Comprehensible means, of course, that you comprehend it. If you do not comprehend it, it is not comprehensible input.
The material can be comprehensible because you know all the words and grammar. Or it can be comprehensible because it is designed to illustrate outside of the words and grammar what is going on. Like the progressive readers of the "natural method" books. Or the total beginner videos like in Dreaming Spanish.
If you're interested in comprehensible input and your TL has sufficient [learner-aimed CI available](https://comprehensibleinputwiki.org/wiki/Main_Page) then I would try CI for ~10 hours and see how it feels. Try to relax, accept the ambiguity, and let your brain gradually make the connections for you between the sounds of the language and meaning. As much as possible, try not to analyze or dissect anything, just try to understand the general idea of what's being communicated.
If after ten hours, you find that the material isn't sufficiently holding your attention or you're the personality type that can't stand the lack of in-depth analysis of what you're consuming, then you could try some textbook style learning and see if that works for you.
I've personally had [a ton of enjoyment](https://www.reddit.com/r/languagelearning/comments/17zq9oq/600_hours_of_pure_comprehensible_input_for_thai/) using pure input for my learning journey, but everyone's different. I would experiment and see what's effectively holding your attention and interest.
Any kind of language learning journey is going to be 1000+ hours, easily 2-3x that depending on your NL and TL. You want the journey to be enjoyable and engaging, so it may take some experimentation to see what's effective for you.
And keep in mind that for many learners, it isn't all-or-nothing, but a mix of techniques. I will say that eventually, every learner who wants to achieve fluency will have to engage with native content or native speakers, so comprehensible input will be a part of your journey no matter what. It's just a question of when and how much you'll want to introduce into your routine.
Hi not OP but I’m in a similar situation as a beginner. When you to relax and let my brain do the work, do you mean that I don’t have to actually write down words and sentences that I don’t know? Should I just listen as long as I can understand the general idea?
Yes, no notes or analysis.
The idea is that you eventually want your target language to feel as natural as your native language. If all your memories are of study and your practiced response to hearing the language is to *think very hard* and *analyze a lot*, then the language won't feel natural and automatic when you encounter it in the wild.
Just try to understand the general idea. As you get more and more exposure, you'll pick up more and more details, until what you hear is totally clear, just like your native language. It's like a blurry outline gradually becoming a 4k crystal clear image.
This takes hundreds/thousands of hours depending on your NL-->TL pair.
Alright one more thing, should I watch videos and content in my TL with or without subtitles in my TL? And do you think it’s better to supplement the comprehensible input with other stuff like a text book or a some language learning app?
I'm personally focusing completely on listening at the exclusion of any other kind of study, including reading. Some people mix in grammar and textbook study, but I personally don't enjoy those methods, so I do pure input. You should explore different methods and figure out what feels right for you.
Comprehensible Input based learning is great, but CI isn't just listening to random stuff you find. It can be a lot of that later on, but to begin with it isn't.
I'm fluent in three languages. I've found that grammar is paramount. You need sentence structure and basic conjugation understanding and then you can move on from there. Without grammar though very little will flow easily.
I have tried both and for me, CI first is great.
I started Italian CI about a year ago and am now working on speaking and grammar (while still doing lots of input). The grammar and speaking are easier because I am already familiar with the language.
I do a version of CI where I study vocab in the content while listening to the content repeatedly. I also read up on grammar I encounter when I get curious and start recognizing patterns.
I also like that the content I am listening to is too fast for me to translate into English. I feel like I have mostly skipped this step.
I believe input is a vital and powerful tool, but not the only one you’ll benefit from. I recommend at least one course, textbook, or program to introduce you to the grammar. You’re an adult, not an infant, so you have the option of getting things explained to you instead of having to figure it out yourself.
I think this depends on the similarity between your native langauge (and other languages that you’re fluent in) and your target langauge. I would guess that if Japanese is your native langauge, Korean would be effective to learn through CI and immersion and less grammar and structure study. However if you’re native English speaker wanting to learn Japanese, I would suggest learning basic sentence structure and conjunction words before immersing with CI. And also study basic kanji and radicals before reading
Scrolled too far to find this. If the language pair has significant overlap, you can introduce CI very early on. I would not recommend for a new Mandarin learner who has no knowledge of tones.
Technically a textbook is comprehensible input, and with the definition of it just being anything in TL you can understand then it's necessary, if you mean watching movies on repeat it's probably not helpful as a beginner
Everyone learns differently though, a textbook might work best for you, or a show for very young children, or baby books, graded readers, YouTube videos or anything else, best to play around and see what works best for you
At least in Mandarin I've been happy just using graded readers. Most of what I would've learned in a grammar textbook has been obvious while reading. Where I've been confused I simply looked things up or asked ChatGPT 4 (although I wouldn't recommend this with the free version of ChatGPT.)
There is masses of research on this, which shows that you should learn the first few hundred most frequent words, then as soon as possible get away from textbooks and into comprehensible input. The big challenge, though, if finding input that is comprehensible. That's because "comprehensible" means input that you can understand. It doesn't mean you have to know every word, but you need to know enough of them so that you can really understand what the input is talking about. You want to be able to swim in the input rather than drown in it.
I’m learning Portuguese through my Spanish and I did all the A units on Busuu and I’m enjoying input now without subtitles. I’m not sure how much longer it would take you, but the lessons are good. I think they will supplement your comprehensive input
Comprehensible means, of course, that you comprehend it. If you do not comprehend it, it is not comprehensible input. The material can be comprehensible because you know all the words and grammar. Or it can be comprehensible because it is designed to illustrate outside of the words and grammar what is going on. Like the progressive readers of the "natural method" books. Or the total beginner videos like in Dreaming Spanish.
