Making TL-Audiobooks work (and why you should try :)
Here's my personal experience and some audiobook-tips:
I've got an advantage comprehending my target language (dutch) because it is (to an extent) made out of my two main languages (english and german) and most of it's idioms and weirder words are quite similar to their german counterpart. This being said, I was still quite unsure of listening to an audiobook of all things, that's scary! So despite having one at the ready, it took me a while to start listening.
Here's why audiobooks are great language input:
- The focus on listening - when watching videos or shows you can help yourself by using context clues from everything that is on screen and understandable from just visual input; with audiobooks you are limited to audio input which strengthens that skill!
- You're not limited to the audio - while it might be hard to easily get your hands on it in your country, there's a good chance you can get the book in the target language and read along; this can be a crutch if you feel more comfortable simultaneously reading the words but it can also generally help identify written words with how they're spoken
- The pace is not too fast - since this isn't a podcast or a conversation between friends or a recording made on a busy street, the narrators talk slowly, emphasizing speech, mimicking some sounds (like sighing) and all this in their quiet studio - perfect for getting used to just hearing the language
- It is interesting - An important thing about language immersion (in my opinion) is that you care because if you don't, it easily becomes a chore. The audiobooks on Spotify tend to be more interesting than the made-up pharmacy conversation you have to listen to in class.
- It's a whole, well-written story for real people - These were not made for language learners, so they're not easier or more comfortable, but instead try to tell a good story, instead of one with x amount of new vocab-words. And since it is a whole story that doesn't actively shy away from "easy" sentences in order to challenge the learner, you get all types of sentences and there OUGHT to be one that gives you enough context to go on
And here's how I listen to an audiobook:
(Spoiler alert: it's much more time consuming than just a listen-trough)
Like I said, I was wary of staring an audiobook with only half of Duolingo done (PLUS my advantage) so I had to give myself some rules and a push:
1. Listen to at least 10min at a time, do not stop, do NOT look anything up.
This maybe sounds drastic - 10min of constant input even though I might not understand a word? Yes.
If you've even considered maybe listening to an audiobook, chances are you know a couple words in the language - so you WILL understand something!
Might that be only the pronouns? Maybe, but then you can already tell whose perspective the book is written in.
Might you only understand every 10th sentence? Maybe, then you have a basic story-structure (1. He goes somewhere, 2-4: ???? 5: He fights a pig) which you can then fill later (Where’s the pig from? Why are they fighting?)
The first listen of a 10min-sequence has the following goals:
1) Get used to the narrator
2) Hear the words being said (they're new and strange now but you will recognize them in the second listen - they will not be as strange anymore)
3) Recognize the protagonist or names involved (MAYBE gather basic information (where, who, when, what))
2. Listen to the 10min again, do not stop, do NOT look anything up.
Again? Yes, sorry. You can't argue "it's boring, I know what happens already!" ;)
Listen again, you will recognize things you've already understood, you might then be able to hear words you did not even perceive the first time around, and you will for sure understand one sentence or more that you didn't before.
Part of that is that you've listened to 10min already. Chances are that those 10 minutes spanned two or even three chapters so you will not be stuck on the first page of a book, but you will already have heard content 5 or 10 pages in.
This is your key: context through time.
If in chapter 1 a kid goes to the store and you hear that a BUNCH happens and a lot of words are being said but you have no clue what was going on, you'll be quite lost if you try to just listen to it again and again. But if in chapter two you then hear that the child is now at the police station, you can listen to chapter one again and you'll recognize the signs of chapter 1 leading to chapter 2 (police officers, arguing, phone call, stealing,...)
3. Keep notes of the chapters.
Wasn't this supposed to be listening input?
You can keep the notes in your mothertongue or your TL, whichever you feel comfortable with (You can also mix them, using TL words in MT sentences or the other way around)
I've realized that if I jot down what happens in my notebook and leave some space below, I can concentrate on the listening better because I don't have to always remember the whole story - it's written down.
I also leave space for my 2nd, 3rd, 4th listen through so I can add/correct notes when I've understood more.
4. Tackle the next sequence
Just like Step 1, except I advise you to also listen to the last part of the first sequence again just to get back into it.
Making them overlap helps not lose track of what happened, get back into the language and helps with context!
