2 ways to read in a foreign language

Intensive reading and extensive reading are two excellent ways of learning foreign languages. They both have their place in every language learning program, and play off each other well. I have used both of these reading methods when learning French and Spanish, and I want to share with you my experiences, and what I’ve learned about the subject.

[@angelsjoker8190]

I agree with most of what is said, except not necessarily that you shouldn't read a complex novel like GoT when you are only at B2. That's more a question of how stubborn you are. In high school, I did exactly that for the first time while having about B2 in English. During my holidays in the US, I went to a bookstore, went to the fantasy bookshelf, skimmed through all back-covers and went for Tad Williams' "Memory, Sorrow and Thorn" trilogy in four books. In the beginning, it was a pain in the ass as I had to check several words in each and every sentence, but it became better and better, went down to one word per sentence, one word per paragraph and after around 200 pages to quite fluent reading with maybe one or two words per page. So it started as intensive reading and naturally and gradually became extensive reading thanks to initial stubbornness to stick with the reading. Last year, I did the same with Swedish as the target language (A2-B1 at the time) with similar experience (except I didn't enjoy the book as much as it was a Swedish translation of Dan Brown's DaVinci Code and I had read it already in English ten years ago and found it less thrilling). Now, I've started it with Russian (B1) where I do additional grammar analysis in my intensive reading and listening to and speaking after the corresponding audiobook, so it will probably take longer to finish the book (translation of Harry Potter). As I said, you need to be pretty stubborn for that as in the beginning it takes over half an hour to read one page and checking all the new vocabulary is quite exhausting so you most likely don't read more than two or three pages per day, but reading gradually gets better and faster and then it feels absolutely rewarding to fluently read the rest of the book.

[@BERRUEZA]

That is quite an intense approach haha Funny enough, I'm wanting to read Harry Potter in Russian as well, and at a similar level. One question though. In the past when you've done this, how were you able to remember enough vocabulary? Just naturally because of the vocab that was repeated often enough? Or did you use a flashcard program like Anki to learn all the new words? Thanks for sharing, and if you can respond to my questions!!

[@angelsjoker8190]

@@BERRUEZA Hi! Yes, it is intense, so not for everyone. But if you're willing to go through that grind, it's very effective and rewarding. Back then for English and Swedish, I didn't do anything extra with the vocabulary. I didn't write the words down (that would have prolonged the reading time even further). I just checked the unknown words in a (paper) dictionary (I have the feeling you remember words better if you check them in a physical dictionary and not just quickly online). Most of the words repeat often enough and after 3-5 times checking them in the dictionary, you will start to remember them. With Russian, I've done some Anki. In the beginning pretty intensely (doing Anki for 60-90minutes a day), but it became too time-consuming (I also used a lot of Anki's possibilities, like multi-colored text, adding pictures and sound which I cut out of the audiobook) and exhausting, so I greatly reduced over time. Now I'm doing 10-20minutes max. The first 2-3 weeks are really a pain in the ass and you just have to be stubborn. (That's also why it's very important to read something you're really interested in, so you get the reward of the interesting content) When you got through the first 50 pages it starts to click. You won't be much faster by then yet, but you will feel that the practice of checking the words has gotten its own flow and there are more and more words that you previously had to check and now recognize. After about 200 pages (in a more foreign language like Russian maybe 300 pages), you will start to get a hint of fluency in reading, and that's a pretty awesome feeling. Sometimes, you will still need to check a lot of words, sometimes you will be able to read whole paragraphs or even whole pages without the need to check words. Also, gradually, you will check for fewer and fewer words as you start to understand unknown words from context, and even if you don't understand them you will get a feeling which words are really necessary to understand the text and which aren't.

[@olafharoldsonnii4713]

Shit! Can you list some good fantasy books for me to read? Last good book I read were the Percy Jackson series. I love those types of books.

[@hegivor]

What you are describing at the end is known as 'Frequency illusion' or 'the Baader-Meinhof phenomenon'. "The illusion in which a word, a name, or other thing that has recently come to one's attention suddenly seems to appear with improbable frequency shortly afterwards."

[@FingtamLanguages]

hegivor Hey, that’s interesting! I have noticed this phenomenon a lot, but never knew it had an actual name. Thanks for letting me know!

