The Secret To READING In A Foreign Language | Polyglot Tips & Advice

Reading your first novel in a foreign language can be daunting and, frankly, it's difficult! But it's SO REWARDING and in today's video I share one of my best secrets to successfully reading in a new language 😄
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[@xxxqwertxxx]

I’ve noticed that a lot of polyglots on KZbin say a whole lotta nothin’, but you actually give genuine, useful and practical advice and don’t try to come off as some kind of language wizard. I always identify with what you’re saying. It’s refreshing and helpful. Thank you!

[@RobinMacPhersonFilms]

Thanks so much for this feedback, Mila! It's honestly really delightful to read that my content resonates with you and is refreshing and helpful!! 😄✨

[@IshmaelVargas]

@Mila My thoughts exactly.

[@prudenceblue]

I agree.

[@sergioescalona62]

I've been studying teaching yourself to understand Japanese and found an awesome resource at Fergs Magic Blueprint (google it if you are interested)

[@SmallSpoonBrigade]

That's because a lot of polyglots don't really know what they're doing. They've got perseverance and determination, but they don't really know why the things they're doing work. Language learning in general is an area where the "experts" often times aren't experts and there's little incentive for the schools to do any better because if they started to be hard with the students and get results, the students would likely quit before they saw any real results.

[@robynneblissett6510]

I cannot tell you how happy discovering this method has made me. I've been learning Italian for 8 months and I felt like my language learning hit a brick wall. But in the last few weeks since diving into a couple of novels, I feel this method is really moving me forward! This Robynne is grateful to you, Robin!

[@anonimettalontana4944]

What Italian novels have you read?

[@MrZumo4]

That's some great advice! This is actually why the first book I read in every new language is almost always Harry Potter, cause I've read it so many times by now that I know a lot of it by heart. It also has a simple language and it's been translated into so many languages, so it works almost like a modern day Rosetta stone!

[@pbtube58]

Great point. Just reading Harry Potter in German. Actually, I’ve never read it in English, so this is the first time for me.

[@InesFLK]

What level do you find you need to have for Harry Potter? I find fantasy books harder because there's so many words you won't hear in real life...

[@MrZumo4]

@@InesFLK It depends! The first time (I exclude English here cause I learnt it at a pretty young age) I read it in a foreign language was in Spanish and it was suuuuper hard, I took tons of breaks and didn't finish it for years. I'd say I was intermediate when I first started, and more advanced when I finally finished it. I think that it had more to do with my mentality though, my confidence was very low and I felt very insecure about not understanding large portions of it. This was a lot easier in Italian, even though my level was lower than it had been when I started it in Spanish, and now I'm reading it in Greek even though my Greek is very elementary. So basically, if you can push through it without understanding much of it (although trust me, by the end of it you'll understand much more), you can do it at any level, but if you need more security it could be worth waiting a little bit. Robin actually made a video about reading in foreign languages just the other day though, you should check that out! I'm not sure what it's called but he talks about first reading the first chapter thoroughly, before diving in. Maybe it'll give you some insight!

[@InesFLK]

@@MrZumo4 Thanks for this! quite helpful. I think you're right in that approach. I do have a hard time keeping up with a book that I don't understand a lot of. But I actually picked up another book that I tried to read before in the same language and have just noticed the evolution and feel much more up for reading.

[@MrZumo4]

@@InesFLK Oooh that's lovely! I hope it goes well! I can also recommend doing what you can to accept that you don't understand as much as you'd like, it's very valuable when learning. Just a few weeks after starting to learn Greek I listened to an audiobook at normal speed, and while I did understand a word here and a phrase there, I have no idea what the book was about. I did find it very useful for internalizing the vocab and grammar that I did know though, so not understanding isn't the end of the world!

[@MrsKoldun]

3:47 the golden advice

[@michaeld7319]

Hi Robin, your approach makes a lot of sense. I am working on Spanish now and I am adopting a very similar approach. I think the reason it works is that by really studying the first chapter you learn a lot of vocabulary that will be used again and again in the following chapters.

