Listen to audiobooks? START DOING THIS!

If you listen to audio books in any language then you can pay better attention and get a lot more out of them by DOING THIS AT THE SAME TIME!

PATREON: Get extra videos which explain my thoughts on specific things (you ask the questions), articles and interviews with successful language learners:

All of the things listed below can be of benefit to you as well as helping me make better language learning videos. You're awesome, thank you.

One of my favourite language learning apps is called SPEAKLY. Get 40% off any premium membership and help me make better videos by using the appropriate code (6 months or more include all languages no matter which you choose, though you still need to use the appropriate code to the language you click on):
ENGLISH: FNS1
SPANISH: FNS2
FRENCH: FNS3
GERMAN: FNS4
ITALIAN: FNS5
RUSSIAN: FNS6
ESTONIAN: FNS7
FINNISH: FNS8

Find Speakly for ANDROID here:
Speakly for APPLE here:

Another one of my favourite apps is called Drops. It won't teach you a language but it will definitely add some interesting vocabulary to your repertoire.
Use this link to get 50% OFF DROPS! (It also helps me keep making my amazingly good videos... jokes. But it does.)

The native speaker tutoring shown in my videos is through iTalki. You can get $10 credit applied to your account when you make your first purchase, or you can just check it out for free using this link, which also helps me out by allowing me to take more language lessons:

Do you like foreign language TV shows and movies? Check out the channel on which I review ONLY those shows:

Language learning videos, tips and techniques!

OK if you've reached the end of the description then you obviously need something to do.
Tell me in the comments what artform/pattern or whatever you call it was used to make the viking helmet and beard that I am wearing at the beginning and in the thumbnail?

[mle]

Agree 100%. I walk for an hour every day listening to Spanish podcasts. I'd be bored walking without listening to them, AND I'd be bored listening to them not walking. Works great for me.

[autentyk]

Damn, I just found your channel and love it beyond imagination. I am Polish and listen to Catalan, Swedish, German and French every time I skateboard. I am an English teacher living in Spain.

[SB-lcqg]

I love listening to podcasts while taking a walk (or driving) because the walk and podcasts are the around the same length. I listened to a lot of French this winter while shoveling snow! Doing mindless motions helps put you in the flow state, which is probably great for language acquisition! (Edited to correct a word)

[diarmuidmadden]

Language learning’s most underrated learning method imo. Great video.

[EvanYeahMe]

My days of French (and no Swedish) have involved listening to French audio every day at lunch while I walk. This is been for much of the past 19 months. I agree, I am able listen for longer than if I am just sitting somewhere. Sometimes I space out and think of other things, but much less than just sitting somewhere quiet. I also listen to 10 hours of French on a 1, 000 km drive I have do do every 2 weeks (don't ask) and I feel that I benefit from that too. So yeah, I guess I agree with you.

[ljdogleash]

I remember hearing about a study that said children at a school could remember information better if exercising close to the lesson. It was something to do with nerve connections or something. Really don't remember in detail, but there's another benefit apparently. Personally I use my spin bike (they're surprisingly cheap) while watching Netflix in my target lesson.

[EricaRayLanguage]

I love walking and listening! Also, I enjoyed your exercise demonstration. 😂

[Taradays]

Since I started picking up 50% comprehension on Korean dramas I have been exercising while watching. I mostly just get out a yoga mat in front of the TV and stretch if their are subtitles. But lately because I have made ground on my Korean I have started watching Dramas from the early 2000s and 1990s that never did get English subtitles and really don't have a plot that I need to follow too closely.

[hillmanntoby]

My experience is that it is absolutely helpful to be walking or running and listening to an audiobook or a podcast.

Most commonly, I walk, read the ebook (usually using LingQ) and listen to the audiobook samtidigt. In 6 months of doing this every day, my comprehension is astoundingly better in both reading and listening. 8 months ago in an italki lesson I didn't understand "Hur mår du?", in the next week I will have finished "the millennium trilogy" in Swedish.

