In my last language entry I talked about the concept of "comprehensible input".

In this post and the next, I'm going to catalogue a few of the resources I draw on for comprehensible input. Maybe they'll be useful for other people. And maybe, in a few years' time, when I look back on this bizarre period in my life, and wonder where all my days went, these posts will provide some of the answers...

I'll organize the sources according to the language priorities I've set for myself.

First up, though, I'm going to mention a source that is super-flexible, and lends itself to pretty much any language level you find yourself on. This is the Easy Languages project. The individual language teams have taken the initial idea in a number of directions, but at the heart of all the projects is a collection of on-the-street interviews about a variety of topics. They're unscripted, and people just speak colloquially in the way they would speak to each other, so they're a great way of hearing your target language in the raw. They come with subtitles in the original language and in English. You can't actually turn these off (or maybe you can in the paying version). But -- depending on what you want to gain for each individual language -- you can choose to just not look at them, right?

OK, so now to my three focus languages.

In Spanish, I read pretty well, and can generally cope with "real" texts. However, I find listening a lot more difficult, so that's the area where I look for I+1 comprehensible input as a bridge to the real stuff.


Huesca, Spain, 2020



A really awesome resource, by someone who totally believes in comprehensible input, is Dreaming Spanish (here's Pablo's website, and here's the Youtube channel). Pablo does comprehensible input really well, at all levels, from "superbeginner" to advanced, so you can just pick where you're at, and dive in. It's all in Spanish (no subtitles), but his ability to explain, his vast range of visuals, and the variety of topics make it both accessible and enjoyable. 

Another one that I really like is 1001 reasons to learn Spanish. I find Juan's videos and podcasts extremely helpful, not least because he has a wacky sense of humour (seriously, this guy is laugh-out-loud funny at times). Many of the videos have subtitles, but I don't need them, as Juan's Spanish, though colloquial, is clear, and he's a good communicator. His podcasts have transcripts, which are useful if you want the additional input of reading and listening after your first time through with the audio.

My other I+1 listening mainstay for Spanish is Olly Richard's StoryLearning Spanish, which is now in its second series. Every day there's a bite-sized bit of the story, which is repeated, and there's a transcript available if you're still not sure of any bits.

If I don't look at the subtitles, Easy Spanish is a bit harder than I+1 for me. But the videos are short, and worth trying. When I read the Spanish subtitles, I find I "know" most of what is being said. This is the thing about learning to listen. You need to connect what you know with what you're hearing, and a structured environment like this is still useful for moving you along this path.



In Russian, I can do way less than I can in Spanish. I neither read nor listen well. But I'm definitely not a beginner.


St Petersburg, Russia, 1993

That being the case, I'm a big fan of Comprehensible Russian. Inna, like Pablo, is really good at providing comprehensible input at a range of levels (from "zero beginner" to intermediate).

Another of my go-to sites is Russian With Max. Max's offerings are not really I+1 for learners of my level They're more like I+2. Subtitles are generally available in English and Russian, and if I listen/watch without either, there's a LOT I don't get first time through. Nevertheless, I find them very helpful, and I use them quite a bit. My technique is to listen first with no aids at all. Then I listen with the Russian subtitles. Then I listen with the English subtitles. Then I go back through, and make a few notes. But not too many, remember...







I use Easy Russian largely for reading practice (listening while you read is great for doing this). Nor do I look down my nose on Super Easy Russian; although the emphasis here is on building vocabulary, rather than vox pop interviews, the presentations are still all in Russian, and therefore offer a good way to learn words in context.

[POSTSCRIPT 18 September: Since writing this, I've also discovered Learn Russian With Alfia, which has become another go-to site.]

Slightly different, but still useful, is Kristina's Boost Your Russian. Again, this is not I+1 material per se. But she provides you with real language samples such as film clips or political speeches, and then helps you understand them with slow renderings and/or translations. Kristina also has graded readers. These are payable, but you can read and listen to one of them here (it's Arthur Conan Doyle's The Speckled Band, which I'd never read in English, and found atmospheric if totally implausible, but that's another story...).

Olly Richards also offers Russian graded readers at moderate prices. I'm just embarking on my second.







My listening and reading abilities in Chinese are still primitive. I subscribe to Domino Chinese, which offers the structured learning I need at this level, but as always, you need more saturation than a course can offer. And it's harder, I find, to get hold of appropriate comprehensible input in Chinese.


Chengyang, China, 2006

This was brilliant, and there are others in the series. They're a little hard to locate, as the channel they're related to (Free To Learn) generally contains material that is too hard for me at the moment, and doesn't come with subtitles. But searching for "easy natural approach Chinese comprehensible input" turns up quite a few of the simple stories that are just what folks of my level need.

And I recently discovered Mandarin Click, which is excellent. There's definitely plenty of I+1 here even for babies like me.

Eileen's Mandarin Corner is a very rich site, with many different types of material. For my level, most of it is too difficult to count as comprehensible input, but I still find the videos very useful. There are subtitles; Eileen speaks very clearly; and bit by bit, even if you don't understand much without the "scaffolding", words and phrases begin to stick. Plus, the interviews and little walk-abouts are great ways to learn more about China.





For beginner's reading, Mandarin Bean is very good.

I don't know quite where to categorize Angel's Mandarin HQ. It's not comprehensible input per se, but it contextualizes vocabulary with lots of simple sentences, so it's again a useful supplement that exposes the learner to more language than he/she will get in a single course.

Anyone serious about learning Chinese needs to know about Olle Linge's Hacking Chinese. I'm a sad dilettante where Chinese is concerned, but I've learned a lot from Olle's regular newsletter, and when the point comes when I really want to dive into Chinese, this will be a good place to spend more time.





The important thing about all these sources is that they're fun, in and of themselves. I don't need to force myself to use any of them, and I learn all sorts of things along the way, not just about language, but about arts, culture, and history. Which means I happily keep going back. That's the thing about comprehensible input. If you just expose yourself to it, regularly, your brain will take care of the rest.