[@RobinMacPhersonFilms]

Hi Michael D, I totally agree with you. It sets a great foundation of core vocabulary that is either (a) common in general, (b) common/important to the story, or (c) common to the author, since everyone has certain words they tend to use more than others as a part of their style. A great example of point (b) is when I was reading in my Spanish series, the main character was a seamstress. So there were some really key words (such as SEAMSTRESS which I definitely didn't know in Spanish, haha) that were not "common vocabulary in general but very common/important to that story and helped me for the entire rest of the book as they were repeated constantly.

[@raffcummins]

I would say my biggest tip for people trying to read in another language is to read on an iPad and download that languages dictionary so you can just tap the word and see the meaning, saves so much time. On a side note I'm currently traveling around South America and buying a book from each country. Love the discussion videos robin

[@LostDeku]

I use this approach as well. I actually load them onto an app called LingQ and that helps me track what words I have seen before and what words are new.

[@RobinMacPhersonFilms]

That's a great tip for sure, Lelouch! I really like making these videos where I try to think of what my "best tip" might be for something difficult, and when people then share their own biggest tips and we get a really nice collection of perspectives 😄 That's fantastic regarding your book-buying adventure! Purchasing books is one of the most enjoyable things for me to look forward to when traveling. How many countries/books have you acquired so far? Any that you're particularly excited about?

[@RobinMacPhersonFilms]

@@LostDeku yep LingQ is actually quite similar to the method I developed on my own of going back through and highlighting the words that repeated throughout the book, but of course LingQ automates a lot of that and keeps track across everything you read.

[@raffcummins]

@@RobinMacPhersonFilms i have been to chile and Colombia so far, in Peru now, really just been just buying books about that countries history, have any Spanish book recommendations?

[@RobinMacPhersonFilms]

@@raffcummins Absolutely! I can really recommend the book I was reading in my Spanish reading series, "El Tiempo Entre Costuras" by Maria Dueñas. Still cannot wait to finish it one day!

[@daysandwords]

Hey Robin, Oh man, I know I said this on your last video, but it's happened again haha - you and I are making similar videos. So I was in the library (appropriate) writing a video about how to know whether you're going to be able to get through a whole book, and I finished writing the video and checked my phone and you had uploaded this video with those first few lines as the description, I was like "Dang it, I just wrote that video!" In all seriousness, they are (going to be, when I come to film it) pretty different but yeah, it's sort of happened twice now (because the other thing I'm going to be doing a bit of is reading 'normal' development books and applying them to LL). ANYWAY - about reading, yes, that's very true about the first chapter (or two, if there's a separate set-up in the second chapter, which there sometimes is). Two months ago I finished my second novel in Swedish and I 'accidentally' followed your advice here; what I did was actually read the Swedish chapters 1 to 3, and then the English (because I had a copy in both languages) and then the Swedish again... and then I went on to chapters 4, 5, 6 and suddenly I found I was on like chapter 10 or something and had not referred to the English even once. So then I just finished the book (not in one go, took about 6 days). But yeah it was SO much easier because of having all the context, like you mentioned. I might have to try the same thing with one of the next books I want to read, by Per Anders Fogelström... that thing is tough going haha. Great advice Robin, keep it up!

[@RobinMacPhersonFilms]

I think that's a great approach, too, particularly when you have a copy in both languages on hand! 😊 I've also done a few variations of this in the past. I think that the reason I prefer the approach I outlined here is that the process of building understanding is a lot more involved with the language that you're learning, since you're sort of forced to be a detective and discover everything directly, and you are processing the foreign language directly into meaning; and the process of taking the notes on both vocab/phrases and general story notes - it all just feels so involved and like a deeper cognitive journey. Even here it can still be great to have a copy in your native language to reference for those times when it's hard to figure out what something means, and particularly for things like idioms (although we also have to be aware that the translator may have chosen something different that they felt conveyed the same idea or may have just gotten it a bit wrong). But it's also a time-consuming approach, so having the two copies and going back and forth can provide a slightly less intensive approach that still facilitates understanding 😊

[@mateussouza1872]

Wonderful Robin. Thank you again for more a incredible advice.

[@krolowamotyli257]

Your entire "reading journey" is exacly like mine! I have been struggling with the reading since ... I don´t even remember. Thank you soooo much for that advice!

[@MisAlineR]

I'm amazed by how you manage to point out your techniques in learning new languages, and it's so easy to understand. As someone who has been struggling to learn English and Spanish.your videos are always helpful

[@nutertor]

I have seen a lot of videos about learning languages and I have to say, Robin, you are the best. Thank you for your tips, your teachings, and your energy.