I cannot recommend walking enough to help get you into a "flow state" while reading.

[levipatrickdiaz]

Such a great point - I think very few people consider the TIME cost of language learning, which might be why so few people pursue it or end up quitting early on. I wish I was better at listening to audiobooks and things while exercising. I generally do exercises with sets/reps and so it's too difficult to count/focus while listening to books. It would be great it was more comfortable to walk where I'm at right now (I actually wore earplugs on my way to work today to prevent hearing damage because the road I walk to get there is so loud). It sounds SO cool to imagine walking in a place that was similar to a setting in a story, though!

[jahayrac]

Finally! All 10 tips! 🙌


EDIT: okay now I gotta go back to the first video because it's been 2 mo and don't remember them all off the top of my head lol 😅

[HikariFortes]

I love doing this. Before the summer hit I was running a 5k every other day. Automatically I'd get 40-50 minutes of listening to my target language. Was a great balance where the running helped me stay focused on the audio, and the audio helped me stay distracted from running. Can't wait for the summer to end so that I can get back to it, I can't really run more than 20 minutes on a treadmill without getting super bored.

[norma]

I have definitely noticed walking or playing around, dribbling with a basketball helps me remember better. I’ll have to try it with those workout moves you shared.

[bigfan]

I am glad🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗 that you finally responded to my comment on the previous video. Now, I will write the comment I wanted to write in the other videos. For me, I am having a difficult time finding a Japanese 🇯🇵🇯🇵🇯🇵 audiobook with furginana. There are Japanese 🇯🇵🇯🇵🇯🇵 audiobooks with Kanjis but I don't know the Kanjis. I am in a completely hopeless situation.

[DNAppm]

This is absolutely worthy of being kept updated! It is such good advice! You know the ancient Greeks advocated some mnemotechnics very akin to this, only they of course would tell something to themselves, and Demosthenes - the famous orator - walked on the beach where he wanted to be able to talk louder than the noise of the storm, to practice is voice and speech, because he had some handicap in that sphere, if it was a lisp or a stammer?
So of course you help others with something very functional here.
This is also akin to how children pick up language and stories from adults who think a child is just playing with something in his/her hand, but it turns out s/he heard and remembers every interesting word!
We have wonderful props at hand nowadays!
And I for my part also pick up English from your videos!

[Number]

Absolutely agree on the value of light distraction. For me that usually comes in the form of games on my phone (mostly because battery optimisation settings turn my audio off after a few minutes if the screen is off and partly because it soothes my sense of dread). Pretty sure the combination of TTS software and the light distraction of a game is the only way I am getting through my master's degree!

[mothershipexe]

I started doing your exercise exclusively and I'm happy to report I'm now shredded

[mellymel]

I am late in finding your channel, but this series has really encouraged me to jump back in this method more seriously and with more focus. I've made a new Spanish profile on my Netflix and dug out my handful of Spanish language children's books and cookbook. My next move is to visit the local library as I am also certain they will have a decent sized Spanish language section. I had felt soooo bogged down in Duolingo. If I never see the word "boligrafo" again it will be too soon. In all my trips to Latin America I have never had to ask for a pen! Haha I also want to thank you for your review of Busuu. It jumped me ahead to A2 and I am finally learning again.

[dodgingcars]

I'm still early in learning Spanish, but one thing I've done is I've started listening to Dreaming Spanish videos I have already seen. One of the remarkable things I've noticed is that because I've already seen the video, simply listening to it will bring up pictures in my head of what I previously saw. This obviously works better with his beginner videos because he draws, but I imagine the same thing can be done by listening to a a TV show you've already seen, for example. I don't know if retriggering these mental images you helps acquire the language any better, but I have found it makes comprehending the words that much easier.

[kai]

I can't wait until I can do this! I currently still need the gestures and facial expressions in easy youtube videos. But I'm really looking forward to listening while I walk.