and are able to do it pretty fine. If you're planning to follow the instructions showed in the video, you just have to make sure to do them even in the cellphone.

[@sarame7]

Has Jared Turner got youtube channel?

[@RobinMacPhersonFilms]

I believe Jared uses the Mandarin Companion KZbin channel, which you can find here 😊 kzbin.info/door/EMjz6grJabXyE_bBv-TuGwvideos

[@sarame7]

@@RobinMacPhersonFilms thank you!

[@hmt894]

I am guessing that the reading not done out loud??

[@rayj4539]

Anyone know of good Spanish graded readers?

[@davehalls9928]

I would like to know this too. But I have tried a couple that seem quite good, but feels like they are more targeted at A2 and above rather than A1 (which is what I need). One is "Spanish Short Stories for Beginners" by Claudia Orea. The other is "Short Stories in Spanish for Beginners (Teach Yourself)" by Olly Richards. Another one that looks promising, but I haven't purchased yet, is "Short Stories to Learn Spanish" by Luis Arturo Pelayo. Hope some other people chime into, because there's a lot to choose from out there and I'm not sure all of it is good and suitable for A1 learners.

[@GOTHBOSSUNIVERSE]

Why can't I find any Brazilian Portuguese graded readers!!? :( I found like one......what choice do we have but to read children's books lol. I read to my kid before he could talk.... so he didn't know English. So why are children's books discouraged? I have even been looking for young adult books and poetry. Not alot of options.

[@user-te8cx4kx9j]

Has anyone noticed how much he looks like Dexter? 😅

[@colinwithrow1083]

Anyone know of any good graded reader in German?

[@RobinMacPhersonFilms]

For German, 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!

[@geckofeet]

@@RobinMacPhersonFilms TRIGGER WARNING:The main character is just some person. There is no actual dinosaur content.

[@RobinMacPhersonFilms]

@@geckofeet 😂 thank you for clearing that up!

[@colinwithrow1083]

@@RobinMacPhersonFilms Thanks for the recommendations! I’m definitely going to pick those up. Loving all of the content you’ve been putting out lately!!

[@amstabomitdembabo5984]

I really have to DEFEND children books. Those are real books and play an important role in the culture of a country. I would recommend every German learner (A2/B1) at least to try a children books classic in German. Children books let you deal with REAL language without overwhelming you with adjectives and long sentences. Moreover you find a lot of children books with a realistic setting. At the end: read what you want to read (given that you are able to read it). I would say that every A2/B1 learner of German is capable to understand (!) a children book without a problem.

[@lucianosaavedrapiano7327]

Could you recommend anyone please??

[@amstabomitdembabo5984]

@@lucianosaavedrapiano7327 sure thing! I think "Emil und die Detektive" is great and also a classic! You learn a lot about Germany/Berlin in the 20s. Other classics are "Jim Knopf", "Die unendliche Geschichte" and "Momo". With a good A2 you should get the gist of these books. The books of Janosch would be an easier starter though

[@lucianosaavedrapiano7327]

@@amstabomitdembabo5984 thanks a lot mate

[@LauraBCReyna]

I agree about children's stories. I tried them when I dabbled in French. The do tend to be difficult for the absolute beginner. You still need a lot of vocab. I had a hard time w them. And I wasn't interested in the subjects they presented: geese & assorted farm animals, grandmas, village life etc... I think if you like reading these types of stories in your native language, or at least don't mind them, they can be useful. I just think they're overrated, generally, if you're an adult.

[@OngoingDiscovery]

Saying don’t read books for kids is straight up horrible advice. You even went on to talk about someone who read Harry Potter and improving. Who do you think Harry Potter was written for? Just as a personal anecdote: when learning Japanese I read like 20 books of the Magic Treehouse Series that I saw was popular with kids in 4th or 5th grade. These were books about travelling back into history and meeting people and having adventures. The stories were genuinely interesting, covered all kinds of topics and the abundance of books in the series meant that I could get used to the style of writing and the words that the author (or transliterator) would use often. As I got better I found that I could read the books I saw 6th graders reading, and then Junior high students (I was a teacher, for context). I actually found that graded readers tended to be a lot more patronising and unnatural in their use of language. Furthermore, the argument that just because a piece of media might discuss something not relevant to your daily life, it won’t be useful is silly. The important thing is that it’s entertaining. I don’t want to read a book about someone going about their daily routine, filing their taxes and having mundane conversations with friends. I want to read something that grips me and keeps me reading. Books for grown ups use as much, if not more language that people don’t use in daily conversation, because authors express their artistry through their clever use of words, and so novels for adults often use obtuse, highly specific, flowery, or metaphorical vocabulary to express their own artistic identity. Authors writing books for young people, on the other hand, must remain entertaining while being easily understood.

[@MMmk1]

I like the idea a lot, but... the materials which you, Jared, describe, don't exist or they are very few if you're not a high-level learner. I'm sure for the most languages in the world they don't exist at all. I'm talking about BOOKS. I don't even know if there are books for me IN CHINESE which would satisfy your conditions. How would you comment it?

[@sashaadamova479]

7:42 Start reading! To measure your reading speed. But, do you use a dictionary????????????????????????????????????????????????????? You didn't say about a basic thing for comprehensible input at all...

[@RobinMacPhersonFilms]

And did you watch the previous episodes in this series where we talked all about that?

[@kerolosfadleshamshon8374]

How much extensive reading is enough each day.