[@CanadaMills]

I recently discovered your channel and am gobbling up all the goodies you have produced over the years. I am near fluent in French, and am at an intermediate level in Portuguese, and a beginner-intermediate level in Bulgarian. You are now my go-to KZbinr in all things 2L acquisition, as you have lots of useful tips. (P.S. I really like videos like this one that only have background music at the beginning and/or end, as otherwise it can be quite distracting, especially if it's a track that has a 10-second loop or so.) Looking forward to watching more of your videos!

[@solea59]

I just watched your video on easy language videos Robin. I had written tons of stuff from them. Now I have three A4 notebooks of Italian full of notes . This is my arsenal. Now I'm ready to start. Thank you so much for the advice you give us. Very helpful.. Your passion for language learning is very infectious !

[@annettemcnabb5856]

Ohhh.. I love your suggestion of highlighting words that are used frequently!! I'm going to give this a try. I have been underlying words and looking them up, but to hight light them would make the comen words really stand out!

[@angelnokare6906]

damn that is a good video. You look passionate, enthusiastic, happy to help, energetic. And the information is great. Pretty cool approach to reading, something i surely need to try as i am lost novels after first 3 sentences. Seems like this would work, makes a lot of sense, so thank you and keep up the good work

[@GypsyCurls]

Very useful. I will definitely give this a try. Thank you for sharing

[@vjones5646]

Totally agree with you. That first Chao you are also learning all the vocabulary around that subject or story. Once that’s done it’s so much easier to move forward.

[@polarbearseverywheres]

Great advice! Thank you.

[@Ifaii9l]

from now and on I'll read the first chapter again, thank you Robin

[@michellew.3691]

Just awesome! Thx so much!

[@LisaSoulLevelHealing]

I like this. Im moving from short stories to novels soon and wanted advice, and this one makes the most sense.

[@MotardRosbif]

Hi Rob, I love watching your videos, they are so inspirational👍 Reading has become a big part of my language learning process, I’m currently learning French and was wondering what your advice and thoughts are about ‘reading out aloud’ to ones self?

[@leekspinner]

It's pain to go thoroughly through text with a dictionary and notes, but it's SO worth it! Thank you for reassuring me to continue! Reading 10 pages of each book is a nice tip as well, thoroughly processing a bunch of small texts really boosts the vocab for the future long reads.

[@jillustration]

Top Tip as well, especially if you're a repeat reader (eg you like reading books multiple times): make your first novel in your target language a novel you're already read in your native language and that you really really enjoyed. Also preferably easier material. My personal favourite go-to first novel in a new language is Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone because A- the language used is not as difficult as it's aimed at a largely younger audience, and B- I know the story inside and out and this actually helps IMMENSELY making those all important intuitive connections and "guess" the meaning of unknown words. So even in the beginning when a lot of the time I'll be reading a sentence I don't understand, If I roughly know where I'm at in the story at least, I can figure out the meaning of a lot of the words because of my pre-knowledge of the plot and characters and place we're at within the storyline. I promise you, you can SIGNIFICANTLY up your comprehension "percentage" and therefore enjoyment of the reading material, if you start with something you're already familiar with, and use that as your extensive reading springboard into eventually material that is new.

[@sbrnAK]

I totally agree about picking the first chapter apart. Actually, as I was watching this I was cutting open a box of books that just arrived from Germany.

[@shioszk]

Hi Robin. Thank for sharing the great tips of how to read in a language that you are learning. I tend to focus only on perfectly understanding every single word in an English book. Sometime that works well. Mostly, however, I end up to feeling exhausted and getting strain because of my energy and time just consuming. Luckily I have learned a great tip from you : read the first chapter intensively. The method can makes me much more comfortable with reading an English book ☺️✨.

[@Ur.Mousey]

I can’t wait to try this. I’ve been learning French and I have started to read more novels around my level. My approach has been to just read, and if I understand the majority of the first chapter, I’ll continue reading. If not I’ll go to a different book. And I only look up words I didn’t know that were repeated multiple times because to me if something is repeated, it means it’s important.

