EXTENSIVE READING: Why it's been the key for me in mastering languages | ft. LingQ

[@Tehui1974]

I've been studying my second language for 4.5 years now, and I'm at a B2 / C1 level. I started doing a lot of reading in my second year which accelerated my development. I started learning Spanish last week (1 July 2023) as my third language. I'm learning words by reading & listening to short stories. It's slow and painful at the moment, but I know from my second language experience that if I read (and listen) regularly, that I will soak up words and sentence structures naturally.

[@masterp69]

Same here!

[@muskyoxes]

Thanks for this. I read so many comments of "I mastered a language in six months!!" that it's refreshing and motivating to see confirmation that it's actually difficult, and that there's not something wrong with me for needing a long time

[@kristineenemuo7238]

how is Spanish going for you now? Has reading continued to be useful for you?

[@Tehui1974]

@@kristineenemuo7238 Hi, I'm still learning Spanish. I've averaged about 45 minutes per day of listening and reading together. The language is slowly becoming easier to understand. I'm nowhere near a conversational level yet though.

[@Eternal_Foreigner]

Books are powerful, they don't require a conversation partner, and even better, if you have access to a library, they're free. If you think about it, reading is really the most potent way to consume a language. I don't bother with apps like linq, I just read content I enjoy without worrying about tracking words or anything. Over time I see the same words again, and they start to persist.

[@PolyglotSecrets]

LingQ is not just about tracking. It's also about understanding and looking things up. Especially as a beginner, you might waste a lot of time trying to understand something and looking elsewhere, whereas with LingQ, if you are stuck, you just click and see the meaning. It's also super useful, if you don't know what to read - then you can open the library and just read something. It generates transcripts of podcasts, generally includes listening and can read out books, etc. etc. But of course, we all have preferences. I am just sharing what I like, to each their own. :)

[@Eternal_Foreigner]

@@PolyglotSecrets I have no doubt it's useful, but I get the same use out of free tools. DeepL is a great free option for looking up the meanings of words, I love it!

[@muskyoxes]

"I just read content I enjoy" - how does that work starting out? Even after i get to "intermediate", i'm still stuck between comprehensible content i don't enjoy and interesting content i can't comprehend

[@PolyglotSecrets]

@@muskyoxes You should still aim for easy stuff you enjoy - for example, a short article, a non-fiction book (depending on level) - not something like poetry, which you might enjoy, but is super difficult (for example). If you find it hard despite choosing something easier, that can happen too! Then I'd go for reading using Google Lens - it disrupts less than looking stuff up in a dictionary. Or read within LingQ, cause then looking up a word is a click away and non-disruptive too.

[@RidetoEnglishwithDM]

LingQ is by far my favorite tool / app / website to learn a language. I 100% agree with your philosophy to learn a language. Thank you for another interesting video :)

[@danielbrzozowski2930]

Found this channel and completely agree with your words. I used to watch and play content in english, but i felt like I'd never grow up as a learner anymore, everything's just stopped However, i fell in love with the witcher 3 game and it shocked me so much that i could do nothing but deliberately read all the books in english, despite it's not the original language Now i can proudly die having read 7 fantasy books in English being able to describe a horse and its paraphernalia for some reason, i believe in Destiny :D

[@tomaslaskovsky722]

I have never studied comparative studies, but I have loved working with text in different languages all my life.

[@robertrodriguez5283]

Comprehensible Input and Compelling Input 💥. I've been using LingQ for a while now and have been really enjoying the process. Thanks for putting out a video that confirms what I learned from watching Steve Kaufmann KZbin videos.

[@MrMario477]

excellent tip you gave for those interested in other languages👍

[@remedyisrael705]

Thanks for your videos you are a big motivation to me ❤

[@sm5970]

Thanks for this. I am improving my German everyday and I really want to reach the next level now. I need to improve my vocabulary.

[@royanezp]

I really liked your video. Right now I hardly read in the languages I study, because I am focused on improving my listening skills and when I read I have the risk of pronouncing in my mind a sound that is not the right one. So I try to use tools that have audio. It can be reading, but in that case there should be some audio, for example reading a book together with the audiobook at the same time. I was reading Kato Lomb's book and I also noticed her predilection for reading.

[@PolyglotSecrets]

Oh yes, I think that's great - reading with audio can pack a punch :)

[@deutschmitpurple2918]

What a beautiful video ❤❤❤

[@PolyglotSecrets]

🙏🏻🙏🏻

[@mrsbombardier]

I love your chanel 🤩. Amazing explanation.

