Learner’s Struggles
When it comes to speaking a foreign language, a lot of students feel confident in their skills after a few months of study. However, even advanced learners struggle with another aspect of conversation: listening.
Have you ever had a conversation and left wondering if you really understood what the other person was telling you? Have you ever watched a Japanese movie or TV show and wished you understood more of what the characters were saying? Then, this article is for you!
How to Approach Listening Practice
In order to effectively practice your listening skills, first, you must select content suited to your level.
One option is the audio files/CD included in most manuals, such as Genki or book series to prepare for the JLPT Exams. These audio files usually consist of paused conversation set in different situations, read by voice actors with clear enunciation and standard Japanese pronunciation. While this type of content may be great for pronunciation training, since it allows you to mimic a standard Japanese pronunciation (including pitch accent), it has many shortcomings, one being the speed of enunciation. Real-life conversations are normally very fast, unlike the sample interactions in these textbook recordings. In addition, the content of these conversations may be quite dull, which may make you quickly lose interest.
A more efficient option may be audio and video content aimed at native speakers. In the beginning, you might be overwhelmed at the speed of speech, especially if you are new to the language. However, native content is the quickest way to get you to the advanced level, and, ultimately, to proficiency. First, you should try to find content that interests you. Thanks to the abundance of content online, it should not be an impossible task. If you usually listen to podcasts in your native language, look up Japanese podcasts that you may listen to online whenever it suits you.
Useful Tips
A word of advice: efficient listening practice requires active listening. While listening as a background activity while doing house chores or commuting to work might seem like a good way to utilize time, you will not benefit as much from your practice if you are distracted by other tasks or by surrounding noise. Make up time for listening practice, preferably in a noiseless environment.
Once you have selected some form of content that interests you, you should first listen to it once at normal speed. Ideally, you should listen to content that is under 40 minutes long. If you have understood 100% of what was said (unlikely), you may move on to more complex content. If you struggled with occasional words and sentences, then you should make time to listen once more, pausing and speeding down the audio whenever necessary. At this stage, you should have picked up additional vocabulary and expressions. Do not worry too much about learning how to write the kanji for this vocabulary just yet; we are focusing on listening, now.
On the other hand, if you understood nothing of the audio selected, maybe you chose content that is not suited to your current level. In that case, you should try to keep it simple, by sticking to shorter audio clips or content aimed at children. Listening to music in Japanese while reading the lyrics may also help with improving your ear. Whatever content you choose, what is most important is to repeat the listening activity, whether on the same day or sometime later. This will make you more familiar with the content, to the point where you may even start predicting how sentences start and end. While this may seem pointless in the beginning, the fact is that people in their everyday speech often utilize a given set of common words and expressions which will certainly pop up in conversation. Without noticing, you will have improved greatly. That is if you stick to this strategy for a long time.
Introduction of the Author
This article was written by André Pinto Teixeira, a Portuguese translator and author. Even though he is a foreigner, his Japanese level is as good as a native speaker.
If you are interested in his literary work, please visit his Instagram.
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