[@kiwisam1]

Great tip. I've started reading Olly Richard's Short Stories series and agree. If I take the time to go over the first chapter it subsequently makes the remainders easier and more enjoyable

[@joe1195]

I'm doing the exact same thing now and it made everything so enjoyable to finish the rest of the story. I then just continue on to a new story after a few read-throughs and skim the other chapters for new vocab and neat phrases/grammar to dive into

[@academiavillage8783]

I am going to try this. Thank you for the tips, I am going to come back after a month with an update.

[@worshipedwarrior441]

Yeah how much progress have you gained?

[@user-ht9rw2kg2p]

Guess we will never know

[@entelektuel.yolculuk]

Academia Village okkay, how is your progression now? You said you were goin to come back, don't disappoint people who wanna benefit from others' experiences

[@reasonablyobsessed]

Are you coming back somewhen?

[@benis87]

Lol

[@jaki5747]

I agree with your method. I unconsciously did this when i read my first comic book in french. So i read the first chapter and find myself searching for the meaning for every word that i am not familiar with and when i went to chapter 2 i kind of felt lazy so i just told myself to just scan everything. And surprisingly i kind of understood the context and i was able to finish the book quicker than when i would’ve studied them intensively per chapter.

[@maletu]

Your method also captures some of the author's idiosyncratic vocabulary (and/or the vocab of the time/place/topic).

[@shlee4]

Thank you for this video. I have been learning French from the past 5 years with weekly lessons, and I still have an erratic experience reading in French. It is very frustrating. I will try this method and hopefully, I can overcome my fear of reading French and not completely comprehending everything about the text.

[@LO-nt7lg]

Graded readers are fantastic too. I find them so helpful.

[@Nico97fr]

I was in the same situation you described, reading the first pages and trying to understand every word, until it felt too complicated. I'm trying a different approach now: I have bought an ebook and imported it to a website called "readlang" for which I pay a yearly subscription. (it also allows you to save webpages: news articles, blog posts....). I can translate up to 12-words sentences just by clicking them on my screen. It's instantaneous (and it saves all the words and expressions translated into a database, from which they can be exported to spaced repetition systems like anki, if you wish). This way, I can read, trying to understand as much as possible, and if I don't understand a sentence or a word, readlang gives me the translation, and I can move on to the next lines. If an unknown word comes up very often, I'll end up memorizing it effortlessly. The same goes with expressions and grammar structures. It's pleasant, and you learn gradually, without feeling overwhelmed or unmotivated. Once you've read the book once, you can come back to it later, and read it again: it will seem way easier, and the words you missed the first time will be the next you'll learn.

[@solea59]

Hello Robin. I have been disappointed in books I have bought, not really enjoying what I thought would be an interesting story, but your idea about getting to know the characters etc has given me an idea. I loved the book Shogun by James Clavell, so I'm going to see if I can get it in Italian. I know the story so well having read it several times. So many thanks for your ideas !

[@Eruptor1000]

It takes a lot of time. We can all agree on that.

[@RobinMacPhersonFilms]

LionRS2014 yes indeed 😊

[@artiesolomon3292]

So much wisdom intensive reading of first chapters, Other chapters will seem easier. I also will try this withFrench.

[@emrepinar9200]

Thank you 🙏🏻

[@liampritchard2609]

I recently bought my favourite Stephen King book in German to compare to the English. So far I've been plodding slowly but after watching this, I think I'm going to read each chapter in English first and then reread in German while it's fresh in my mind. Thank you!

[@1rsalc]

Very interested. At first, when reading in my target languages, I was getting stuck on the first 10 pages. Later I discovered an online webreader. I was able to upload text or point the reader to an html copy of then book I was trying to read. Using the webreader I managed to get through my first novel in German, then one in French, and so on. P.S. Thanks for the detailed explanation about extensive reading first and then more detailed intensive reading. I will try that on my next novel.

[@shayan_khan_03]

Hey buddy can you please share the name of that web reader. Will help me alot.

[@omarperezprada8473]

I’ve noticed that this kind of methodology could work with me, it is practice, I think in the real life the process learing is just a matter of good habit. Thanks for your advices.

[@jerryhall5709]

Reading the first novel in French was a milestone for me. I've read short stories before, in simplified form, but this was the first book in the original language, without pictures and explanations. Now I have the courage to read another book. To rest my head a little I switch between French and English. Swedish is my native Language. English isnt nearly as hard as French. It's more joy than work but I still learn new words.