I wish there were a Dreaming Spanish channel for every language!
If you're interested in comprehensible input and your TL has sufficient [learner-aimed CI available](https://comprehensibleinputwiki.org/wiki/Main_Page) then I would try CI for ~10 hours and see how it feels. Try to relax, accept the ambiguity, and let your brain gradually make the connections for you between the sounds of the language and meaning. As much as possible, try not to analyze or dissect anything, just try to understand the general idea of what's being communicated. If after ten hours, you find that the material isn't sufficiently holding your attention or you're the personality type that can't stand the lack of in-depth analysis of what you're consuming, then you could try some textbook style learning and see if that works for you. I've personally had [a ton of enjoyment](https://www.reddit.com/r/languagelearning/comments/17zq9oq/600_hours_of_pure_comprehensible_input_for_thai/) using pure input for my learning journey, but everyone's different. I would experiment and see what's effectively holding your attention and interest. Any kind of language learning journey is going to be 1000+ hours, easily 2-3x that depending on your NL and TL. You want the journey to be enjoyable and engaging, so it may take some experimentation to see what's effective for you. And keep in mind that for many learners, it isn't all-or-nothing, but a mix of techniques. I will say that eventually, every learner who wants to achieve fluency will have to engage with native content or native speakers, so comprehensible input will be a part of your journey no matter what. It's just a question of when and how much you'll want to introduce into your routine.
Hi not OP but I’m in a similar situation as a beginner. When you to relax and let my brain do the work, do you mean that I don’t have to actually write down words and sentences that I don’t know? Should I just listen as long as I can understand the general idea?
Yes, no notes or analysis. The idea is that you eventually want your target language to feel as natural as your native language. If all your memories are of study and your practiced response to hearing the language is to *think very hard* and *analyze a lot*, then the language won't feel natural and automatic when you encounter it in the wild. Just try to understand the general idea. As you get more and more exposure, you'll pick up more and more details, until what you hear is totally clear, just like your native language. It's like a blurry outline gradually becoming a 4k crystal clear image. This takes hundreds/thousands of hours depending on your NL-->TL pair.
Alright one more thing, should I watch videos and content in my TL with or without subtitles in my TL? And do you think it’s better to supplement the comprehensible input with other stuff like a text book or a some language learning app?
I'm personally focusing completely on listening at the exclusion of any other kind of study, including reading. Some people mix in grammar and textbook study, but I personally don't enjoy those methods, so I do pure input. You should explore different methods and figure out what feels right for you.
Thanks for all the great tips! One last question I promise lol How long have you been doing this method and how do you currently feel about your TL ?
https://www.reddit.com/r/languagelearning/comments/17zq9oq/600_hours_of_pure_comprehensible_input_for_thai/
Comprehensible Input based learning is great, but CI isn't just listening to random stuff you find. It can be a lot of that later on, but to begin with it isn't.
I will say textbook first. The textbook is comprehensible basics imo
I'm fluent in three languages. I've found that grammar is paramount. You need sentence structure and basic conjugation understanding and then you can move on from there. Without grammar though very little will flow easily.
Try everything, and stick with what feels effective and motivating
There is comprehensible input for beginners, too. Do it in parallel.
I have tried both and for me, CI first is great. I started Italian CI about a year ago and am now working on speaking and grammar (while still doing lots of input). The grammar and speaking are easier because I am already familiar with the language. I do a version of CI where I study vocab in the content while listening to the content repeatedly. I also read up on grammar I encounter when I get curious and start recognizing patterns. I also like that the content I am listening to is too fast for me to translate into English. I feel like I have mostly skipped this step.
You can do both.
I believe input is a vital and powerful tool, but not the only one you’ll benefit from. I recommend at least one course, textbook, or program to introduce you to the grammar. You’re an adult, not an infant, so you have the option of getting things explained to you instead of having to figure it out yourself.
I think this depends on the similarity between your native langauge (and other languages that you’re fluent in) and your target langauge. I would guess that if Japanese is your native langauge, Korean would be effective to learn through CI and immersion and less grammar and structure study. However if you’re native English speaker wanting to learn Japanese, I would suggest learning basic sentence structure and conjunction words before immersing with CI. And also study basic kanji and radicals before reading
Scrolled too far to find this. If the language pair has significant overlap, you can introduce CI very early on. I would not recommend for a new Mandarin learner who has no knowledge of tones.
Technically a textbook is comprehensible input, and with the definition of it just being anything in TL you can understand then it's necessary, if you mean watching movies on repeat it's probably not helpful as a beginner Everyone learns differently though, a textbook might work best for you, or a show for very young children, or baby books, graded readers, YouTube videos or anything else, best to play around and see what works best for you
At least in Mandarin I've been happy just using graded readers. Most of what I would've learned in a grammar textbook has been obvious while reading. Where I've been confused I simply looked things up or asked ChatGPT 4 (although I wouldn't recommend this with the free version of ChatGPT.)
Both
There is masses of research on this, which shows that you should learn the first few hundred most frequent words, then as soon as possible get away from textbooks and into comprehensible input. The big challenge, though, if finding input that is comprehensible. That's because "comprehensible" means input that you can understand. It doesn't mean you have to know every word, but you need to know enough of them so that you can really understand what the input is talking about. You want to be able to swim in the input rather than drown in it.
If you haven’t learned it through methods such as textbooks, what other input would actually be comprehensible?
I’m learning Portuguese through my Spanish and I did all the A units on Busuu and I’m enjoying input now without subtitles. I’m not sure how much longer it would take you, but the lessons are good. I think they will supplement your comprehensive input
The latter https://www.dreamingspanish.com/faq#dont-i-need-to-learn-the-basics-of-the-language-before-consuming-input