Learn a Language FASTER and EASILY

As much as people talk about different 'hacks' or systems in language learning ultimately they are all trying to do the same thing. Here's a guide of where to start.

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[philipdavis]

I think a key point about learning vocabulary through immersion is that you don't just 'learn' the words and language, you learn the more subtle context of the word usage at the same time. In other words, rather than having your mind match up the word with the English translation, you will use the word as native speakers use it. Very few words truly 'match' exactly the dictionary translation. This is even more so with casual phrases and colloquialisms.

[JamalAhmadMalik]

I know every damn thing you are talking about, but...man aren't your videos the coolest thing on the internet. Love the minimalistic style. Love the presentation style. The transition between different headshots gives it so much variety.

You, sir... have earned a new subscriber!

[Ceonsamea]

Great video Matt. I found your channel through the shout out from Days of French 'n' Swedish. I'm also learning both Spanish and Mandarin Chinese. It took me a really long time to figure out the advice you're sharing here, I made similar mistakes trying to drill beginner vocabulary with flashcards, which was an especially horrible mistake for Chinese. (I think flashcards might have more value at a higher level when we start encountering less common vocabulary that we might not see again for a long time).

On the note of making comprehensible input out of natural resources, have you taken a look at the browser add-on "Language Reactor"? It adds a pop-up dictionary to Netflix/Youtube subtitles and provides support for bi-lingual subtitles (that can be blurred out until you click to reveal them) and keyboard shortcuts to jump between or repeat subtitle lines. (Edit: Just got around to your older videos and saw you already gave it a mention!)

Looking forward to following your channel more, keep at it!

[HunterNuttall]

I'm a fan of comprehensible input, but I'm not a purist. I sometimes look up grammar rules or vocabulary, and so far my brain has not melted.

I spend most of my time on comprehensible input because I find it enjoyable. If it happens to be effective, that's just icing on the cake.

[reggietkatter]

Great video! I just crossed the 1000 hour mark on Dreaming Spanish a couple weeks ago. It’s the primary source of CI that I used over the last 2 years and I tried to adhere to DS recommendations. Very much worth it! All that is needed is massive amounts of comprehensible input from beginning to conversational fluency, I can attest to this from experience.

[Snickersboy]

For non mainstream languages it is so hard to find comprehensible input that there is no way around active vocab study. Also active study is more time efficient for the purpose of learning words. Just check your Anki stats. You will most likely not reach the amount of words learned through input that you learn actively.
Input and active study should be combined. They both serve different purposes

[Understaninghumans]

For the last three years, I haven’t been able to watch Netflix in Spanish and stick to it.
Something about a show is not working for me.
I get much more passive input than active.
But, I think at times you have to take mini breaks.
When you slow down input, when you get away from it for a week and come back, it is an improvement.
After three years of Spanish, I dip up and down in confidence. My priorities have changed a little bit.
I’m about to start college again and work on a foreign language degree.
I don’t expect at all that school will make me fluent. But, little by little, in the long run, I will have a degree.

[speakeuropeanportuguese]

Hi Matt! When I came to Portugal I couldn't speak a word of Portuguese. Around about the same time I made a friend who was Swiss. She learned by comprehensible input mostly and mixing with with people.
But I had to know how the language was structured. I needed to know - why. I watched game shows, soaps and listened to music. Music is great for learning!, learning about the grammar gives you an advantage - enables you to be able to use the formulas and apply them:
We both became fluent in Portuguese around about the same time. (after 6 months or so) Years later (30) she still makes lots of mistakes and cannot unlearn the bad habits she picked up, like local slang etc..
But to be honest - I admired her more for learning her way - I couldn't have done that.

[lingokev]

Love your videos -- keep it up with the great content!

