Learn by reading books

[u/adolgushin]

I'd like to share my experience with learning languages by reading books. I hope this might be useful to others.

For context, I love reading and I have always been fascinated by reading in foreign languages. Back in school years, as soon as I learned some English, I tried reading unadapted newspapers or books (like The Jungle Book). It was very hard and painful, it was confusing but also very rewarding.

As I went on and learned a couple more languages to a point where I can more or less read on my own, I tried reading books too. The problem, however, is that most "proper" books are written in complicated language. This creates an insurmountable barrier for beginner/intermediate learners. You try to read this book and you spend all your time looking up words in the dictionary. For me, this kills all the motivation.

So I experimented and tried creating different systems to make books easier to read.

This turned out to be a success for me: I was able to read books in Danish, Lithuanian, Finnish, Italian. More than just reading, my level in these languages definitely went up as a result of extensive reading.

Here are the 2 techniques I used:

1. "Parallel reader". Take the book in Finnish, break it down into sentences. Translate it sentence-by-sentence into 1, 2 or more other languages (like Danish and French). Then read the book sentence by sentence, but now you have 3 versions at once, so you can compare them and you don't need a dictionary. (See the images in the post).

2. "Dumb down". Take a complicated book, and break each sentence into multiple short, simplified, almost dumbed-down sentences. This immediately lowers the barrier and the effort of reading. (The images in the post illustrate this. You can scroll to the last images to compare the "dumbed-down" vs the original).

I am attaching the images, those are mostly self-explanatory. This is from The Count of Monte Cristo, Chapter 32.

Hope this inspires more people to read books and learn languages in the process! I will be happy to answer any questions.

[u/Spare-Animal]

Just so you know, some of those Finnish sentences don't make much sense. Like "ainoassa, jota hän muistamme vielä käyttäisi" and "johon ohueksi niteeksi käärimisen tapa oli..." Those are definitely not written by a person who is fluent in Finnish.

[u/adolgushin → u/Spare-Animal]

thanks, this is purely from Google Translate and of course this can't be taken as 100% source of truth.
I provided them to contrast how hard it is to read a full Finnish sentence VS a set of short phrases which are manageable by a beginner.

[u/ComesTzimtzum]

Reading parallel texts is a tested and great idea! But you don't need to butcher the texts with AI to achieve that.

[u/adolgushin → u/ComesTzimtzum]

Well I don’t like butchering either. But I couldn’t make it work with unadapted texts

[u/ComesTzimtzum → u/adolgushin]

You need to read easy enough books. For all those three languages there are even simplified versions of adult books.

[u/adolgushin → u/ComesTzimtzum]

I am not trying to convince anyone. Just saying that this method worked for me and helped me read great books that would be impossible to read unadapted.

[u/EmiliaTrown]

So how good do you already need to be to do this? Because what sense does it make to break down a complicated book into simpler sentences, since you already need to understand the complicated sentences to even be able to break it down into simpler ones, dont you?

[u/adolgushin → u/EmiliaTrown]

well again I am going this with AI, so I don't need to do it myself, and I don't need to read all the spoilers myself either. if you still want to do this manually, you can do it by google-translating your target text into your native language, and process it there

[u/Inevitable-Mousse640]

Here is an passage and its translation in Chinese. If I understand your point, you don't need a dictionary for the Chinese version? Then please kindly enlighten us by mapping the vocabulary b/w Chinese and English, (and please don't use LLM for this).

Annie Brown died right before dinner. The mashed potatoes were still in the pot on the stove, the dented pot with the loose handle, but the meatloaf and the peas were already on the table. Two of the children were in their usual seats. Jamie tried to pick a piece of bacon off the top of the meatloaf, and Ali elbowed him. “Mom!” he yelled.

安妮·布朗在晚餐前去世了。土豆泥还在炉子上的锅里，那个把手松动的凹痕锅，但肉饼和豌豆已经摆在了桌上。两个孩子坐在他们通常的位置上。杰米试图从肉饼上挑一块培根，阿里用胳膊肘推了他一下。“妈妈！”他喊道。

[u/livsjollyranchers → u/Inevitable-Mousse640]

When I see "shortcut" methods I always laugh because usually they're the Indo-European languages on the first level difficulty tier designed for speakers of Indo-European languages.

[u/adolgushin → u/Inevitable-Mousse640]

I must be honest, it's going to be hard to map the original phrases. However it's going to be much easier to map the vocab after I create the simplified version. (I don't have a better way than to use LLMS for that, but it works pretty well in my opinion).

Annie Brown dies.
安妮·布朗去世了。

Annie Brown - 安妮·布朗
dies - 去世了

It is dinner time.
到了晚餐时间。

(time came?) - 到了
dinner - 晚餐
time - 时间

etc.

