What kind of content would you add in a new language for a new beginner?

Hi all,

I am working on getting Gujarati stories and content translated to help support this language. There are already 60 mini stories that have some content, but I wanted to branch out into some more interesting content to keep beginners engaged. Currently, I am having someone start with the alphabet and some fairytales like Cinderella and Beauty and the Beast (beginner 2-intermediate 1 level), but what kind of content would be both interesting and helpful for a beginner one level?

I like reading about local history, food, cultural activities, hygiene practices, local customs, shopping, religion, etc. Basically, everyday life.

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Since I mostly study European languages my study routine and needs are very different to what they would be if I studied, say Gujarat. However I really enjoy the ā€œSteve speaks to native speakersā€ podcast types of lessons. In these he speaks about various topics food, traveling, stories relating to the interlocutors life, etc.

I like content with lots of repetitional words talking about how to learn the ā€œtargeted languageā€ in the actual language. An example is the Spanish podcast ā€œEspanol automaticā€ talking about how to learn the Spanish language in the actual language. Also, frenchā€™s ā€œFrancais Authentiqueā€ which helps talk about giving tips on how to learn the language in the actual language. After completing about 70 ā€œespanol automaticā€ podcast on lingq, I believe that I was able to understand a lot of what was said in youtube vlogs and etc. Roughly about 80 percent or maybe a little more. Only my opinion of course.

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I have a few fairy tales in the works, another set of audio for learning the alphabet, and a start on Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. The 60 short stories are mostly a day in the life type stories, so I was trying to branch out on the available content.

I think it would make sense to spend a lot of time on the script. I also like cultural information a lot.

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Songs, learn song lyrics and sing along

I think natural conversations between two or people are extremely useful and necessary, in addition to the literary content and suggestions already made.

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I absolutely agree with Chris on this point. Natural conversation far outweighs anything scripted.

If you could do a unique performance podcast, perhaps broken into short segments, where a couple of interesting and dynamic people, along with special guests, discuss any of the topics already suggested by the other members (history and historical figures, culture and cultural activities, local customs and beliefs, local and national news and events, special problems facing the region they are from or where they live now, science, tv and movies, food and cooking, hygiene, travel, shopping, things they find strange or unusual, comedy, or anything else that they are interested in or excited about) and then write the scripts based on that conversation, that would be better than trying to come up with content where everything is scripted and sounds like it.

Check out this ā€œcouncil of fiveā€:

I upload a lot of content that I buy on Kindle, and so my answer reflects that: I like to start with graded readers. I see that youā€™re learning Spanish, and although I havenā€™t studied that language (Portuguese is my first language, and so Spanish is kind of easy), I bet there is a ton of graded books for Spanish. Check this: Amazon.com : spanish graded readers

I got a lot of use out of the ā€˜Podcasts met Fasulyeā€™ for Dutch, which I think were recorded and transcribed specifically for LingQ. The format: one native Dutch speaker, one who had learned it as a young adult, having ten-minute unscripted conversations (but speaking at a manageable pace) on pre-agreed topics such as various aspects of Dutch culture, their own language learning experiences, their other hobbies etc. If you could find someone who also speaks Gujarati and would be willing to do something similar, I expect that would be very useful.

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Daar heb ik ook veel gebruik van gemaakt.

Chytran, thank you for making me aware of Espanol Autimatico. I think your idea of using content with words talking about learning the language makes a lot of sense! Well, that is, if you enjoy that type of content, and now that Iā€™ve tried it, I must say I do! I imported ā€œEl General en Su Laberintoā€ by Gabriel Marquez Garcia because Iā€™ve always wanted to read that book in the original language. Although that activity was enjoyable and made me come back for more, the problem is that itā€™s written mostly in the past sense, so most of my verb Lingqs are are in the preterite form. Nothing wrong with that from a literary viewpoint of course, but perhaps not the most helpful at the beginner levels. So another way of saying that is that perhaps the book I set out to read is a bit to far beyond my level. As per your recommendation, I checked out Espanol Autimatico, and I found that not only did I enjoy it (important!), but the words and phrases Iā€™m picking up are a bit more useful in everyday conversation compared to the book I was reading. Also, with Espanol Autimatico being more at beginner level, Iā€™m able to mark off many more words as ā€œknownā€ than was the case with the book. Just wanted to let you know that your post helped my Linqq studies quite a bit, and maybe this feedback will help someone else!

WinterShaker,

Ik heb een playlist gemaakt op YouTube met willekeurige Nederlandse filmpjes.

I like content with lots of repetitional words talking about how to learn the ā€œtargeted languageā€ in the actual language. An example is the Spanish podcast ā€œEspanol automaticā€ talking about how to learn the Spanish language in the actual language. Also, frenchā€™s ā€œFrancais Authentiqueā€ which helps talk about giving tips on how to learn the language in the actual language. After completing about 70 ā€œespanol automaticā€ podcast on lingq, I believe that I was able to understand a lot of what was said in youtube vlogs and etc. Roughly about 80 percent or maybe a little more. Only my opinion of course.ImportReply
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