Hey reader,
This week I uncovered an interesting piece of analysis someone did looking at number of words known based on CEFR level (A1, B2, etc) and native speaker age. When you open it, you’ll note a massive difference in word counts within levels.
To be honest, I find it very surprising that any A2 learners at all have 10,000 words known. I think there’s definitely something else going on with either those learners or that test!
The other thing worth thinking about is just how many words children know. It’s a product of the enormous amount of input they end up absorbing over 12 or so years. It’s a good reminder that words are always useful.
Well, you can check out the link in today’s edition and decide for yourself.
🛠️Resource spotlight: Project Gutenberg
Once books enter the public domain, anybody can publish and modify them, free of charge. Project Gutenberg simply turns them into ebooks and makes them available for free. You can find ebooks for some of the more commonly learned languages. Be warned: this resource is generally only useful for advanced learners, as the kind of books that can be found here are usually at an adult native speaker level, and may include archaic or dated vocabulary.
🌐Language learning
This popular post looks at vocabulary size for native and non-native speakers.
How and when to start reading lots. This episode focuses on languages with different scripts.
How to improve your listening comprehension.
Someone completed all 150 lessons of a Pimsleur course and did a writeup on Reddit.
💻From around the web
Why languages are disappearing.
Why Ancient Greek epics like The Odyssey describe colour so weirdly.
Some people did a study on how LLM using is reducing linguistic diversity. This LinkedIn post summarises it.
Till next time!
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