11 Tips for Beginners

Starting to Learn a Language with

Comprehensible Input

IT’S HARD AT THE BEGINNING…

Learning a language with comprehensible input is supposed to be “easy.” Ultimately it’s
just a lot of watching TV, listening to podcasts, and reading. But what are you supposed
to do if you can’t understand anything yet? These tips can help. This is what worked for
me at the start — which is exactly when I began using comprehensible input to learn.

FIRST, THE BASICS

1. Compre ensi e input on y or s e if you consume a LOT of it.
Your progress is your input. More input means you’ll get results faster. Cram as
much input into your day as you can while still enjoying it.
2. Au io is t e est (on y?) ay to get a LOT of input — so get some nice ear u s
As a real adult with a life, it’s pretty much impossible to rack up enough hours of
input to learn German well without relying on audiobooks and podcasts. Unlike
video, you can listen to audio anytime. Bluetooth earbuds make it way easier to get
enough input time if you live with other people who aren't also learning German.
3. Learn to to erate am iguity.
Get used to not understanding some of what you're listening to — and by some I
mean most. Your success with comprehensible input will depend on your ability to
remain interested and engaged in content that you don't fully understand.
4. It’s o ay to sacri ce compre ensi i ity to maintain interest — jump into
ate er German me ia interests you, on’t ait to e “rea y"
Don't torture yourself with boring input. Feed your interest in the language with
interesting media. Even if you don't understand all of it, it doesn't matter so long as
you're entertained enough interest to pay attention. And as an English speaker, you
are not starting at 0% German comprehension. So you don’t need to start from 0!
5. Lo e t e anguage — an eep your o e strong
If you don’t love German already, nd reasons to love it. Otherwise there’s no point.
The best ways to fall in love and stay in love with a language are making friends who
speak it, putting yourself in situations where you need to use it, and — this is the
easiest one to do alone — nding media that you love in the language.

www.monoglotanxiety.com
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 FINDING INPUT YOU LIKE — AND CAN UNDERSTAND

6. Simp i e German oo s/po casts/etc. are great… just on’t get ore .
Comprehensible input works best if you understand more of it. This is the stage to
use great graded readers, podcasts in "slow German," kids shows, etc. in simpli ed
German. But beginner stu is often boring, and if you nd yourself getting bored...
7. German trans ations of oo s/series you a rea y i e are more compre ensi e
Things are easier to follow when you know what's going on. Learning German is a
good excuse to return to your old favorites. I watched Avatar: The Last Airbender in
German a truly embarrassing number of times.
8. Use Eng is su tit es to “ earn” ne German s o s for re- atc ing
English subtitles are a crutch and your brain won’t pay attention to the German it’s
hearing if it can just cheat and read the English (my brain still does this at C1 level).
But you can use English subtitles e ectively to "learn" German shows so you can re-
watch them again a few times with German subs and get a comprehensibility boost
from knowing the story. This is what I did with Dark on Net ix.
9. Watc German me ia a out su jects you’re an expert on
It’s easier to understand things that you already know a ton about. If you know the
history of England like the back of you hand, watch German stu about English
history. If you’re a chef, nd German food media. If you’re an engineer, nd German
engineering channels on YouTube. German YouTube channels about science were
the rst authentic content I could easily follow.

IF INPUT STILL FEELS TOO HARD

10. Use an app to earn some oca u ary an grammar — t ey oost compre ension
Apps won’t make you uent, but they can give you a boost by building vocabulary
and improving grammar awareness, which helps with comprehension. Things like
Duolingo (or my favorite, Speakly) are addictive and easy to use consistently.
11. Beginner po casts it Eng is contain compre ensi e German, too
At this stage, it can be too frustrating to consume 100% German content — even in
easy German. Until you can handle easy, simpli ed German, use a beginner podcast
as a crutch and listen to it whenever you can squeeze it in. I recommend the Co ee
Break German podcast. Podcasts are superior to video courses for most people
because you can use them any time you’re doing something mindless.

www.monoglotanxiety.com
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