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Language learning: how I use audiobooks on day 1
From my experience, audiobooks are by far the most efficient way to learn, even more so than podcasts and TV shows. TV shows are great for everyday speech, but they have a ceiling on more advanced vocabulary. Your typical drama will have a narrow range of familiar topics (family, work, food, and dating for example).
Podcasts have until recently been a mystery to me as to why they aren’t as efficient as audiobooks. You would think that podcasts featuring scientists or historians would at least be as beneficial as audiobooks. The main flaw with podcasts is the speakers have to think on their feet. If they aren’t a super gifted or engaging speaker, you’re going to inevitably space out at least a fraction of the time. Oftentimes the topic could be very interesting, but the host and the guest don’t have a lot of chemistry, so the conversation doesn’t flow.
Writers on the other hand have the advantage of time to craft their words and story in the most engaging way possible. Withholding key details and having cliffhangers at the end of each chapter keep you turning the pages and wanting more. When I’m reading Lord of the Rings in Finnish, the Finnish language seems to come to me by accident from reading a really great story. With J.R.R. Tolkien’s vivid descriptions, I feel like I’m living in Rivendell on a great quest.
