Curious about any anecdotal evidence about this from people. I have always struggled with languages and have been trying to learn Italian for the past 6 months.

Is this 80% listening, 20% active using a good way to do it?

Yes! I stumbled on this idea myself (when trying to learn German) and it works very well. I just read books and listen to audiobooks, starting from a very basic level and then gradually higher level. The talking improves almost automatically, without having to practice it.

Per the same wiki[0], the theory seems like pseudo-science:

> lacks testability, is conceptually ambiguous, and exaggerates the role of “comprehensible input” in language acquisition.

[0]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Input_hypothesis#Critiques_of_...

This is basically what Dreaming Spanish does right? Just shit loads of comprehensible input videos.

This has worked for me. Just try to enjoy a self bombardment of the foreign language and hope you will catch on eventually.