The method
Comprehensible input: you learn a language when you understand it
Comprehensible input is a method of language acquisition. You watch and listen to messages that you understand. Your brain then gets the words and the grammar without conscious study.
Comprehensible input (CI)
Language that a learner understands. The learner gets the meaning from context, pictures and gestures, also when the learner does not know all the words.
The linguist Stephen Krashen described this idea in the late 1970s and the 1980s.
The idea
Two ways to get a language: acquisition and learning
Krashen made a difference between two processes. He called them acquisition and learning.
Acquisition is a subconscious process. It is how all children get their first language. They hear people talk to them, they understand more and more, and one day they start to speak.
Learning is the conscious study of rules, word lists and exercises. This is what most schools do.
Krashen said that acquisition gives you the ability to understand and to speak with ease. Conscious knowledge of rules only lets you check your speech for errors, when you have time to think.
To acquire a language, you need a large quantity of input that you understand. The input must also be interesting, so that you pay attention to the message and not to the grammar.
The difference
Classic lessons and comprehensible input
Many people study a language for years at school and still cannot understand a native speaker. The cause is usually the method, not the student.
Classic lessons
- Grammar rules come first, before you understand the language.
- You memorize word lists without context.
- You must speak from the first day, and a teacher corrects your errors.
- Texts are made for exercises, not for interest.
- Tests measure progress. Many students feel stress.
Comprehensible input
- Meaning comes first. Your brain gets the grammar from the input.
- You get new words from context, pictures and gestures.
- Speech comes by itself after enough input. No pressure, no corrections.
- Real stories and topics that interest you.
- Hours of input that you understand measure progress.
The theory
The five hypotheses of Stephen Krashen
Krashen explained second language acquisition with five connected ideas. Together, they are the base of comprehensible input.
The acquisition-learning hypothesis
Acquisition and learning are two different processes. Only acquisition gives you fluent speech. Rules that you study do not change into fluent speech.
The monitor hypothesis
The rules that you learn work only as an editor. You use them to check your speech when you have time and you think about the form.
The natural order hypothesis
People acquire the grammar of a language in an order that you can predict. A teacher cannot change this order with a different order of lessons.
The input hypothesis (i+1)
You acquire language when you understand messages that are a little above your current level. Krashen wrote this as "i+1": "i" is your level, "+1" is the next step.
The affective filter hypothesis
Stress, fear and boredom stop input before it gets to you. When you are relaxed and interested, more input gets through.
Lingua Clara
How we use comprehensible input
Each part of Lingua Clara follows one rule: you must understand what you watch.
Hosts make each message clear
Native speakers use drawings, objects, gestures and slow speech. You understand the story without a translation.
Four levels for your next step
Superbeginner, Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced. You always find videos at "i+1": not too easy, not too hard.
Topics that you like
Stories, travel, food, games and daily life. When a video interests you, you forget that you learn.
No tests and no corrections
There are no exercises, no grades and no one who corrects you. This keeps stress low, so more input gets through.
An hours tracker and a roadmap
We count the time that you watch. The roadmap shows how far you came and what comes next.
Many accents
Hosts come from the countries where people speak the language. You learn to understand all of them.
What to expect
The stages of acquisition
Each person goes at a different speed. But most people go through the same stages.
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Stage 1
Listen and understand
You only listen. You do not need to speak. Linguists call this the silent period. It is normal.
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Stage 2
Follow full stories
You understand more each week. You follow full stories at the beginner level.
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Stage 3
Speech starts
The first words and short sentences come without effort. You do not need to force them.
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Stage 4
Understand native speakers at normal speed
You understand native speakers when they talk normally, as they talk with each other.
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Stage 5
Command the language without effort
You understand, speak and think in the language with ease. It feels natural.
Tips
How to watch
- Choose videos that you understand most of.
- If a video is too hard, go one level down. This is not a step back.
- Do not stop the video to look up each word. Follow the story.
- Watch without subtitles when you can.
- Watch a video again if you like it. Repetition helps.
- Watch a little every day. Regular input is better than one long session each week.
- Use your free time. Watch when you eat. Listen when you walk, run, train in the gym, or travel by metro or plane.
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Try the method yourself
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