Comprehensible input · English

4 English channels made for learners, measured

Ranked by median difficulty, easiest first. The bar is a range, not a label — a channel typically spans a wide stretch of the scale, so one level would be false for its own hardest videos.

4
learner channels
591
videos scored
186 h
of material

The ranking

#ChannelLevel range (0–100)MedianTypical bandPaceVideosHours
1Easy English64831B1-B2medium13837 h
2BBC Learning English07554B2-C2medium19130 h
3Speak English With Vanessa288556B1-B2fast17485 h
4Learn English with Bob the Canadian438666B1-B2fast8834 h

3 of these 4 channels carry the same vocabulary band (B1-B2), and their scores still run from 0 to 86. That gap is pace: what separates the easiest of these channels from the hardest is how fast people talk, not which words they use. How that is measured →

Find something to watch

The physics behind Einstein’s most famous equation - Lindsay DeMarchi and Fabio Pacucci
score 48TED-EdB2-C2~9,000 words5 minmedium
Watch on YouTube ↗
No one really knows what a tree is - Max G. Levy
score 48TED-EdC1-C2~20,000 words6 minmedium
Watch on YouTube ↗
Meryl Streep Rewatches The Devil Wears Prada, Mamma Mia! & More | Vanity Fair
score 48Vanity FairB1-C1~4,000 words13 minmedium
Watch on YouTube ↗
Why is Alzheimer’s disease so difficult to treat? - Krishna Sudhir
score 48TED-EdC1-C2~13,000 words6 minmedium
Watch on YouTube ↗
Do imaginary friends make you smarter?
score 48TED-EdB2-C1~10,000 words5 minmedium
Watch on YouTube ↗
Andrew Strominger: Black Holes, Quantum Gravity, and Theoretical Physics | Lex Fridman Podcast #359
score 48Lex FridmanB2-C1~6,000 words2h 20mmedium
Watch on YouTube ↗
The myth of Dionysus’ drunken revenge - Iseult Gillespie
score 48TED-EdC1-C2~11,000 words6 minmedium
Watch on YouTube ↗
What Sex, Soap and Alcohol Taught Me About Making an Impact | Myriam Sidibe | TED
score 49TEDB2-C2~7,000 words10 minmedium
Watch on YouTube ↗
Abandoned Alone in an African Tribe
score 49Yes TheoryB1-B2~4,000 words24 minmediumauto subs
Watch on YouTube ↗
The myth of Medusa
score 49TED-EdC1-C2~13,000 words6 minmedium
Watch on YouTube ↗
How to find hidden clues at crime scenes - Theodore E. Yeshion
score 49TED-EdB2-C2~8,000 words6 minmedium
Watch on YouTube ↗
The surprising way we can cool the planet - Elise Cutts
score 49TED-EdC1-C2~14,000 words5 minmedium
Watch on YouTube ↗
What’s the best way to treat the common cold?
score 49TED-EdC1-C2~18,000 words6 minmedium
Watch on YouTube ↗
You Know This Song (but the Orchestra Doesn’t) | Jacob Collier & VSO School of Music Orchestra | TED
score 49TEDB1-C1~6,000 words14 minmedium
Watch on YouTube ↗
Christmas Special! | Lost Treasures of the Bible MEGA Episode | National Geographic
score 49National GeographicB2-C2~9,000 words2h 12mmedium
Watch on YouTube ↗
David Guetta Answers DJ Questions | Tech Support | WIRED
score 49WIREDB1-B2~4,000 words18 minmedium
Watch on YouTube ↗
How a broken heart affects your body - Roni Shanoada
score 50TED-EdC1-C2~13,000 words5 minmedium
Watch on YouTube ↗
Narco Bling: Chapo Guzman End Game (Full Episode) | SPECIAL
score 50National GeographicB2-C2~8,000 words46 minmedium
Watch on YouTube ↗
Secret Sunken Cities (Full Episode) | Drain the Oceans Compilations | National Geographic
score 50National GeographicB2-C2~8,000 words44 minmedium
Watch on YouTube ↗
A Spicy Take On Parenting, Happiness and Sex | Negin Farsad | TED
score 50TEDB1-C1~5,000 words7 minmedium
Watch on YouTube ↗
Silence, the Universal Medicine | Pico Iyer | TED
score 50TEDB1-C1~4,000 words11 minmedium
Watch on YouTube ↗
Tulsi Gabbard: War, Politics, and the Military Industrial Complex | Lex Fridman Podcast #423
score 50Lex FridmanB2-C1~5,000 words1h 51mmedium
Watch on YouTube ↗
Neuroscientist Answers Emotion Questions | Tech Support | WIRED
score 50WIREDC1-C2~12,000 words20 minmedium
Watch on YouTube ↗
How to make your stress work for you - Shannon Odell
score 50TED-EdC1-C2~11,000 words5 minmedium
Watch on YouTube ↗
Watching is the other halfYouTube gives you one subtitle line, in one language. Linglass puts English and your own language on screen together, and turns any word you tap into a flashcard.Add to Chrome — free