[@lettucestream3692]

Thank you!

[@Jauhara]

I did this too. When I left home, I bought foreign language books in French. Anything but Le Petit Prince. I discovered Alphonse Daudet's Lettres de mon Moulin, which is a lovely book. And I followed up with a book called Ramuntcho, a story about Basque smugglers. I also retught myself French by using G. Mauger's cours de L'ange et Civilisation français. Which I think is a fantastic way to learn French cheaply.

[@jojox6145]

I’m going to try this now.

[@jacksonamaral329]

I read several.

[@budekins542]

Good tips!

[@KhaledMohamed-tu2cb]

I can't thank you enough bro.

[@dmitriminaev]

What about starting with the books you've already read in a language you already know? (Currently reading 'Les enfants de capitaine Grant)

[@fisfisarenskanal]

Fet jävla video!!! Merci beaucoup pour ton conseils! Maybe some French book recommendations?

[@RobinMacPhersonFilms]

Tack för kommentaren Johan!!! 😄C'est un plaisir de partager mes conseils ! I really loved making this video where I told some stories/memories of books I've read in different languages, and I talk about several French books: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jKuVd6ewmrh8l6s I think I'd enjoy doing an updated version of that soon 😄 Are you looking for recommendations for novels? I absolutely love books from David Foenkinos, such as "Charlotte", "La Délicatesse" and "Les Souvenirs" (I really enjoyed the film based on Les Souvenirs, too!); I also really enjoyed Marc Levy's "Mes Amis, Mes Amours", "Elle et Lui" and "Et Si C'était Vrai", among others. Guillaume Musseau is another fantastic author you could look into! Ahhh I could talk about so many 😆

[@fisfisarenskanal]

That sounds great!! I will get to them once my French is ready :) Merci beaucoup! Du verkar ju verkligen ha tillräckligt att prata om för en ny video! :)

[@Wazkaty]

I'm a french speaker trying to improve my english with reading, so thank you!

[@marioom688]

You can do it

[@marioom688]

I'm trying my hard to teach my self speak french , it's killing tho but i'm working on it

[@Wazkaty]

@@marioom688 Good luck! Even for a native it could be difficult. That's why a lot of french children do not read. But if you want to learn french I think it's necessary. To understand the link between the pronounciation and the meaning of words. Do you know the International alphabet? It's a way to write every word in every language AND knowing the pronounciation.

[@Wazkaty]

@@marioom688 Try books that you ever know, It could be helpful to learn to understand the "second meaning" of the text. I don't know the word in English, I'm talking about "sous entendu". For that I think it's good to read short books or "nouvelles" : there are shorts stories with often a lot of vocabulary. You 'll "catch" the way of thinking. That's what I'm searching to improve my English : understand what that is NOT said

[@marioom688]

@@Wazkaty Really thank you for the advice i'm so greatful for that , i'm also trying to hear alot and repeat and making sentences in my head to see if there's any progress , it's challenging for me as a arab speaker but i got it , please i f there is any books movies songs you recomend ar any website i would love to get help :)

[@relaxedbrain4237]

It takes away all motivation when you think that you need to translate every single word from beginning to end. I noticed this thing when I was watching a series of videos about Hannibal's way to Rome. I understand almost every word, because I worked intensively with the text of the first 3 of the 15 videos.

[@kaedreaming8341]

´Maybe I should read that one, it invited me in with the cover page, it seemed so nice and friendly... Until I read the first 10 pages’ 😂 💀Robin you are literally narrating my life! I’ve been fighting with Chinese books for yeaaars and lost every battle 🙈 I always couldn’t help but take the intensive approach. I’m definitely going to try extensive reading and hopefully soon on you’ll see my first book review video of a target language novel I’ve finished! 🙊🤗✨✨✨

[@katerinaproftova8410]

Would you use kindle with the build in dictionary to study a foreign language?

[@ckubitscespaol6881]

I wish I’d seen this before I started reading The Wheel of Time books by Robert Jordan in my native language. If it makes sense for me in my NL I imagine it will be brilliant in the second language I’m learning.

[@irenemcnamara9699]

I came close to reading Tolstoys Anna Karenina in Russian. The problem is that the older I get, the smaller the print becomes. Not very conducive to reading in a foreign language.

