#Is it better to immerse in harder material or easier material?

7 messages · Page 1 of 1 (latest)

hollow halo
#

Hi everyone!
I've been watching this show Cardcaptor Sakura for about a month or two now and its honestly been really good! I think I definitly learned a lot from it, and I think im at the point where I understand around 70% - 80% of the content that shows up. However, i've read that for stage 2B you should start immersing in content that is meant for adults. I started watching Naruto and that's been a lot of fun to watch, although I only really understand maybe 20%-30% of the show. dead

I was wondering if it's better to focus more on watching shows meant for kids since its more comprehensible input? Or if I should just stick with watching Naruto and accept not really understanding much. I've seen some videos online saying that you should stick with content that is more comprehensible so you can acquire things quicker, I wanted to hear other's thoughts on the topic.

wary birch
#

You acquire language when you understand messages in context. Usually those understandable messages come more often the more comprehensible the content is. So yes, comprehensiblity is an important factor.

Another factor is how similar the kind of language being used is. We have this idea of "domains" which is kinda a fancy word that basically means genres. Switching from magical-girl genre to shonen fighting genre is going to have a lot of different vocabulary used. So words you were hearing in card captor might not show up in Naruto. It's understandable that you're not understanding much because it's such a different genre.

However, one of the most important factors, maybe more than finding the ideal difficulty of show to watch, is enjoyment. If you enjoy what you're watching, you're spending more time with the language, you're more motivated to understand what the characters are saying, and emotional connection with the story really helps your memory. If you don't enjoy your study time, you may do less of it or possibly quit all together, which isn't what we want.

So, to sum up, if you like kids shows, it's okay to stick with kids shows as long as you like. No need to start watching stuff for adults just because you're moving up to 2B. But if you love Naruto, you should watch Naruto. If you're frustrated by Naruto you can try picking something easier or something where the genre is more similar to card captor Sakura.

In the end, the most efficient path is the one you enjoy the most. TUp

azure radish
#

I'm a huge proponent for comprehensible input. Generally the more comprehensible something is the more you'll acquire. There's studies to prove this.

Consuming native content on a regular basis is important, but I would not shy away from stuff like graded readers or comprehensible content for learners. Consuming that doesn't mean you are bad at the language at all and might even lead to faster progress.

lavish slate
#

Pretty much just agree with what Rose and calzone said. The science of language acquisition at this point is finding that there’s 2 key things that really help.

Input that’s comprehensible,
And input that’s compelling (ie interesting/exciting/draws you in/etc)

The “ideal” compressible input would be stories where every sentence has exactly 1 unknown word in it that you’ll be able to understand thru context. Which will help you acquire that new word.

The ideal “compelling” input would be something that you could just watch/read for hours without ever wanting to stop.

Its likely that neither of these ideals really exists, so it’s all about finding content that’s a good balance between the two for you specifically. It’s no joke to say everyone’s language learning journey is different, because your journey will be decided by you, based on what’s best for you at each point in time. 🙂

hollow halo
#

Yea this is all super helpful advice! I honestly have been addicted to watching Naruto just cause its nostalgic to when I watched it as a kid. So the episodes just be flying by and It doesnt even feel like immersing im just watching lol. Watching Cardcaptor sakura although, a lot more comprehensible is kind of a slough to get through. So I might either just keep grinding Naruto and hopefully it'll get easier to understand or just mix a bit of Naruto and shows like Card Captor Sakura.

azure radish
wary birch
#

I was just about to suggest this ⬆️

Also, if Card Captor Sakura is a drag, you might want to find something else for your easy input time. You can use the Learn Natively website to find what shows are relatively easier and find something that's more interesting to you. You can also check out comprehensible input stuff for learners, but not everybody has the patience for it.