After that it is just a matter of rinse-and-repeat.
After the 3rd of 4th listen when I notice that I get most of it but that one word throws me off/is missing, I look it up! And that's a-okay.
I listen to the chapters over and over again even though I'm at only 1/3rd through the whole book and I start listening from the start every once in a while - every single time I hear something I didn't hear before, I understand something I didn't understand before or I get the chance to appreciate the writing itself - all of it feels magical!
I admit, this way it takes a long-ass time to get through a book, but you WILL notice improvement and the more you listen (and listen to the same stuff over and over) the faster you will improve your listening! I promise!
I'm curretly 3h into my 8,5h book and I have listened to it 12h in total (if not more) and at this point, I go in 20-min sequences and don't listen back as much as I did at the start and - most importantly and beautifully - I'm loving the story and I am understanding it!!!!
It takes courage to start a listening-focused exercise and if you find that you are not ready yet that's okay!
You can also use an audiobook as just sound-input, not to understand but to just get used to the sound of the language. Use audiobooks the way that they help you in your goals and if you need to read along - perfect, you'll hear the words AND read them, that has other great benefits!
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For German learners: I know for a fact that Spotify has a lot of Sebastian Fitzeks books; they’re mostly thrillers/crime novels and they’re quite good!
For fellow Dutch learners: One of Fitzek’s books is also available in dutch - “Geschenk (onverkort)” ;)
Hi! Do you have any tips for getting the most out of immersion? Do you have any suggestions on how to utilise input to learn a language?
Hello, I’m so sorry! I only saw the ask now and I don’t recall receiving it at all. I must be very late!
I am all about the immersion! To me at least, it is the most important aspect of language acquisition. Most of what I do to learn languages is that as soon as I can somewhat comprehend texts and spoken word, I just learn from that and study vocab or grammar from whatever I encounter.
I think my biggest tip that I have here from my own experience is - please do not just focus on learner oriented materials. They’re great and all, nothing against them. But I also feel like they are often very simplified to the point when they’re not as useful, especially when their helpfulness relies on translation into your first language. Now don’t get me wrong, I can imagine that it works for someone. But personally, I cannot remember learning anything from a bilingual book that had text on one side and translation on the other. However, if I spend half an hour reading one official news paragraph in a target language I barely know, I usually learn so much more.
Also I think this one might be easier for me to say than to do for others (based on my experiences and others’ experiences), but in general, try not to translate as much as you can. And if you have to, it should be just a word or a phrase, never the entire sentence. Or, this is something that I tend to do if I have to translate a word - I use my other target languages.
Another tip I have is especially good for audio/video stuff - just play it and watch it/listen to it. The radio is probably the best for this since you can just have it on in the background. You do not have to understand, you do not have to be immediately able to pick up the meaning/sentences, but every now and then, you’ll catch a word that you do understand. And I do believe that even if you don’t understand, your brain is still able to listen and analyse and remember. I don’t really know about the science behind it or if anybody has researched it, but I have a personal story and while I would not swear by it, having radio on in the background in a foreign language never hurt anybody.
And last thing - a method I have read about, but only tried a little bit - shadowing. You put something on and repeat whatever is said. (This is definitely better for when you’re about beyond B1 CEFR, when you are able to understand full sentences, subtitles should be fine too). More info about this here
There are just some tips I could think of off the top of my head. If you have more, feel free to add. Also, if you have any questions about any of these, let me know! Similarly, if you want more details, e.g. how I use these for my own language learning, also feel free to ask :)
lol I’m always so surprised to see how much I have to say! :D
The QWERTY keyboard was once the envy of the world, but not anymore.
In other words, to type a Chinese character is essentially to punch in a set of instructions—a code if you will, to retrieve a specific character. Mullaney calls Chinese typists “code conscious.” Dozens of ways to input Chinese now exist, but the Western world mostly remains stuck typing letter-by-letter on a computer keyboard, without taking full advantage of software-augmented shortcuts. Because, he asks, “How do you convince a person who's been told for a century and a half that their alphabet is the greatest thing since sliced bread?”
It’s China’s awkward history with the telegraph and the typewriter, argues Mullaney, that primed Chinese speakers to take full advantage of software when it came along—to the point where it’s now faster to input Chinese than English.
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