[@rickyskelland2751]

This is incredible. I live in the Netherlands now so I’m learning Dutch and this always happens to me!

[@sharonoddlyenough]

Yes! This happens to me all the time! I once bought a small red truck, and then noticed that there were three other trucks of the same brand and colour in my small home town!

[@tinabean713]

@@sharonoddlyenough Same here, except it's a Red Dodge Caliber, and I never even noticed the Caliber before my mom pointed it out at the car lot and said one of her best friend's had the same kind of car (meaning I knew someone who had that make and model and never even noticed it). After I got it, I started seeing them all over my town in the same exact color as mine - but not so much in other parts of the city.

[@DBoone123]

Gracias 🙏

[@dinosilone7613]

I sort of came up with my own method, which seems to be somewhere in between, and it's worked for me. I started by finding books in my target language that also had really good English translations available. The books I picked were, initially, just out of reach. I'd read along, trying to get the gist of what was going on, and whenever I'd miss most of a paragraph, I'd refer to the same paragraph in the translation (i.e. very little actual dictionary use). As I went along in the same book, I found I'd be looking at the translation less and less frequently, and eventually not at all. As I think about it, this is probably almost exactly what Stephen Krashen talks about for adult language acquisition, where you couple extensive input that is just slightly beyond your current level, but where you have sympathetic, meaningful feedback (in the form of the translation). Anyway - this has worked very well for me. The only downside is having to buy two versions of the same book... :)

[@thewisedragon6029]

That's awesome

[@ramongomes1966]

Thanks for sharing your knowledge with us!

[@adanvega7493]

Dude! I'm totally enjoying your videos. Thanks

[@MatthewRaymondBoyle]

Great topic! I like to use both of those methods. I find myself using the intensive method when reading books in Chinese that I'm super interested in, but that are way beyond my level. Then, I use extensive, just to relax and comprehend more with, say, children's books or comics. And, I've read The Little Prince, too, by the way, in Chinese. Wonderful book! Endearing, yes. The perfect word for that. p.s. - I envy you! If I could go back in time, I'd like to be a Linguistics major. You explain things very carefully and clearly and your word choice is precise! Keep up the great work!

[@gabysadowyj1251]

Just discovered your videos. Love reading thank you so much. Just ordered Compte les étoiles x

[@marilenecosta6585]

Great video, great info. I truly recommend it!

[@rloach067]

This is a cool informational video! I also enjoy doing both. I like picking a subject i enjoy and do extensive reading on it for the most part, but select a few random parragraphs to do intensive reading on them. Works like a charm for me!!

Great tips. Thank you so much.

[@shreyamahapatra]

I absolutely love this video..

[@beaudenefinger3312]

Super helpful, thanks so much!

[@TheGraysmassive]

Great video, very helpful, thank you

[@faithbwire9164]

Amazing insight

[@Juliobalthazar]

Very helpful, thank you

[@nataniellullaby1095]

I'll buy "Call me by your name" in english :D I was going to buy the spanish translation, but maybe I should try to read the original one instead. Great video!

[@ahmedsaleh7904]

Thnaks for all these information. I love your videos, it’s inspiring 🙏🏽👍🏼

[@FingtamLanguages]

ahmed saleh thanks! :)

[@murataubakir8437]

*this, 'cuz 'information' is not plural.

[@zoilagraves8278]

Good information. Thanks.

[@allanlealdacosta9223]

Great video, thank you a lot

[@Assassinriflez]

OMG, I just had that happen to me. Where I learn a new word or grammar form, and all the sudden it just starts popping up everywhere.

[@stevekaczynski3793]

It happens to me. It is good for learning morale.

[@ehmo8706]

Ooohh so clever about the highlighting with different colors , starting with pink (lightest) I do with yellow and after that just underline the words I keep mispronouncing or the ones I forget. Imma do the color for remembering and underline for pronunciation ones. Awesome idea. Thanks for the video )

[@FingtamLanguages]

Thanks for commenting! Glad you liked it!

