Hi there! Abbe here. I hope you're well.
This time I'd like to talk to you about
one of my favorite websites and how I use it to learn language.
I must say: I'm a big fan of YouTube.
Yes, I do sometimes like to waste time watching cat videos on it
but I also use it to practice languages. I would even go so far as to
say that it's my favorite tool for practicing any language. And speaking of
practicing a language using YouTube, before we go any further, make sure you
subscribe to our channel to get notified when we release new language learning videos.
300 hours of video is uploaded to YouTube every minute.
These videos come from all around the world, are produced in many different languages and
cover just about every topic you could possibly imagine. Whatever you're curious
about, you will find the content that matches your needs on YouTube.
The biggest problem that users face actually is a direct result of this huge quantity of material.
We sometimes just don't know where to start.
There are several criteria that you need to take into account when searching for
a video on YouTube.
First: what do you want to watch? Strictly educational
content is plentiful but can be boring at times. If you want to search for this
type of video, simply type "learn" + the name of the language. Once you've found a
video you like, look for similar videos on the same channel or in the
suggestions list on the right-hand side of the page. You can also search for
content related to your hobbies which is likely to be more enjoyable for you.
Look up how to say your favorite hobby in the language you're learning and type
that into the search bar. This allows you to find the most popular vloggers in
your areas of interest and your target language.
Many movies and series are also
available on YouTube, more than you might think. Quite a lot of
blockbusters and independent films are available in many languages. Just search
the title and "full movie" or something along those lines. There are also tons of
children's stories on YouTube. These are an excellent way for absolute beginners
to get started slowly and although they're geared towards kids there are
some that even adults can enjoy. Once you find something you really like, you
should either subscribe to the channel, to get notified when new videos become
available, or better yet, create a playlist for language learning and add
all of the videos you like to it, so you can watch them again later. In order to
find exactly what you need, use the filter option after searching for keywords.
If you click on the filter button you see here you can select
criteria that will refine or narrow your search. You could set your search results
to display only short videos, for example, or to rank videos by number of views,
which is generally a good indicator of popularity. But the most important
criterion for language learners will be subtitles, also called closed captions.
One of the best things about YouTube for language learners is that it offers a
lot of videos with subtitles. Not every video has subtitles though, so you need
to look for the CC icon next to the title, or select "subtitles" or "closed
captions" as a filter. Once you click on a video with subtitles,
you need to make sure they are activated. If they don't appear automatically, you
can either click on the CC button, or type the letter C on your keyboard.
There might be more than one language available for subtitles. This video for
example offers subtitles in 6 languages. You can pick from among the languages
available by clicking on the gear icon and then CC and the language you want.
You'll notice that you often have the option to choose auto-generated captions
as well. These are created by an artificial intelligence program by
Google. They're not perfect and they should be avoided whenever human
generated subtitles are available. However the quality is generally fairly
good and will only continue to improve. Once you've found a video with subtitles
that you like, it's time to relax and enjoy the show...
Or is it? You're here to improve your language skills after all, so here are a
few tricks on making the most of your time on YouTube.
1. Rewind and fast forward when necessary
If there are words or expressions that you need to hear a
second time, feel free to use the left and right arrows on your keyboard.
It's much more natural than using your mouse. Just don't overdo it or you'll get bored!
2. If the video is too fast, slow it down
You can change the speed settings under
the gear icon you used to turn on the subtitles.
Usually, 0.75 is a good speed to make fast speakers understandable.
With these two hacks, you will be totally in control of what you watch and can focus on what
really matters: improving your comprehension skills.
That's it for this video,
thanks for watching and I hope these tips will be
useful to you. Don't forget to go to our blog to find out the best YouTube
channels for language learners, and tons of other language learning tips. And I'll
see you again very soon. Bye bye!
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See you next time!