I'm always surprised when people mention watching shows in their target language as a study method. For me, I don't understand much and my mind starts to wander pretty quickly.
I had the same problem, the solution is to start with extremely easy content, either from a language learning site/channel or content targeted at toddlers. Even 2 year olds already have quite advanced language skills! Peppa Pig is a perennial favorite. You build up from there with childrens' shows, cartoons, and at some point later on introduce graded readers. Watching full-speed native TV shows is like the final exam after 1500+ hours of study, and even then may have a lot not understood if you aren't familiar with the slang/dialect. This is especially true for heavily dialectical languages such as Chinese where it's common to always watch with subtitles on.
Besides watching things aimed at young children, another tactic I have found effective is to watch something you already know very well in English (or whatever your native language). For me, this has been South Park. I'll watch episodes that I practically know by heart already, so that even if I don't understand all the Spanish words I can pick up things from knowing what is happening.
I too find it wild when people do it at a beginner stage.
Back when I was learning English during my school years, I only started seriously watching native content after I already had either a B1 or B2 certificate. At that point I already knew most of what was being said, I just wasn’t used to hearing/parsing it in real-time and without the “padding” that comes with learner-oriented content. So the gap I had to bridge there was small.
The burden of learning basically everything at the same time - word meanings, grammar patterns, native-level speech patterns and speed - sounds daunting to me. But I think if you are at a life stage where you can put tons of time into it, it works.
It has always been my go to, but my wife is more in your camp.
Personally I don't see the point in any of the study if you aren't going to actually use the language. I couldn't get motivated to do any of the study if I weren't primarily studying through native media. All I would have is an empty grind.
I feel quite lucky to be in the camp that vibes with this method. I find the joy comes from focusing on all the things I can understand no matter how little. You really tangibly feel the progress as you make it too. You have to pay attention to be scanning for things that seem learnable to you as well, so the attention is pretty locked on.
There are five tricks I'd recommend to stay focused.
1. Try watching something that is actually interesting. Often this could be something you'd like to rewatch that you've seen before, but now dubbed in your target language.
2. Try watching something that you understand. Search "[target language] comprehensible input". This content has been simplified for people like you.
3. Focus on what you DO understand, not what you don't understand. Not only does this not weigh you down, it also give you something to focus on.
4. Pop bubble wrap (or something). Watching a TV show is effectively "doing nothing" and this makes some people uncomfortable (sorta like struggling to meditate). If you can find something to do while you're "doing nothing", this can help a lot!
Yeah this is a huge problem. AFAICT the "solution" currently is basically to just grind to the point you can understand Peppa Pig or the rough equivalent at ~40%-50% comprehension, and then sentence mine each episode painstakingly using something like Migaku + Anki flashcards until you can watch a brand new Peppa episode at ~80% comprehension. Its painful but after this you really "unlock" content and its a lot smoother and more interesting after that (the stone finally starts rolling _downhill")
I'm making an app to try to help with low level comprehensible input, posted elsewhere in this thread