Also I'm really digging the colored lighting in your shots in your videos. Now I want pretty lights 😅

[johnoneill]

Hi Matt. Another great video. I am still a little conflicted. I am at B1 level Turkish and now use much more input through stories and dialogues but feel guilty if I am still not reviewing my vocabulary and grammar regularly. However the reason that I now prefer CI is that it is simply more enjoyable and does not feel like studying all the time. I am still not sure if I was learning a new language I could go straight to a story without a grasp of vocabulary or grammar rules. Keep up your own good input which is becoming a good motivation tool.

[brianc-ii]

Extra points for the deft use of the Madrigal book with Andy Warhol drawings when he was still on minimum wage, at the beginning there!

[jeffw]

I like CI, but I prefer a mix of techniques. Comprehensible input advocates tend to put off productive language for a long time and that's just not practical in my situation.

[naturallanguageacquisition]

I disagree and believe there is value in learning to recognise 100 - 500 of the most common words as a foundation. Remember there's a difference between being able to recognise the meaning of a word and being able to produce the target language word when prompted with the native language word. The latter isn't necessary at this stage. It's not something to stress about. If you're working through a 500 word Anki deck, don't worry if only a 250 stick. When you start watching or listening to comprehensible input you'll have some footholds as it were. In my opinion it's a relatively low effort thing to do when starting out with a new language. After that I agree with you and you shouldn't be brute force memorising words.

[JSMcKee-fwdz]

Do you have any C.I. YouTube channels that you would recommend for learning Latin American Spanish? (instead of Spanish from Spain)

[douglasmendes]

I like your ideas about learn language. How many languages do you speak and what’s the language you’re learning ?

[epb]

Great video! I'm at a mere 6 hours of CI at this point using dreaming spanish. Honestly, I know I have more than that, but I wasn't tracking anything, so I just started at the super beginner level. I am somewhat conflicted, though. Dreaming Spanish doesn't promote reading until level 5 or 6 due to subvocalization, but I'd really like to read some A1 grade readers in Spanish. Thoughts?

[spellandshield]

This veneration of Krashen as a god is laugable. Yes, comprehensible input is useful and absolutely necessary but as an adult using other tools such as flash cards (or Anki), grammatical explanations and the like can all serve a purpose beyond simply pretending the adult brain is identical to the child's brain; it is not. Pretending we wish it were does not make it so. If it were so, we would passively and seamlessly acquire the phonology of any new language we encounter after a few years and yet that is extremely rare and most adults never get rid of their native accent; why? All adults have an L1 interfering with such things; what baby or child has this issue? None, because an L1 will interfere phonologically, grammatically, lexically and syntactically and the way to get out of that L1 interference with respect to an L2 is NOT to pretend we are still children. Understanding the grammar and phonology of an L2 will absolutely improve your L2 if you actively integrate this into your acquisition process. Natives can get away with being unable to understand or explain the grammar and phonology of their languages, but as an L2 learner that is almost never the case. Disregarding the tools an adult can avail himself of is foolish and unnecessary and all to preserve some false picture of L2 acquisition. Again, OBVIOUSLY comprehensible input is necessary but simply doing it that way, pretending your brain were that of a 2 year old is not the optimal solution to L2 learning.

[quantum]

Hey I don't know if anyone has any advice on this, but I've really been struggling on choosing a method to learn. There are 2 methods that im looking at right now, one which is input focused, and the other output. The input method is one that the YouTuber Matt vs Japan uses, and it is basically just consuming content in the language as much as possible and perfecting your comprehension so much that eventually speaking will come easy. The output method is completely the opposite. It's one that Benny Lewis uses and its about speaking from day 1 and speaking as much as possible, and correcting the mistakes over time. I'm very interested in trying the input method, but I have a lot of questions. Which method is faster? How can I learn multiple languages at the same time with the input method? Does the method work better for some languages and not others? If anyone could help me out on these questions I would really love that.

[ProfeSeb]

Interesting approach. Do you also disapprove looking up words as a complete begginer?

[MaxLearnsPersian]

Good video. But you are wrong about something.... and I made a video about it. Feel free to delete this comment, just wanted to let you know!