Listening
Practical guides on speaking, grammar, pronunciation, listening, and study planning, written for learners who want to use Japanese in real life.
Listening · Page 4
Listening While You Speak Japanese Without Losing Track
You stopped listening the moment you started planning your answer, which is why you missed the end of their question and answered the wrong one.
7 min readHow Japanese Speakers Simplify Their Japanese for You
The Japanese spoken to you is not the Japanese spoken around you, and the gap explains why you understand your friend perfectly and understand nothing on the train.
6 min readWhy Fast Japanese Sounds Like One Long Word
You know every word in the sentence and you still could not find where one ended and the next began.
6 min readWhen You Catch Every Japanese Word but Miss the Meaning
You recognised every word, you could write them all down, and you still have no idea what was said.
7 min readFollowing a Japanese Conversation Between Other People
One-to-one Japanese is fine and a table of four is impossible, and the difference is not your level.
7 min readDoes Passive Japanese Listening Actually Work?
You have had Japanese playing in the background for six months and your listening has not moved, which is not surprising.
6 min readDictation Practice for Japanese Listening
Listening again to something you did not understand rarely helps; writing down what you actually heard almost always does.
6 min readUnderstanding Japanese Station and Store Announcements
Station announcements are the most repetitive Japanese you will ever hear, which makes them the easiest listening you are currently failing at.
6 min readChoosing Japanese Listening Material at Your Level
Anime is not beginner listening material, and using it as though it were is why so many learners believe their listening is hopeless.
6 min readRewatching or New Material for Japanese Listening?
The episode you have already watched three times has more left to teach you than the one you have not started.
6 min readFollowing Spoken Instructions in Japanese
Being told how to do something is different from being told about something, because you have to act on it.
6 min readJapanese Listening: Catching the Words You Keep Missing
Most listening failures are not vocabulary failures. You knew the words; they went past in a shape you had never heard them wear.
14 min readPractical guides
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