[@Blueaspen391]

I don't agree at all. I think it is much better to start reading easy graded readers. When we read very difficult texts we end up reading much less and this is going to slow down our progress a lot.

[@klarakrok]

Each Language Transports you to Its Own vibe...better Outloud..listen to your own voice ...big help. Cool stories.we in same Boat

[@RanBlakePiano]

Mew to your channel. Is there s sequence you can recommend ?index? New to iPad age 85 ,this is challenge

[@spindriftdrinker]

I am a native English-speaker. Reading in French was extremely easy compared to the difficulty of reading in Hebrew. The language is more difficult, the alphabet is different and the direction is right to left. I can't even imagine how difficult Japanese would be if I had the time to study that.

[@harbin88]

Could you tell us before your reading of the foreign language book, did you have any basic training of the languague? I am thinking to read a french novel with help of Microsoft Copilot, which can explain the meaning of words and sentences, and providing background information if it is a relatively known novel. I dont have any training in French. So I am really curious about your knowledge of the language before your readings. Thanks!

[@slowlearner4341]

Il n'était pas "canal de découverte", vos suggestions et recommandations, mais j'ai trouvé quelques approches intéressantes dans votre vidéo. Il est temps de les expérimenter. Merci, Robin.

[@lecobra418]

Well, congrats, it makes no sense.

[@safir9780]

im gonna try to read animal farm by george orwell like this. just gonna read a chapter raw, then go back and intensively study it with an english translation and flashcards on my kindle. then do that for all the chapters

[@SilentJaguar68]

Thank you so much for this Robin! I'm at a point where I'm trying to transition into reading books in Russian. Russian is way different than anything else I've learned before and has three big difficulties when trying to read. 1. A lot of vocabulary is very specific and different from my native language (English) 2. There is a lot of such vocabulary mentioned in #1 above. 3. Most of these words are only used in literary contexts and forms lol So this way sounds like definitely a great way to try and get into a book, as I'm sure they'll use those words again! Also the application LitRes allows you to preview 20% of the ebook before you read it to allow you to decide if it's too hard or not before you buy it! It also allows you to search by content language in Russian, German, Spanish, Polish, Lithuanian, Latvian, and Estonian!

[@RobinMacPhersonFilms]

Great to read your comment @SilentJaguar68! I can totally relate to what you're experiencing now!! Reading in languages that use a different script is always a lot more challenging to start with, but it's also so rewarding to glide over those foreign characters eventually! It's also tricky with languages where literary works use a particularly different style of language than spoken. I'd love to hear from you about how this approach works for you -- please do keep me updated! I'm sure that you can do this 😄

[@onetwo9824]

Hello! So what would you recommend for those who want to read in Japanese. I know about 300 words, you can imagine that I know even less when it comes to kanji, may be half of that number.

[@ManForToday]

I just don't see how you can magically learn the vocabulary with extensive reading. You'll pick up a lot sure, but if you don't know the word/phrase and it's not a word you can deduce accurately from context, then you NEED a dictionary. Guessing can thwart your overall understanding of what's going on. How else will you understand it if not by looking up words? I agree with you that reading extensively and then going back intensively, but what if you forget most of the words by the second chapter. Do you go back to your notes and look up the word you thought you knew?

[@patfromamboy]

I can’t understand anything that I read so how would I study the first chapter?

[@ameldz5032]

Hey Robin , your video made me realize i was doing that method unconsciously i am gifted 😂😂 thank you .

[@agustinamansur5665]

1:19 "some of my loveliest delightful moments of my language learning and even in my life, honestly have happened reading books in foreign languages". Oh, I bet that's something introverts would say 😜😊❤🙊

[@matanwiesner3640]

Is this method relevant also for Nonfiction?

[@williampowhida572]

If you are going to start language study by deciphering texts, you must have a basic grounding in the target language. You must understand the structures of the language. Once you have the basic concepts the reader must then learn the idioms and the vocabulary. And of course, you must be able to pronounce the words. I am using this approach with French. I am reading a novel and I would compare it to eating swiss cheese rather than a cheese without holes. It's the holes that slow you down, but also give you the chance to learn the idioms and vocab. Novels are the most sophisticated language forms because they tend to use a lot of adjectives and descriptive words and forms. So, do you know the French word for shimmering or woozy. When I can read a French novel without a dictionary, I will have reached language nirvana.

