u/Dafarmer1812

When you are B1/B2 level, its usually a struggle to find resources that are both (a) interesting and (b) somewhat comprehensible. Typically, its either very boring content designed for learners, which feels fake, or real content that is too difficult for your current skillset. I've found that public broadcasters sometimes have the news aired in a simplified form and cadence, which is actually the perfect B1/B2 content because its real and interesting but at a workable level!

For example, the Dutch governmental news organization, NOS Journaal, has a division called "NOS Journaal in in makkelijke taal", which translates to "NOS Journaal in easy language". They even have a dedicated youtube program in which they cover the daily news in this simplified, but real, form. My typical start of the day when I was B1/B2 was to take their daily simplified news youtube video, load it into Lingua Verbum for transcription and for being able to easily see definitions of words I didn't know, and then work my way through the ~10min news program. I used this method everyday for ~3 months and went from ~3000 known words (B1ish) to ~7000 know words (B2ish) very quickly and without getting bored (very important for keeping motivation!) because I felt I was learning a lot about the Netherlands through their news program

I believe that there are a bunch of these, covering most major languages. I've found the following, but I guarantee that there are more:

• [German] nachrichtenleicht.de
• [French] savoirs.rfi.fr/fr/apprendre-enseigner/langue-francaise/journal-en-francais-facile
• [Spanish] noticiasfacil.es
• [Italian] newsinslowitalian.com
• [English] newsinlevels.com
• [Swedish] 8sidor.se
• [Finnish] yle.fi/selkouutiset
• [Danish] dr.dk/ligetil
• [Japanese] www3.nhk.or.jp/news/easy
• [Portuguese] newsinslowportuguese.com
• [Russian] newsinslowrussian.com

Hey language learners,

I've been studying Dutch for over two years. For the first six months, I was using Duolingo every day. I completed most of the tree but didn’t feel like I was actually learning the language. I couldn’t hold even a basic conversation, and I wasn’t getting a sense of progress.

That changed when I shifted to a more input-focused method. I built a tool for myself during the process, but the key idea can be applied without it.

The approach centers on a very simple system for tracking vocabulary:

• Words start out blue, meaning you haven’t looked them up yet
• When you click a word to see a definition, it turns orange
• Once you feel you’ve internalized the word and understand it in context, you mark it as known, and it turns black

As you read or listen to content in Dutch, you watch the page slowly shift from blue to black. You begin to recognize patterns and vocabulary without having to consciously study them. This shift makes progress tangible. You’re not guessing whether you're improving. You can see it in the changing colors of the text in front of you.

Over time, I noticed I was understanding far more than I used to, without actively studying grammar. I just read and listened a lot. I eventually got confident enough to have conversations with italki tutors, and could get through most of them without translating in my head.

This method helped me in a way that more traditional tools didn't. I wanted to share it here because others might find it helpful, whether or not you use the same tool I do. If you're not seeing the kind of progress you want through structured lessons or isolated vocabulary drills, this might be worth trying. Focus on massive input, track your exposure, and let the language build gradually.

If you're curious, the tool I ended up building is called Lingua Verbum. There's a free tier and a trial version if you want to try it out. Website: linguaverbum.com, and there's now an iPhone app as well.

Happy to answer any questions or hear if anyone else has used similar input-based approaches.