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Find material in the target language about the topic, such as YouTube videos, podcasts, music, or Instagram reels.
- You can do this by searching online using a format like “<keywords in target language> <type of media, such as video, music, etc>”.
- Listen or watch, and then follow this process:
- Note down any moments that were difficult for you, including their time stamp.
- Write out what you understand after your first listen or viewing. Then listen again and see if you can add more or make corrections to your first effort.
- Look up any unfamiliar words or constructions.
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Learn about the background of the material:
- Who made it? Are they famous? In what context? Who would recognize their names?
- What are their biographical details? Who were their contemporaries?
- What are other seminal or popular examples of that genre?
- What are other historical or contemporary works in the genre?
- See if you can find other works in the same genre.
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Interact with social media conversations in the target language about the material or related topics.
- You can find them by searching online using a format like: “<keywords in target language> <name of social media site>”.
- Try to find out what social media services are popular for speakers of the target language.
- Find hashtags, popular pages, or influencers posting about the topic.
- Draft a post about the topic in the target language, your own or a response to someone else’s.
- Find and write captions for images related to the material.
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Explore language-learning apps like DuoLingo or Mango Languages.
- Even app content intended for a beginning-level learner may help you review or learn vocab and grammar; and the audio may help reinforce accurate pronunciation, accent, and intonation.
