Comprehensible means understandable. Input means what is put into, in this case language. Comprehensible input refers to the language you internalize and understand. Comprehensible input is how every person on this planet learned a language. Each person was spoken to in a way they could understand. At first you pick up words, then phrases, then whole sentences. Comprehensible input is not speaking and it’s not listening to TV shows in a foreign language you can’t understand. Comprehensible input is meaning conveyed in a way that you understand.

The key to language learning is comprehensible input. Videos are the perfect medium for comprehensible input because they can include audio and visual communication, have multiple levels of difficulty, and require no engagement from the watcher. Most people think that you need to speak to learn a language fluently. Speaking is an output of language acquisition, but it is not a good way to acquire in the first place. Videos allow you to sit back, relax, and focus on what’s important – input.

Each membership has full access to all languages and videos. There are no membership limitations. New videos are released every week which expand our total library of content, including expansions on popular content as well as covering topics such as current events. All of these are made available to new members.

Catamaran was designed to take people from 0 experience in a foreign language to native level mastery. That kind of language acquisition is extremely hard, and Catamaran doesn’t pretend that it’s easy. However, using the right language acquisition techniques from Day 1 can save a tremendous amount of time that would otherwise be wasted on things that don’t work – memorizing words and phrases, silly games, deceptive marketing programs designed to hook you on pointless achievements. Catamaran gives you the tools to actually acquire a foreign language, but YOU have to dedicate the time to reach your goals.

Yes. Everyone on this planet has acquired a foreign language with the same overall model Catamaran makes available. There is significant academic research dedicated to the Comprehensible Input methodology. Catamaran credits the work of American Linguist Dr. Stephen Krashen for the inspiration of our methodology, which has been used by the Founders of Catamaran and many of our users to reach high levels of foreign language acquisition.

If you’ve ever played an instrument like the piano, you know very well the amount of daily work that goes into learning a new skill and how defeating it can be when you practice, practice, practice, and don’t see immediate results. But you’d also know how when you wake up the next morning to practice, your fingers suddenly move in a way they couldn’t the day before. What was impossible yesterday is now possible today. Language acquisition works the same way, but over a much longer timeframe. You will go months without being able to notice a serious improvement in your comprehension ability. But it will come, and when it does – you can come back and read this FAQ. What are you waiting for?