tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2415019037912331630.post9219278029560859287..comments2023-06-29T15:30:42.032+01:00Comments on Language Teacher Toolkit: Steve Smith's blog: Help! Comprehensible input is not working for me!Steve Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15705858452229762903noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2415019037912331630.post-7699366421308366622016-04-20T09:10:14.300+01:002016-04-20T09:10:14.300+01:00Thanks for commenting. Those El Internado resource...Thanks for commenting. Those El Internado resources look interesting. A lot of work by a number of teachers has gone into those. I suppose that, even if the language is inherently too fast, the back-up work and motivational aspects make it very worthwhile. We used to use an old BBC French series called Le Café des Rêves, but that was written specifically for learners and would a good semi-authentic resource. I can't imagine ever using a real TV series myself.Steve Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15705858452229762903noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2415019037912331630.post-44583717662522634472016-04-20T02:39:32.514+01:002016-04-20T02:39:32.514+01:00Great point, Steve, even if somewhat cheekily made...Great point, Steve, even if somewhat cheekily made :)<br /><br />I don't know of anyone--theorist, researcher, or teacher--who would consider TL language that is synchronously translated via subtitles to constitute comprehensible input. If you couldn't understand without subtitles, then, by definition, it wasn't comprehensible input for you. (There's also the practical fact that, even with two languages one knows quite well, it's extremely hard simultaneously to attend to audio in one and subtitles in the other.)<br /><br />The actual point of your post, "that understanding language with the aid of subtitles is an inefficient way of learning a language," is quite true, and I agree that consumption of media intended for a native-speaker audience is unlikely to be efficient for Novice or even many Intermediate learners.<br /><br />The more general implication--if you want something to provide the benefits of comprehensible input, then you'll need to actually comprehend it--is worth repeating!<br /><br />By the way, a number of teachers in the USA have begun using the Spanish show El Internado with 1st year students, and have thought through the issues involved (issues that apply for other languages, too) quite thoroughly. I have mixed feelings about this myself, but you might be interested in Dustin Williamson's collection of his own and others' relevant posts: https://williamsonci.com/el-internado-resources/Justin Slocum Baileyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15484612982798313825noreply@blogger.com