To read or to listen first, what is your preference?

Open Forum
1

I have been going back and forth on this question for a while now and i have struggled to come to a conclusion. I am curious to read what others preferences are.

So I have run into this problem often while trying to simultaneously read and listen to a lesson, and it goes something like this.

I will be watching a video, I understand the broad meaning of what is being said etc. and then I will come across a blue word. I click on the word for the definition, the video pauses, and suddenly I have lost the enjoyment of engaging in the content. (obviously this happens as often as there are new words that show up) In something like Italian where my known words are in the 20,000’s its not too bad as there may be only a few blue words per page but for something like Arabic where my count is in the 10’000s it can make the experience VERY stilted and awkward.

Sentence mode does help this to a certain extent but again the constant stopping and starting can make getting through a longer video a real slog.

It feels like perhaps it is more effective to either A) read the transcript of the video/podcast first, convert the blue words to yellow and then watch/listen to the same content trying to comprehend as much as you can without stopping too much.

or B) watch/listen to the content first, comprehend whatever you can comprehend. Then go through the lesson again reading transcript converting blue words to yellow.

A) seems easier as by the time you get to testing your listening you have already primed your mind with the new words you will encounter and you have a better chance of catching things .

B) be seems to reflect more accurately how we engage with languages in the wild. i.e) you don’t get to pre-read a transcript of a conversation before you have it.

Curious to read which of the three methods you lean towards in your studies. :slight_smile:

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2

Just preference but

Beginning: Read → Listening
Intermediate/Advance: Listening → Read

4 Likes
3

Thank you for your question; you’ve raised an issue that has been troubling me.

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4

I’m wondering if it’s helpful to look at the subtitles while listening when learning a language. Could watching the subtitles actually interfere with the listening practice?

5

I read in sentence mode with translations and audio using Chrome and shortcits to move quickly and rate words 3,4 or K. I mix high compression texts with mainly high interest texts.

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6

I tend to prefer listening first, then reading, especially once I’m at an intermediate or advanced level. Listening first forces me to focus on understanding the language naturally without relying too much on the transcript. After that, reading helps me identify the words and phrases I missed and gives me a chance to review them properly.

For more difficult content, though, I can definitely see the benefit of reading first to build some familiarity before listening. I think the best approach depends on the difficulty of the material and your current level.

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7

When focusing on listening i do something like this.

listen first - note the percentage understanding. This also serves as a listening test.

listen with transcript - look ups, study, sentence mine, understand.

listen again - (few days later) note improvement in listening .

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