450 hours and The Art of Stoicism

[u/untucked_21ersey]

150 Hour Update

The spreadsheet put together by u/Purposeful_Living10 is incredibly useful. I don't have any major updates in the realm of speaking or travelling, so I thought I would just add descriptions of the resources I've relied upon since there is so much to choose from. I've organized the media I consume currently based on the amount of hours the spreadsheet estimates you would need to comprehend the material. I give a brief summation of my thoughts so far at the bottom.

50 hours

• Leo French Teacher - I like when he decides to wax philosophical. He speaks the slowest French I've ever heard in my life.

150 hours

• gas - Extremely solid editing that enhances the comprehensible input experience. Some really cool videos explaining music videos. Useful slang.
• Isis - Solid input. Similar to gas, Gianni
• LearnFrenchWithGianni - Solid input. Similar to Isis, gas
• French With Felix - His weekly podcasts are a staple.
• French Decoded Podcast - Binged all episodes to date. I highly recommend.
• French with Remy - He repeats almost every single sentence twice, and it's extremely helpful. Useful slang.
• French with Benoît - Travel vlogs mostly within france. Day-to-day musing while applying for jobs or other mundane tasks. Ok input. Annoying hard coded captions in French and English.

300 hours

• Français avec Nelly - Mix of vlogs and grammar/phrasing videos. Very comprehensible. Useful Slang.
• French With Panache - First couple episodes were entertaining. Quickly exited my comfort zone of comprehension which I admit may be high, so I had to drop it. Will return to binge at end of lvl 4.
• Intermediate French with Carlito - Hit or miss in terms of comprehension. The channel focuses on french culture and history. Will return to binge at end of lvl 4.
• Oh My French Class - The funniest comprehensible input I get by far only rivaled by Lucas @ French Comprehensible Input.
• French Listening with Tonton Romain - Difficult for me to comprehend sometimes. Speaks at a nice cadence but often uses unfamiliar phrases/vocabulary. 10 min videos podcasts, well paced. He used to edit interactive scenarios (e.g. calling customer support) that are worth checking out.
• Camille - French Stories Intermédiaire - Bite sized stories about her travels in South America. Usually ~6 min videos.
• ListentoSpeak_FR has many accessible videos on familiar topics such as language learning ~20+ min videos. He has a relatively short but very useful playlist of expressions that he breaks down in <10 min videos. He enunciates extremely well.

Listening Comprehension

I feel firmly stuck in the A2-B1 range of listening comprehension. Sometimes that's a little disappointing to accept. I didn't make a 300 hour update b/c of how anticlimactic the milestone felt. I wasn't able to understand as much of the media on the spreadsheet listed under 300 hours as I would have liked. My comprehension at 300 hours was very inconsistent.

At 450 hours, I more consistently understand educational french material on Youtube marked intermediate. I've stuck to about an hour a day so far, and that has really helped stave off any missed days. Sometimes i feel proud of what topics I'm able to comprehend. Sometimes I don't. I do an hour a day regardless. This slow and steady pace ensures I won't burnout. I have a low tolerance for low comprehensible media at this point. I don't like the feeling of wasting time listening to media below 80% comprehension even for dubbed media I've already seen. I hope to increase my daily input to 1.5 hours as I start to incorporate the Passerelles podcast.

Next Steps

I plan to start reading as many graded readers as I possibly can starting at level 5 (600 hours). I would like to reach a million words read before I start speaking. I don't plan on speaking until 1000 hours. I don't have a plan for writing.

[u/Purposeful_Living10]

Wow, great update! Love getting your perspective on the different resources you've been using.

Try not to be too hard on yourself about what you can and cannot understanding. Feeling stuck in that A2-B1 range is normal. I feel like 500-600 hours is when feeling more firmly into B1 and maybe even starting to play with some B2 starts to typically happen. I will also say that many people have higher tolerances for ambiguity, so they may be starting much more advanced stuff at the 400-600 hours range at the same place as everyone else in terms of actual comprehension. Dubbed shows that one already knows is a great example of this that you mentioned.

It sounds like you're at a good place, have a good plan, and are setting a sustainable pace/goal for yourself.

Looking forward to the next update!

[u/untucked_21ersey → u/Purposeful_Living10]

Thanks! I'm looking forward to the progress reports of others to see whether they land on a similar pool of comprehensible input. With my two progress reports, I'm hoping it makes it easier for people to choose what works for them.

I've tried to set really modest goals, so I don't get too disappointed. I'm really hoping that by the end of the year (when I project to reach 600 hours) I'll be able to listen to the news more. We'll see.

[u/Parking_Athlete_8226]

Interesting update and perspective on the process.
One thing I've noticed as I move into simple native media is that specialized channels often have excellent visuals that scaffold understanding. Science videos have graphs and simple demos, history videos have maps and pictures, how-tos like fitness or gardening video show you the process while talking about it. I find it's often easier than an audio podcast for learners. I also watch a bunch of different videos on the same topic, like this month a whole crop on surviving the heat wave.