[@marnijay2486]

I'm glad you mention this aspect of novels! When I started reading French novels, I was struck by the descriptive words giving nuance I hadn't reckoned on before (which seems silly, because of course we have them in English too). Yes, I knew the word 'brillant' but what about the French equivalents for yes, shimmering, as well as glowing, gleaming, glistening, sparkling...?

[@CalBruin]

So what happened to starting with newspaper and magazines?

[@erturtemirbaev5207]

А я обожаю читать на иностранных языках, в частности на английском и китайском

[@RobinMacPhersonFilms]

Это отлично, Ertur!

[@QUINTUSMAXIMUS]

I haven't really read in French in a long time, but I've studied thousands of vocabulary using Memrise. I will probably stop using Memrise in about a month and focus a lot on reading.

[@osamahabbas3443]

Thanks.can u give us tips about learning kanji? thanks again

[@RobinMacPhersonFilms]

Hey Osamah! Thanks for your comment 😄 I actually have this as one of my video topics I'm planning to cover soon 🙂

[@learnerlearner1839]

Use skritter

[@japaneseimmersion7295]

Great ideas! I share your obsession - my bookshelf has tons of books I hope to be able to read someday. I agree that a combination of intensive and extensive reading is the way to go. In Japanese, I have had success with bigger, hardcover editions of Charlotte's Web and Kiki's Delivery Service.

[@Vietnam_Da]

I try to understand some English books but I can’t understand these cause I don’t know so much vocabulary this is the main reason why I bought English books what can I do in my situation?

[@diiiittt]

its 2 am rn and ive decided i will read spanish manga to learn the language

[@supernal_4545]

I suck at reading in my own language. Everyone else is far ahead of me!

[@patfromamboy]

I’ve been studying Portuguese for over 8 years now but I still can’t read or converse. I have to translate everything into English to understand. Even the words that I know need to be translated. Portuguese words don’t mean anything to me until I translate them into English. I’ve visited Brazil 18 times and my girlfriend only speaks Portuguese and we’ve been practicing every day for over 5 years now but I still can’t converse with her. She has to speak very slowly so I can translate everything into English. I need to find a way to learn without translating.

[@AConnorDN38416]

Just get an e reader. Then looking up words doesnt slow down your reading nearly as much and you can still more or less read extensively while looking up words when you really need to to be able to understand the book.

[@joemack290]

So that's over 9 minutes to suggest that you read a whole chapter without stopping and trying to understand it. Then go through the chapter again checking the meaning of the words you don't understand.

[@RobinMacPhersonFilms]

No, I would not say that is a fair or accurate summary of the information contained in the video or is main value points at all.

[@kurtkunklesdaughter9837]

The major problem with reading is starting a book for the first time and making the wrong choice.Ive done this today and I feel terribly ill, because the book i chose was so difficult,i have to stay in bed for several days to recover,it hurts physically,please dont make this terrible mistakes,take an easier one,dont strive for everything in a day

[@batatasacrazyadas7843]

The brute-force is always my favorite method until I got really used to the language...bcs I'm lazy and need this "DO THAT!!!! NOW!!" to continue going on...even to watch movies or so if I don't force myself to just go through without subs ( in the language but subs) I still lazy around about improving my hearing and speaking. To repeat over and over again the same chapter or just pass through without having a base of the language it just waste of time and torture to me.

[@vseme1572]

Why not just read books in foreign languages- whose content you are already familiar with? Then, the focus is on the content/translation/annotating/language acquisition- rather than on figuring out the story line.

[@Khan_2025]

I think the first 20 page is the most difficult part of a book....

[@itzviolet3216]

Excuse me do you learn the alphabets and spellings first to read in a new foreign langauge

[@harbin88]

I have the same question.

[@mingusbingus6746]

Intensive only never made sense to me, how are you supposed to gain a 12000 word vocabulary if you only read at 90% literacy?

[@LucasSantos-cz2cl]

Why do we have lots of poliglots giving tips and a few linguists, and everybody values more poliglots than liguists?

[@kenrock6136]

Starts 1:49

[@RobinMacPhersonFilms]

Do you not find someone explaining their background with a subject and why they are passionate about the specific topic of the video to be real content?