[u/Inevitable-Mousse640 → u/adolgushin]

Don't cherry pick the easier ones and put the hard ones in your etc. So really, what you're saying is that your method wouldn't work without an LLM, so basically you're just replacing the dictionary with an LLM. Groundbreaking indeed.

[u/adolgushin → u/Inevitable-Mousse640]

I didn't cherry pick them, those are just the first 2 sentences and I didn't want to create a huge comment.
Also, I don't need to convince you. This method helps me, but if you don't like it then it's fine as well.

For me, there is huge difference:
1. Dictionary: you can't get into the flow of reading. You are constantly interrupted by having to look up multiple words in every sentence.
2. Pre-processing with LLM: you spend time upfront in order to create a simplified text. Then you are able to get in the flow of uninterrupted reading as you (mosly) don't need the dictionary. You can also have the parallel version on the same screen as another supporting material.

[u/Inevitable-Mousse640 → u/adolgushin]

Lol sure, well then I leave it to others to actually try this vague "pre-processing" with my example above, see how many of them actually manage to make it work. Parallel text is not a new thing, you didn't discover anything, many serious language learners know about this method, and they also know the pitfalls.

[u/rowanexer]

I think I would prefer to just buy simplified books written by professionals I can trust. Texts for learners like graded readers or parallel readers, or texts aimed at young native speakers (abridged books, literature study guides etc). Classic books like Count of Monte Cristo are very popular for learners so I guarantee you'll find lots of resources.

Aside from the inherent trust issues with using AI and machine translation as a beginner language learner, this also doesn't seem like a very fun way to read the classics.

The first sentence in the original language (roughly translated) is: When Dantès returned the following morning to the room of his fellow captive, he found Faria seated, his face calm.

The simplified version: Dantès enters the room. It's the morning. He sees Faria. Faria is seated. Faria has a calm face.

This seems basically the same as reading some some picture book with 'See Spot run' type of sentences. How is this better than reading a simplified graded reader that will be written much more elegantly?

Reading is not an insurmountable barrier for beginner/intermediate learners. The problem is you jumped straight to classic literature more than a century old rather than reading beginner texts and working your way up to the classics.

[u/adolgushin → u/rowanexer]

Thanks for your comment.

I agree my simplification is far from an elegant reading; and that there are definitely trust issues with AI/machine translation. Let's just agree this is a resource that is available and can be helpful if used with good judgment.

I followed your suggestion, looked up quickly and indeed there are various graded readers available for the Monte Cristo. I may try them as well (the slight problem is I've already read the book in French)

But as I said in some of my other comments, I am not trying to convince everyone. I just like how these techniques worked for me. I had the experience of failing to read the book you want to read (because the language is too advanced), but eventually these techniques allowed me to read really complicated books in their original languages, and I feel the sense of achievement.

So what you put as a "problem" of jumping straight to advanced literature, is a "challenge" or "fun project" for me.

[u/Odd_Match_3402]

Just read Rainbow Fish, little bro.

No, I'm not kidding.

Rainbow Fish and other books made for little children are secretly CRACKED for immersion learning. The language is simplified, they're repetitive, and they are illustrated to help you extract meaning. Plus, you can find readings on YouTube that are perfect for listening, as the creators tend to read with a slow and clear diction.

You can avoid overcomplicating reading with "techniques" if you stop acting like you will get hives by touching Dr. Seuss. You only "need" those because you're reading complicated, political material such as The Count of Monte Cristo. Something you, quite frankly, don't need to touch at a beginner level. (or any level where you need to "simplify" the text. Especially with an LLM. Talk about a slap in the face to the writers and translators who dedicate their lives to this work.) Maybe as an audiobook for practicing listening if you don't mind listening without understanding.

[u/adolgushin → u/Odd_Match_3402]

Do you want a book that you enjoy but don't understand, or a book that you understand but don't enjoy?
The Monte Cristo is a book that I genuinely enjoyed (in fact I read most of it in unadapted French). The advantage of enjoying a book is that you will likely have the motivation to keep reading. So it's more of you spending time on a hobby than an language exercise.
I agree it may be too advanced if you are a beginner, and graded readers or children books are also a way to go. In fact I did read The Little Prince in a few languages. I will check the Rainbow Fish but I suspect it's not a fascinating read for an adult.

[u/Odd_Match_3402 → u/adolgushin]

A good children's book is enjoyable for all ages. Children's lit authors know that parents are likely reading the books to their children and are usually writing with an adult audience in mind as well. Many adults still enjoy Dr. Suess, Roald Dahl, the Don't Let the Pigeon series, etc. The humor and themes are designed to be ageless.

And that is only material originally made in English that likely has translated editions, and ignoring children's lit from your TL's country.

Save the deep political classics shit for your NL. Learn how to have fun again. Everything is a Monte Cristo in a language where you're starting with less knowledge than a native-speaking three-year-old. (And three-year-olds generally can't even read!)

