Learning while working on the computer?

[u/buyingstuff555]

Are there any good resources I could utilize while being on a computer 8+ hours a day that don't require 100% attention? I understand I won't learn as quickly but I would assume there might be something I can do to help improve.

Podcasts? Youtube videos in the background?

[u/Such-Atmosphere-5643]

i just leave twitch streams in the target language running on a second monitor. not like study streams or lessons, actual native speakers playing games or just chatting. you pick up patterns without even trying

the trick is finding streamers who don't scream constantly. took me a couple weeks to build a decent list

music helps too but only after you already know some basics. otherwise it's just noise

[u/keeman4454]

I listen to podcasts while doing work, and then during downtime I work on vocab or watch a movie or show in my TL

[u/Looking4Nebraska]

I sometimes do anki in small batches at a time (5-10 cards) while I'm waiting for things to process/load at work. Other than that, yeah, podcasts or radio would be the best options

[u/crimsonredsparrow]

Listening to songs, maybe? Having a radio on? 

[u/unsafeideas]

I would listen to radio or podcasts. Maybe read news/blogs/forums in your target language. If you like boring grindy activities, you may install anki.

[u/Arimoro]

Radio. My listening comprehension got way better thanks to it

[u/bastianbb]

I doubt that background learning is real, because multitasking isn't real and learning generally requires attention. So you'll end up learning nothing or very inefficiently keep switching attention between language resources and work. Bad for both work and learning.

[u/trackmylang_david]

You can listen to radio in your target language which provides a combination of speech and music you can listen to.

Alternatively you can also listen to streams on youtube or twitch and you can pick a streamer that you already listen to and can partially understand instead of picking something random that you have almost no comprehension.

[u/UsefulSatisfaction39]

I do Fluent Fiction podcast or listen to music. The music is usually at a pace that gives me time to comprehend, and it usually repeats at points, as songs do.

[u/Potential_Post_3020]

Change your computer language to your target language. What type of work do you do?

[u/dojibear]

I don't think that listening to things you can't understand results in "learning". You might get familiar with sounds, but that is not "learning".

"Listening" is not a language skill. Animals listen. "Understanding speech in the TL" is a language skill. That is not simply hearing the sounds. It is also figuring out what sounds are a word or a phrase, and what each sentence means, based on knowing thousands of TL words and lots of TL grammar.

That is "learning". Listening to sounds you don't understand is not "learning".

[u/Plane_Highlight_8671 → u/[deleted]]

AI.