[@femmeNikita27]

When it comes to reading nowadays I do something that I have learnt in Sweden. I study or read in thematic blocks. Both on grammar and vocabulary. In Sweden they teach one narrow topic for 2-3 weeks and then students have one exam or write one longer final paper on it. Such intense focus makes people retain more information and recall them better later on. So it's like a combination of both intensive first and extensive reading next in one. So I start with basic thematic vocabulary on a particular topic and later on expand reading more on the same topic from various sources. Or start with basic rules explaining some grammar topic and later on do more exercises, read more, look for more uses of some verb or mood or a particular construcion. For example this is my "salud/enfermedades/vida sana" week in Spanish (vocabulary learning/revision block) and my " oraciones impersonales en espanol (la voz passiva, la voz media, otros oraciones impersonales etc.) week in Spanish for example. I do so for other languages. When I learn a language from basics like now German I read a textbook with a thematic chapter, read a phrasesbook on the same topic and then move on to reading short articles in daily news online, search for YT videos on the same issues and use flashcards on the same issue or make my own using quizzlet. And I do so for a few days in a row, or for a week-two weeks, until I get comfortable with the most common vocabulary or with the use of most common verbs, expressions etc. I know some name it spiral learning or something like it, I even have seen some textbooks constructed with this process in mind, but I think everyone can do it at home. One just has to be clear what the main topic for each week is supposed to be.

[@ANon-un6hd]

AHH THANK YOU! I AM SO GRATEFUL FOR UR VIDEOS

[@FingtamLanguages]

Glad you like them! Thanks for the kind comment 😊

[@robertrodriguez7653]

Currently I am learning Portuguese but I'm not gonna focus too much in studying it because I understand a lot since I speak Spanish. I am also learning French and I'm going too put a lot of my time and effort in learning. I try to read the Little Prince but I understand very little.

[@biblesimplied2321]

Thanks. I’m going to try an experiment and do one method for a period and another method for a period and see which works best for me

[@jacmorales5314]

I just subscribed. I like the way you improve in languages. I am trying to start reading in Russian which is my weakest languages. I speak Spanish, Portuguese, Italian and learning Russian now. Thank you for the video. Looking forward to following​ you.

[@mancoolcool4777]

Joe Anthony Morales helo from Russia:)

[@arturodiaz8018]

Eres mi héroe mi amigo , saludos desde México i hope in the future we can practice together rusian 🤘🤘🤘👿

[@fredmathilda443]

Joe Anthony Morales i dont know if you already did, but use accentizers morpher.ru/accentizer/ And a lot of texts, which are supported with audio haha, good luck you will definatly manage man !! :)

[@femmeNikita27]

As for spaced repetition apps- I do use them, but do find them more boring for my brain than learning in blocks. I think it has to do with using the same source and the same method all the time. And from neuroscience which is my hobby I know that diversity of sources works better because brain needs excitement about information in order to make memories. So I can tell from my own experience that SRS apps might be a nice addition but when it comes to aqusition of new vocabulary and grammar patterns block learning gives me better results in terms of long-term retention of informaton. The only thing with which SRS apps do really give noteworthy results for me is retention of correct patterns for combination of a DER, DIE, DAS with a correct noun in German. So maybe it's worth to use them to memorize articles in some languages in cases in which there is so rule allowing us to guess the correct article. German has some rules for it, but not for all nouns. So in some cases it's just arbitrary and has to be learnt by heart. With this SRS helps a lot and gives visible results in a very short time. I'm using memrise and duolingo for my German and I already had situations like "I know the correct article which goes with this noun even though I have no idea where I know it from" and then after checking back I can see I've learnt it from my memrsie or duolingo set. So in this sense SRS apps work even on let's say "subconscious level (by what I mean "retaining the info in working memory even if it hasn't been yet consolidated by our frontal cortex, so we are not even sure if we know it already." It's like knowing how to play the piano despite having amnesia or suffering from dementia).

[@roseromano]

My experience has been that it's a lot easier to read a book translated from English (my native language) into Italian (my target language). So I would recommend to others to also try that. I remember the day I was enjoying a novel in Italian and I thought I should be studying my Italian instead of goofing off and just reading a novel. That was a very exciting day for me.

[@iamnotonfiretoo]

I have done the same to start. English is my native language, French is my target language. I just finished reading the first Harry Potter (French version) Book, and I'm so proud of myself. It took a long time, but now I feel accomplished 😂

[@user-bl4xv4dx2t]

Remember, read WHATEVER makes you happy while reading it--simple, complex, fiction, non-fiction. whatever works--just make sure it's COMPREHENSIBLE to you, that is, you understand MOST (not all) of what you read. The context will help you with what you don't understand. It's fun!

