Gaming Streams are Crazy Efficient for Language Learning

Context is everything

Image generated with AI from prompts by the author

I wish I discovered video game streams earlier in my language-learning journey. My total learning hours might be cut in half (by my estimates). Learning Finnish and other languages has taken over my whole life. From April 2023 to April 2024, I consumed 1,716 hours of foreign language media (an average of 4.69 hours per day). I fully integrated this rampant media consumption into my daily life, but it came at a huge cost.

The time cost was surprisingly inconsequential. Even the busiest people have a lot of dead time in their day that they are unaware of. For instance, taking a shower is an easy 15 minutes and I often play Finnish podcasts on a waterproof Bluetooth speaker. Then there are roundtrip work commutes, which might be 30+ minutes each way. So yes, it is surprisingly easy for even a busy person to clear an hour or more out of their day.

The real cost for me was the diversion of attention.

I once had a thriving architecture career, but a high-interest rate environment combined with my obsession for languages means I’ve been off the “career track” for almost a year. Luckily, restaurant work is keeping the bills paid and I can listen to languages in my earbuds the entire time! I could certainly…