I am working my way through Tagalog at the moment, following some of what I’ve heard Steve K say about reading being a gateway to learning better (paraphrasing).
I feel I’m starting to get better at reading but I still don’t understand a ton when it’s spoken around me (my wife’s family). I spoke recently at a family function in the target language and they said I have a Chinese accent (LOL). Everyone had a good laugh, which is part of the learning process, but I wonder if I should be listening more here.
Has anyone found a good mix of daily listening, reading, etc?
I find it very helpful to first listen to the material while reading (to notice the sound of the letters/words and the rhythm) and then to read it on my own. Of course, it takes me twice as long, but in my opinion, it’s worth it
I generate (with IA) the audio for every text I import and add it to a playlist that I listen to as soon as I wake up, when I drive, when I run errands, etc..
Repeat-listening is great: I always notice something new whenever I listen to an “old” audio again.
I also listen to tons of podcasts, YouTube videos, Netflix, etc..
I have tried listening and reading at the same time but it doesn’t work for me: my focus oscillates between my ears and my eyes and I need to concentrate constantly to synchronise the two.
That´s a great method. I like generating content with Notebook LM, I find the IA voices pretty “human”, and when you import the audio on Lingq, the transcript is always nailed.
That’s a really interesting idea - listening to the same audio multiple times.
I am still at the A2/B1 stage so most audio I’m only getting 30-50% comprehension. It makes things like podcasts or netflix a bit too complex. Did you wait till you were at a higher level of understanding before doing this?
No, I didn’t wait:
I started with the mini-stories, and I would then repeat them (read and listen) because, at the time, I thought I had to master 100% of a lesson’s content before proceeding to the next one.
I later learn to let go and just go through the material, without much effort, and I noticed I got better results by simply repeat-listening batch of lessons a few times over the week.
As a French-speaker learning Spanish, I’ve never known 50% comprehension when reading - thanks cognates !! - so finding appropriate material is easy in 2025.
For audios and videos, it’s sometimes challenging with native speakers, especially Spanish ones. Dubbed series are easier to understand.
I would emphasize a great deal of listening at the beginning.
When you read, most likely you will be “speaking” in your mind. If you haven’t been listening to good L2 audio, you will be making something up based on your L1 and your vague impression of your L2.
I recall an anecdote of a French speaker whose girlfriend was learning French entirely by reading. When she got around to conversing with him, he couldn’t understand anything she said!
If I had the time I’d do as much listening as I do reading. However, it’s very easy to read a little here or there when you otherwise don’t have a chance to listen. Vice versa too, for that matter…obviously it’s easier to listen when doing dishes or something.
Main point…Listen more than you probably are already. =)
Also, if you can find real dialogues with people that don’t speak clearly, swallow syllables, stop/start, etc. that can be the best. It’s all well and good to listen to perfectly pronounced content, but most people don’t talk like that in real conversation.
This is a great insight - thanks for the reply. I’ll keep an eye out for more realistic dialogues. I find interviews on the street and other youtube can be a good fit for this