[@dofeffortless5003]

Great video with a lot of interesting advices as usual Keep up the hard work bro (y)

[@FingtamLanguages]

Hey thanks! I appreciate the comment!

[@jeremycline9542]

I just started intensive reading in Uyghur after learning verb conjugations, particles, cases, postpositions, etc...that's the type of stuff that won't be searchable in a dictionary. The extensive reading sounds a little like what I did in German except some pages I would understand less than 70 percent; since I didn't look up the words I'm not sure if that qualifies as extensive or not.

[@sarak6860]

I tend to blend the two ways of reading.

[@RogerHetfield]

*Reading + Anki is the best way to learn vocabulary. With Anki (spaced repetition app) you can include words, example sentences, texts, images and audio in your cards, so you WON'T learn anything at all out of context. Just by reading you can't know how frequently the words will appear in the book and may be learning more slowly.*

[@Mimieq]

Roger Hetfield Can I play ANKI on phone ? I remember it says that I have to be connected from a computer

[@RogerHetfield]

*Yes, there's a version of Anki for Android called Ankidroid.*

[@Mimieq]

Roger Hetfield I'm going to try your technique, Thanksyou :)

[@Kacatkun]

I really enjoy share ways to learn languages, although I've got to admit that I'm currently only focusing on learning English. I'm doing both of these reading mothods, the intensive reading I've been doing with Hyperion by Dan Simmons (wich by the way is quite challenging) and for the extensive one I've been using Holes and The 5th Wave.

[@FingtamLanguages]

Cool! Holes is a great book! I'm not familiar with the other readings, but I'll have to check them out.

[@user-bl4xv4dx2t]

Two words I see all the time while learning Portuguese are: mesmo and logo. Each has so many meanings, I feel at times they are against me.

[@TrinaLena]

Thanks for another great video! I just got a Norwegian book I'm looking forward to reading :D

[@FingtamLanguages]

Cool! How difficult is it to find Norwegian books?

[@TrinaLena]

Fingtam Languages It wasn't bad. I was able to find a children's book and then found more difficult ones on Amazon. :D I actually have family in Norway that has sent stuff too.

[@Mrdeanop2]

What book did you get?

[@TrinaLena]

Maskeblomstfamilien by Lars Saabye Christensen

[@bestattractive8260]

Heb Heb. Hi I want to ask you something. Would you ?

[@cpnlsn88]

I don't go much by the distinction between the two modes. The only distinction is with intensive reading of hard sections you don't make much progress. That is you'll spend a while on a paragraph then be exhausted. If something is beyond you you won't cover much ground. If the text is easy you can fly through it. It'll be enjoyable. You'll pick up words by context and absorb tons of grammar. The name of the game is to make your task easier by whatever mechanism. Read something again. Read a book you already know. Start off with short stories. Try to read easier authors first. And so on. Another thing I'd say for complex novels is to wrote a brief synopsis about who someone is, build a family tree. Can be in English or L2 as you please (doesn't have to be in the TL but can be a writing exercise if you want to). That is do what you can to reduce the cognitive load the book presents. Plot summaries can be helpful and are plentiful on the Internet! With Wikipedia you could read about the author and book in the L2, for well known works.

[@justenglish7486]

I understand 80% from what totally you said

[@lisaahmari7199]

Thank you for your great tips! I do not know if you have already mentioned this: KZbin has hundreds of "Dialogues". They are FANTASTIC for language learning. Short, every day conversations by native apeakers that you read along with.....so you get vocabulary AND pronunciation at the same time (which helps more than anything with listening comprehension.) I highly recommend these. I know for sure they come in Spanish and French because those are the languages I am studying. Dialogues en francais comes in three levels/conversation speeds. All free on KZbin!

[@jinjurbreadman]

You have A LOT of videos. I just scrolled through them all looking for a video for improving your accent (making yourself sound more like a native and less like a foreigner), and I could not find a single one (I did find like 3 on apps tho ;p). Do you have a video for this already? If not can you make or recommend one from another channel?