[@PolyglotSecrets]

thank you so much!!

[@josebolivar4364]

Appreciate your accent.

[@Andunia]

Saudade!

[@wesleyoverton1145]

Γειά! Είσαι Έλληνας/Ελληνίδα;

[@Andunia]

@@wesleyoverton1145 nai ναι

[@wesleyoverton1145]

@@Andunia ξεκίνησα να κάνω βίντεο στα ελληνικά (Δεν είναι η μητρική γλώσσα μου). Μήπως θα μπορούσες να παρακολουθήσεις το πιο πρόσφατο βίντεο μου και να μου πεις τι νομίζεις;

[@thomasfleck6552]

absolutely. same. but this year i'm somewhat lazy, reading only english and italian books. i've got some interesting books in french, spanish and romanian waiting on the shelf, but.... i only manage to read like one page now and then and that's it. maybe next year💁‍♂️

[@PolyglotSecrets]

I get you, I am feeling overwhelmed myself - so I am mostly reading in languages I am already at least intermediate in. As I mentioned it the last video, beginner level is the hardest imo and I just don’t have the energy for that right now 🤷🏻‍♀️

[@thomasfleck6552]

@@PolyglotSecrets that's it, really. you can force yourself only so much. german, english, italian require zero effort from me, i can simply indulge in the content. romanian and spanish are also ok, but only "normal", not too challenging stuff like news (or youtube), but books (fiction) are work... so, no, not rn....

[@PolyglotSecrets]

@@thomasfleck6552 yep, forcing is not necessary. In any case, we sometimes pretend as if the rest of our life isn't affecting our language learning... but when you have a ton going on, sometimes all you can handle is reading at B1/B2. 🤷‍♀

[@thomasfleck6552]

@@PolyglotSecrets ✅and that's enough for a hobby. different story if you needed a language, for work maybe. but i don't, so it's ok. and those books are sitting on the shelf just fine (or in the kindle), no best before date...

[@thomasfleck6552]

@@PolyglotSecrets ho comprato un libro oggi💪💪"nella mente del tuo gatto", scritto da bo söderström🇸🇪... perché no "hur tänker din katt"? leggere lo svedese non è difficile, no? boh💁‍♂️

[@wesleyoverton1145]

Μου αρέσει παρα πολυ να χρησιμοποιήσω την εφαρμογή/ιστοσελίδα LingQ για να εμπλουτίζω το λεξιλόγιο μου στα ελληνικά. Εχω φτάσει σε ενα επίπεδο πάνω απο σαράντα χιλιάδες λέξεις που γνωρίσω εκεί στην εφαρμογή. Επιπρόσθετα, έχω διαβάσει ολόκληρη την αγία γραφή στα ελληνικά με ενα φυσικό βιβλίο και όχι με την εφαρμογή LingQ. Οπότε ίσως το λεξιλόγιο μου υπερβαίνει εξήντα/εβδομήντα χιλιάδες λέξεις.

[@PolyglotSecrets]

👏 👏 👏

[@charlesstaudt2077]

♥️🌷👍👏👏👏 CHARLES STAUDT FROM BRAZIL 🇧🇷

[@GeorgeDeCarlo]

I would join Lingq but one thing keeps me from doing it. Every click of a word you don't know requires clicking a definition. If I don't know what the word is how can I click a definition. I do not want to be forced to click definitions that may not be correct. I have failed and spent a small fortune on learning Tagalog. Very lonely here in Metro Manila since I stopped going to any gatherings since everyone speaks Tagalog. No help is given by Tagalog speakers.

[@PolyglotSecrets]

Not sure what you are referring to. In what way are you forced to click a definition? I don't think you are.

[@GeorgeDeCarlo]

@@PolyglotSecrets when I tried it out after clicking unknown word jt always prompted to click a definition. I really don't want to guess. To me it is pointless to click definitions that may be in error.

[@matheus30331]

isn't that intensive reading? you use a a popup dictio., google translate, lingq or any other tool to understand the words, sentences, grammar you're reading. i've been doing that while passive listening and some intensive listening for almost 2 months, i am seeing good improvements. in comparison with the many start/give up cycles i tried using only anki and passive listening to learn japanese, now, i believe i'll learn it once and for all.

[@PolyglotSecrets]

I suppose both intensive and extensive is what I am referring to :)

[@quiet8100]

Your voice is not clear . will you plz readjust your mic.