Toby Urff

How to make comprehensible input videos in under 15 minutes

Comprehensible input is engineered, not easy. Here are the rules I follow as ThatGermanWord (start with meaning, stretch one level, control the unknown words, repeat them within a video and across videos), the 15-minute workflow I use in Reelang Studio to script, record, add visuals and publish, and why posting the same video to every platform brings language teachers new students without spending anything on ads.

How fast do native speakers talk? Speech rates in 44 languages

In native videos, Tamil, Japanese, Turkish, Portuguese, Italian and Spanish speakers say about 6 syllables per second, English and German speakers about 4.7. Measured on 16,293 clips in 44 languages, with the speed by CEFR level, by dialect, and against the classic lab study.

How many words do you need to understand native videos?

With the 5,000 most common English words, the typical native clip is 95.6% words you know. Spanish needs about 6,800 words to reach 95%, and in 13 of 23 languages even 10,000 are not enough. Data from 35,615 native clips, per language and per level.

Beyond flashcards: how heritage language learners can build fluency with comprehensible input

Heritage language learners don't need more vocabulary drills. They need more exposure to the range of language they already half-know, at a difficulty that stretches them without shutting them down. Flashcard apps are built for people starting from zero, and heritage speakers usually aren't starting from zero. They're starting from an odd, lopsided place, and the fix is different.

Why comprehensible input works for Mandarin learners

Comprehensible input works for Mandarin because the language's biggest obstacles, tones, character-based literacy, and a wide gap between spoken and written registers, are all things you learn by ear before you learn by rule. Grammar drills and flashcards teach you to recognize Mandarin in isolation. Comprehensible input teaches you to recognize it the way native speakers actually produce it, at natural speed, in context, with the tonal and rhythmic patterns intact. That distinction is the whole article.

How to learn a language before moving abroad: using comprehensible input to go beyond apps

If you're moving abroad in the next few months, the best use of your remaining prep time is listening to real native speech at a level you can mostly follow, not more vocabulary drilling. Apps train you to recognize words on a screen with no time pressure. Real speech, at real speed, in the accent you're about to live inside, is a different skill entirely, and it's the one that gets tested the moment you land.