[@maureenmiaullis6427]

I like the Harry Potter series. Since I don't have a lot of time for reading, I use audible. I've got books 1 thru 4 available for listening. I plan to make some time for reading soon.

[@notaname8140]

I've found Harry Potter pretty useful too, it helps that the books matured as the series went on (which is probably the reason the series sold so well, the books aged at roughly the same rate as the kids reading them so they retained a core audience all the way to the end, something that's pretty hard to do for a long series for children since kids have a nasty habit of growing up, lol) so they get gradually more challenging. I've found that it's helpful to read along at the same time as listening to it on audible, to start to build links between sounds and words, though it depends on how good your listening skills are, but I really struggled with the audiobook at first since I'm not used to the sounds of the language so it could be difficult to even make out words at first during faster parts, even though my reading was decent at that point

[@cermanskaja3504]

I am currently reading The Little Prince in English :)

[@FingtamLanguages]

It’s a great book! :)

[@jordanlosper5761]

holyghost Proud of you😉👍

[@eiriks680]

I'm reading it in Serbian XD

[@DavidAlvarez-jq2nk]

11:26 Good video. I would to like to say that actually, you can add sentences with audio and pictures to Anki so you get to see the new words in context.

[@FingtamLanguages]

Yes, very true. This can be done on Memrise too. I was referring to learning words after encountering in the context of some real world situation.

[@livig4639]

@@FingtamLanguages What I do is to add the frase with the word highlight instead of just the word

[@justinwr092]

What are your thoughts on a lower level learner trying GoT but with the help of Lingq? Obvkously I'm having to look up and/or make lingqs out of every other word, but it's pretty fun and I think I'm getting something out of it.

[@caiosiqueira6138]

Until now, the only novel I've read in English is animal farm. Is "le petit prince" easy to understand? I'm still beginning to learning french and I think it's a interesting book (By the way, portuguese is my first language)

[@gianlucacastro5281]

It's mostly made up of simple dialogues, so it's easy to grasp the meaning of the frases while reading common french Acho bom pra quem está começando

[@caiosiqueira6138]

@@gianlucacastro5281 Vou tentar acha-lo então. Você também está aprendendo francês?

[@gianlucacastro5281]

Como já é public domain, você acha fácil a versão em francês E sim, também estou aprendendo kkk

[@marcoantoniogalecki1824]

El reto es que armes algo para el aprendizaje del ingles por los hispanohablantes

[@Frygonz]

Unfortunately its nearly impossible to get print texts in smaller European languages like Dutch in the US. No site I have found will ship here.

[@michaelshort2388]

How much of a book should I know to make it worthwhile reading a book intensively? I have a couple of books in Swedish that I want to read but I find myself at least a couple of times per sentence having to look up words, is that a sign that the book is a bit beyond me?

[@FingtamLanguages]

A few words per page is fine. When you are reading intensively, even 10 or 15 words per page is not an issue. That is the point of intensive reading.

[@rafalkaminski6389]

Do you know other booklets like the little prince?

[@generikadeyo]

My current reading level in my target language is like 1st grade and that's being generous

[@user-jy4zj7ep1k]

Stephen krashens articles don’t support intensive reading.....it’s the fact that we can’t simply just forget about grammar I guess?

[@mayrose495]

Where do you buy hard copies of books in Spanish??!

[@FingtamLanguages]

You can find some pretty good deals on Ebay!

[@screaming8363]

Was game of thrones in Spanish a good translation? 🤔

[@FingtamLanguages]

In retrospect, GOT probably wasn’t the best choice, because even in English it is written in a highly non-standard dialect.

[@caiosiqueira6138]

@@FingtamLanguages I couldn't agree more. I read it in my first language (portuguese) and there were a lot of old fashioned words that I had to check on the dictionary to understand. For example, "cosido" that has the same pronunciation of "cozido" but have a totally different meaning. At least it was a good choice to learn more about my own language

[@jayeshrathod84]

You should give all book link to buy for your subscriber dear.

[@paholainen100]

good video

[@FingtamLanguages]

Thanks! :)

[@paholainen100]

no worries. May I ask which languages are you working on? I noticed Spanish and French , since you mentioned them?

[@FingtamLanguages]

Yep, I'm also working on Esperanto less actively.

