My reading and speaking is good but my listening is bad, any ideas about how to help? - Feed Post by blackjay91
My reading and speaking is good but my listening is bad, any ideas about how to help?
posted by blackjay91
Comments 10
*are. Just kidding :P
The only way is practicing. Watch a lot of anime, a lot of drama, TV (Niji), radio... what a terrible practice, huh? :P
If your reading really is good, you could try watching them with japanese subtitles, that's what I've been doing.
Thanks for your help.
@beee_17 doesnt anime have a lot of slang? I was advised against watching it, but maybe that was misinformation.- Depends on the anime, I guess. Sure, many have lots of slang, but the thing is, native speakers also use them (except for some things like てめえ、貴様、死ね!...). Some people will try to say to you to not use any kind of slang, to always use 敬語...but then you wont sound natural. Tae Kim even has a lesson on casual pattern and slang: http://www.guidetojapanese.org/learn/grammar/slang
The problem lies in, as a non-native speaker, you won't know which slang is used in everyday life and which is specific to a region, class of people, era, gender, etc. Take it from someone who had to tell a friend "You talk like a girl. You are not a girl. Fix it.". (This person does not identify with the female gender, either, so it was just right out mistakes on their part)
The most important thing is to listen to whatever you're interested in. I like variety shows, so I watch lots of that. You could also try Japanese podcasts. One that I fancy is called Bilingual News (http://tinyurl.com/nnutm3s). The girl, Mami, speaks in Japanese, and the guy, Michael (I think), speaks in English.- You like... Japanese variety shows? Wow. I suppose you can say スゴイ and 美味しい and ウマい with the best of them! Can't stand them. Especially polls about which country has better police, Japan, or (every other country bundled together)?
Watch anime that are adapted from Seinen manga. (Use less slang, more gore and entertaining) Watch Japanese dramas. Listen to Japanese Music. (Asian Kung-FunGeneration FTW)
Watch news in Japanese.
Listening is my best area. Reading is slow, but I'm improving. Speaking however....is mediocre at best. --worst area- @Arachkid: The variety shows I watch don't always have food in it; they're mostly just pure comedy, albeit Japanese comedy, like とんねるず or ロンハー. When I first came here, I used to watch a show aimed at kids called ピラメキーノ (don't think it's on the air now). My spoken Japanese improved heaps, as well as my listening!
- @beee_17: Great advice, thanks for the link I will look into it.
@Arachkid: I have also heard this before. The gender stuff sounds crazy.
@KenjiSama: I'm with you there on Asian Kung-FunGeneration. I hear some news in Japanese as well. I can pick up fragments and occasional words. My listening is doing well, for my speaking I use a tutor once a week.
@Koukyoshi: I tried the kids shows as well. Youtube has a few things on there. Sometimes the voices are very annoying though.
