Last night, as I read a Spanish learner novel with my kids, I found myself... bored. I was trying to push through, but the story just felt dry. Maybe it was just me? But then, when my son had to rate it for his school reading log, he gave it two stars and said he didn’t like it that much either.
After that, we switched things up and read Huevos verdes con jamón, the Spanish version of Green Eggs and Ham. This book had way more vocabulary—some of it beyond my son's level and definitely beyond my daughter's. But this time? They were completely engaged.
Was it because of the playful rhythm and rhyme? The silly, repetitive nature of the story? Or my amazing 😉 dramatic reading skills? Who knows. But despite being less comprehensible than the learner novel we started with, it was far more compelling—and my son gave it five stars.
That moment stuck with me, and today in class, I was reminded of just how much compelling input matters. One of my students had recently finished a learner novel about Santana and passed it along to a classmate. When that classmate returned it today, she raved about how fantastic it was, adding, “It makes such a difference when the book is actually interesting.” Then, she passed it on to yet another student.
I already know how important compelling input is—it’s something I think about all the time—but I loved seeing my students experience it firsthand.
Seeing their enthusiasm reminded me of something Stephen Krashen has emphasized in his research on language acquisition: Comprehensible input is essential—but the best input is so compelling that we forget we’re even reading or listening in another language.
How to Find Comprehensible and Compelling Input
If you’ve ever struggled to stay engaged with Spanish, it might not be a motivation issue—it might just be that what you’re using doesn’t hold your interest. Comprehensibility is key (if you don’t understand anything, it won’t help), but within that, the material should also be enjoyable.
Here’s how you can apply this:
Follow your interests. If you like cooking, find a Spanish-language food blogger. If you enjoy travel, read about destinations in Spanish-speaking countries.
Be intentional with what you consume. When choosing a book, podcast, or show, aim for something that is both within your reach and engaging. A true crime podcast in Spanish might be too difficult, but a learner-friendly history podcast could be just right.
Surround yourself with the language in a natural way. Follow Spanish-speaking content creators on social media, subscribe to YouTube channels that interest you, and listen to easy-to-understand Spanish podcasts while doing daily tasks.
The more your input pulls you in, the more likely you are to stick with it—and that’s what leads to progress.
So if you’re finding yourself pushing through something dull just because it’s “good for learning,” it might be time to switch it up. Because the best way to keep going is to actually want to. 💃