[@paholainen100]

cool. I subscribed to your channel. Also check out my channel if you can. I've made many language videos. Hello from an Australian living in Slovakia!

[@DiamantisHell]

-Extensive and intensive reading defs. -Reread the books in foreign language and highlight words you don't know each time. -Srs within context works better.

[@amiah1224]

do u travel to the countries of the languages u learn?

[@FingtamLanguages]

AMiah Yeah, I love traveling, and I find it to be one of the best ways to learn the language in an authentic way, rather than the canned version from the textbook.

[@KC-ge3bq]

very useful! gracias! :)

[@InhigoAlai]

Es curioso, pero los libros que lees en español son libros TRADUCIDOS del inglés. ¿Es que no hay ningún libro escrito originalmente en castellano que te interese?

[@caiosiqueira6138]

Amigo, podes me recomendar alguns livros escritos originalmente em castelhano?

[@InhigoAlai]

@@caiosiqueira6138 Depende de lo que te interese y de tu nivel de español. Yo dejaría la literatura clásica y la moderna muy complicada. Cualquier libro de los llamados "bestsellers" sería interesante. Hay un libro que se llama "El tiempo entre costuras" de María Dueñas (que tiene también audiolibro y serie de TV) que sería más o menos fácil de leer. A mí no me gustó el libro por cuestiones ideológicas, pero ese es otro tema. Te lo recomiendo porque es muy fácil de adquirir en castellano fuera de España y porque tiene también traducción al portugués; por si quisieras leerlo primero en portugués y después en español mirando la versión portuguesa cuando tengas dudas de vocabulario. Si además puedes leerlo en español mientras escuchas el audiolibro a la vez, vas a aprender muchísimo. Espero haberte ayudado.

[@caiosiqueira6138]

@@InhigoAlai Obrigado Gracias

[@InhigoAlai]

@@caiosiqueira6138 De nada.

[@user-uf3qr9lx6u]

@@caiosiqueira6138 Eu gostaria de ler mais em português. Você pode me recomendar algumos livros? 👀

[@MrWaheedbrohi]

gud

[@Trillvil1]

I don’t know. My way of learning a language is I NEVER study. I don’t treat language as math or science. I treat it like I do English. I acquire the language. It’s amazing what the brain can do when you listen and read in a language for 967 hours

[@kunyukkunyukan5005]

the problem is i'm still in the very beginning stage and children's books are extremely boring to me T.T

[@espartaco2028]

I make my own judgements. At 58, and aware for the last 54 years, I´ve come to realize that I know a great deal and that few have anything left to surprise me. One thing which does surprise me is how a Federalized educational system can go from #1 in the world to #54 in 2022, and ANYONE believe ¨we´re smart¨or that our academia ¨gets it¨ whatsoever. In fact, I´d encourage everyone to do the exact OPPOSITE of institutionalized learning for that very reason alone. Don´t ask American or British ANYTHING about language learning, and I´m not referring to Aaron. I´m saying, think!! Think about how many languages Americans are known for learning. Now tell me we need to take advice from that.

[@derangedpsychopath]

I think the best way to learn new language is reading not translated book because you learn language with culture. If you do not wanna learn nation's culture why you would like to learn their language. Sorry for grammar. Nice work.

[@MrWaheedbrohi]

bookish

[@mikkey_willy]

But when you are trying to learn a language and you don't know how to pronounce words, how would you know you are pronouncing them right?

[@tonytunbridge6275]

That's interesting. I teach ESL and as soon as the students have learned past simple, I start them off on simple readers. Usually crime novels because even people who don't read much are used to the genre from TV crime dramas, and also because there's a cliff hanger at the end of each chapter so it entices the students to keep reading. Children's books in general aren't particularly good for adults - there are lots of books written for adult learners and for specific levels, in English and in most of the main languages. Harry Potter has been translated into many languages and B1 level students should be able to read it. In regard to habits, do try to stop scratching your nose and face when you are making videos. It is quite annoying and it is just a nervous tick. I'm sure your face isn't really itching.

[@vinicius0084]

space repetition

[@MrWaheedbrohi]

guf

[@allanlealdacosta9223]

One thing that I like to do with Anki is to put new phrases there with one word that idk and in this way, I put the words in context =D Nice video, tks