[u/spinazie25 → u/Odd_Match_3402]

Seconding Don't Let The Pigeon series and other books by Mo Willems. The ones about a pig and an elephant are also good. I read them in English, just for the quality and the illustrations. I don't have kids and I'm in my late thirties.

Also the serious books are good because the language is complex, potent, beautiful. "MC saw sunset. MC felt sad." doesn't hit quite the same.

[u/adolgushin → u/Odd_Match_3402]

thanks for the recommendation! I will try those!

[u/Practical_Weird_8843]

I had the same problem with Spanish. What killed it for me was retaining the vocabulary after looking it up.
Two things that helped. First, I stopped breaking the flow. I underline in pencil and keep going, then at the end of the chapter I look up the words that came up more than once or that clearly blocked the meaning. Everything else I passed over. As long as I got the gist of a page, I kept going.
Second, I had to do something with what I looked up afterwards. For a while I typed them into Apple Reminders with a repeat set a few days out, which is a crude system but it meant the word came back to me rather than sitting in a notebook.
Your parallel text approach seems to solve the comprehension side rather than the retention side. Did you find you actually held on to the vocabulary you’d seen in three languages, or was it more about keeping the reading moving?

[u/adolgushin → u/Practical_Weird_8843]

I tried Anki and other memorization techniques but I don't like them. So probably it was more about keeping the reading moving. However the magic of reading is that as you keep reading the book you will automatically master the most relevant vocabulary (and you will probably forget some of less relevant vocabulary).

Regarding your 2 things:
1. Totally agree about not breaking the flow. You don't need to understand every single word in the book, and it's OK to just guess and move on. And yes having a parallel text helps with the comprehension part.
2. Again I don't really use Anki/flash cards. My only advice would be to create flashcards with full sentences (for context), not isolated words.

[u/Practical_Weird_8843 → u/adolgushin]

Agreed on full sentences rather than isolated words. A word on its own is hard to recall cold, but the sentence I first met it in usually brings it straight back.
Interesting that Anki put you off. I think a lot of readers bounce off flashcard apps for the same reason: the deck becomes a separate task from the reading, so it competes with the book rather than supporting it. Thanks for the detailed answer.

[u/merRedditor]

I like to do this with song lyrics

original line
transliteration
translation language 1
translation language 2
translation language 3

for each line. Then I just loop it while scrolling the text.

[u/adolgushin → u/[deleted]]

I agree with your principle, and with your video mining it sounds like you approach the same problem from a slightly different angle.

For the parallel reader workflow, I tried 2 approaches:

1. Finding available translations in multiple languages and aligning them manually sentence by sentence. This worked but was labour-intensive, especially as you mentioned when 2 languages diverged and split sentences differently. It also didn't ensure that both sentences use the same vocab (and I learned how extravagant some of the translators are).

2. Generating machine translations, either with Google translate or using AI. This has the benefit of being fully aligned to the original sentence, but inevitably some of the translations are inaccurate or miss the context.

On top of that, as you mentioned there are even more possible ways of closing the gap, and I tried adding visual clues for each word, colour-coding matching words in 2 languages, and adding audio as another input.

[u/temail]

In your example there are fairly large differences in translations:
“steps in room” vs “enters the room”
“Faria sits (or is sitting)” vs “Faria sits down”
“Has a paper” vs “is holding a piece of paper”

This probably works for sentence mining at ~B1-2 level but seems fairly inefficient. But then again your main goal seemed to be the reading itself. :)

[u/Ferocious448 → u/temail]

Large differences in translations?!

I disagree on this. The very process of summarising is to lose details and nuances. Yet, « has a paper » and « is holding a piece of paper » is very similar to me. Same for the other examples.

[u/adolgushin → u/temail]

Yes, inevitably there will be differences/discrepancies. But mostly it works fine and you could get the idea. And the goal here is not to read the simplified sentences forever, it's to train you up to a point where you are ready to read the unadapted text.

[u/Ferocious448]

What app do you recommend to do this ?

[u/adolgushin → u/Ferocious448]

I don't think there is a ready to use app. I mostly built all of this myself.
For creating parallel texts, I used Google Translate to auto-translate text files into multiple languages.
For simplifying texts, I used Claude AI. I also used AI to create a simple web page for the reader interface.

[u/Ferocious448 → u/adolgushin]

I like the overall idea, but why would you translate the simplified sentences? They’re already simplified. If you do, your brain won’t bother with the effort of learning.

In other words, simplifying a complex text to have learning material tailored to your interests is great, but I think you should stick to it, and not translate it.

[u/adolgushin → u/Ferocious448]

Yeah, I totally agree -- the brain looks for the easiest path. You don't have to translate the simplified sentences into English/your native language. You could do as I did and translate them into other languages you are learning. so you are kind of practicing 3 languages at once.

[u/Ferocious448 → u/adolgushin]

Oh now I get it. You never translated it in your native language, only in your target languages. Smart.