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The Passage blog
Notes on learning a language by reading real books: the research behind it, techniques that work, and what to read next. For step-by-step how-tos and app comparisons, see the guides.
Latest posts
- Extensive reading and comprehensible input, explainedWhat Krashen, Nation, Day and Bamford found, and where critics push back.
- How many words do you need to read a novel?The 8,000-word-family figure, where it comes from, and why you can start sooner.
- The tap-the-sentence methodRead slightly harder books without a dictionary: read, guess, ask, reread.
- How to read your first novel in SpanishWhich book, how much a day, what to do when you're stuck, and what comes next.
- Classics that are easier than you thinkFamous books in six languages that learners can read sooner than they'd expect.
- Reading vs Duolingo and flashcardsWhat course apps, flashcards and books each do well, and how to combine them.
- Read a book you already knowWhy familiar stories are easier, and free translations to start with.
Guides and comparisons
- GuideHow to learn a language by readingWhen to start, how much to look up, and how to keep the words you meet.
- GuideReading apps comparedPassage, LingQ, Readlang, Beelinguapp and e-readers: who each is for.
- ComparisonPassage vs LingQImport everything, or a ready library of classics? An honest comparison.