Improve your comprehension with these 5 tips

CC subtitles available in multiple languages.

Want to improve reading and listening comprehension in a language? You're in the right place! In this video I share 5 observations about what works and what doesn't.

⏲️ TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 - the importance of comprehension
0:43 - forget about the 95% rule
2:07 - build prior knowledge
5:26 - get it wrong the first time
7:19 - narrow the range of subjects
8:27 - leverage the power of listening

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[Thelinguist]

❓What do you usually do to improve your comprehension? Let me know in the comments below!

[sergeykomarov]

When I decided to learn English, I didn't bother learning words at all. I read a 10-page English grammar and immediately started reading the Wheel of Time series, which consists of 14 books. At first I could only read 1 page a day, but by the end of the year I could read 15 while listening to an audiobook. In a nutshell, after 3 years I don’t care whether I read in English or in my native language. I listen to audiobooks at 1.5 speed, as if in my native language.

[sediqzara]

Whenever I get stuck or frustrated in my learning language journey l just come watch Steve Kaufmann's YouTube videos they are so motivational and inspiring. you are the best 💫🙏

[Sourena]

as a learner, I'd like to say you are one of the most qualified individuals I've seen on YouTube. what you are mentioning is what I'm understanding day in and day out. I can say there is a valuable and maybe tragic reality about learning a new language especially, as an adult, that is you should put your time and effort into it. it's not going to be an easy process. Most YouTube channels that teach English who are not qualified native speakers try to teach an exaggerated kind of English that even native speakers don't speak in that way. like using some advanced expressions or vocabulary so using them requires a lot of familiarity with the language and this leads you to fail in the right way of applying them. so, you feel frustrated. but this approach you are providing is a real and reasonable process that will lead you to learn better with a positive mindset.

[Spanish-zttj]

When I started learning English the teacher taught me the word "roller coaster". Until then I've never seen a roler coaster before. Even using images I couldn't get my head around this word. Only when I went to a roller coaster myself I finally got it. So it's true that the vocabulary, initially, should fit the leaner's onw culture and knowledge of the world.

[davidbrisbane]

As soon as I could understand 30% of a new language, I began to understand the main points about what I was reading or hearing.

[McLartyFilms]

Looking good Steve. Thanks for the comprehension tips and inspiration.

[Garow-urgz]

Great information Steve, that is helpful for us

[squaretriangle]

Very good advice, the pragmatic experience!!👏🏻

[Shibbyify]

Steve, with this new Whisper feature, you just made lingQ helpful for advanced learners. I can do sentence by sentence intensive reading, and intensive listening, because when you upload an audio file it time stamps the audio per sentence, so I can listen to the audio over and over, and put intensive listening and reading all at once.

[samgrafton]

Thank you so much for adding Hindi to LingQ!

[deborahphillips]

I'm currently in college and these concepts and tips are exactly what I need to boost my confidence in my reading comprehension. Thanks for being the grease to the wheel that I needed to keep my car running.

[tomigrgicevic]

Great video as always!! Thanks a lot!!

[alyssongermanlearning]

7:10 About the different contexts, ChatGPT is being very useful to me in that regard, I have set up the custom settings so that when i type a german word, or expression, it generates 10 sentences with it. The sentences are very concise and easy to understand, and it usually uses it in some different contexts which gives you a better grasp of the extent of the meaning of that Word/expression


example:


vorlegt

ChatGPT
Word Type: Verb
Meaning: to present, to submit, to lay down
10 Sentences:

Er legt dem Chef den Bericht vor. (German)
He presents the report to the boss. (English)
Il présente le rapport au patron. (French)
Presenta il rapporto al capo. (Italian)

Sie legte dem Kunden das Angebot vor. (German)
She submitted the offer to the client. (English)
Elle a présenté l'offre au client. (French)
Ha presentato l'offerta al cliente. (Italian)

Ich lege meinen Vorschlag vor. (German)
I lay down my proposal. (English)
Je soumets ma proposition. (French)
Metto in tavola la mia proposta. (Italian)

Du legst dem Lehrer deine Hausaufgaben vor. (German)
You present your homework to the teacher. (English)
Tu soumets tes devoirs à l'enseignant. (French)
Presenti i tuoi compiti all'insegnante. (Italian)

Wir legen unseren Plan vor. (German)
We present our plan. (English)
Nous présentons notre plan. (French)
Presentiamo il nostro piano. (Italian)

Sie legt dem Richter die Beweise vor. (German)
She lays down the evidence before the judge. (English)
Elle présente les preuves au juge. (French)
Presenta le prove al giudice. (Italian)

Er legte dem Team die Idee vor. (German)
He presented the idea to the team. (English)
Il a présenté l'idée à l'équipe. (French)
Ha presentato l'idea al team. (Italian)

Sie legen dem Ausschuss den Antrag vor. (German)
They submit the application to the committee. (English)
Ils soumettent la demande au comité. (French)
Presentano la domanda al comitato. (Italian)

Der Professor legt den Prüfungsplan vor. (German)
The professor presents the examination schedule. (English)
Le professeur présente le calendrier des examens. (French)
Il professore presenta il programma degli esami. (Italian)

Die Firma legt dem Kunden das Produktangebot vor. (German)
The company presents the product offer to the customer. (English)
La société présente l'offre de produits au client. (French)
L'azienda presenta l'offerta di prodotti al cliente. (Italian)

Synonyms: präsentieren, darlegen, einreichen
Antonyms: verbergen, zurückhalten

[diogokryminice-consultoria]

Thanks for your advice, greetings from Brazil.

[IWFLE]

Great! Thanks for your tips to improve English🙂🤗

[rosab]

Thank you. I completely understand you method I will tray it. Never is to late to learn ❤😊

[hopperhelp]

Oh good to know those have been updated. I knew the new versions but I wasn’t aware the those words were outdated. Sadly every current Japanese textbook, app or Anki card I’ve seen has the old versions.

[fatimahmakgatho]

Thank you for giving advice that isn't just for beginners

[ridleyroid]

I am learning Japanese and trying to jump headfirst into games I already played in English. Looking up everything as I go, I truly dont know if this is smart, but its better than being paralyzed with indecision.