If you want to learn and improve your Japanese language skills, there are multiple ways you can do that. But, as one of the most difficult languages to master, the learning process of the Japanese language might exhaust you. This is why we are going to make it easy for you.
Out of several fun ways to learn the Japanese language, one of the most entertaining ones is to learn the language while watching TV. When you immerse yourself in the Japanese media, you are exposing yourself to the native speaking patterns as well as Japanese cultural insights.
Let’s cut it short and move towards how you can actually improve your Japanese while watching TV.
1. Wisely Select Your Content
There are a lot of TV shows out there, but not every show matches your preferences and the speed you want to learn Japanese with. Therefore, you will need to choose suitable content that is aligned with your proficiency level. For example, if you are a beginner, you will need to start with children’s shows.
This can be cartoon shows or any other craft-learning show. These shows are beneficial for you because of their simpler language and slower dialogue. After this, as your skills progress, you will need to move towards anime shows that are based on a genre and narrative.
These shows will provide you with newer words and help you explore more complex katakana and hiragana. Moreover, you will also be able to learn a little bit of Kanji, too. If you want to expand your skills further, you can transition to shows that offer everyday conversational language. This can be anything from historical dramas and talk shows.
2. Use Rich Subtitles to Your Advantage
If you really want to know how to learn Japanese in a fun way, you can start by using apps that offer rich subtitles along with your favorite TV shows. These “rich subtitles” should have an ability to show you the meaning of each word in the sentence, as well as keep track of which words you have learned.
There are many apps and platforms that can help you learn the Japanese language by looking at the subtitles of your favorite videos on the internet, especially YouTube. Make sure to use these apps and improve your language.
These videos will help you with vocabulary recognition and comprehension. Additionally, once you’re comfortable without subtitles, challenge yourself by turning them off entirely. It may be difficult at first, but it encourages active listening and enhances your understanding of both spoken and written Japanese.
3. Ensure Listening Attentively
Actively listening simply means listening, but it’s more than just hearing words. It is about understanding how the locals are uttering those words and what the pronunciation of these words is. To practice listening actively, you will need to focus on mimicking what you are listening to.
This will help you catch the pitch and rhythm of native speakers. Listen to how words connect in natural speech because it will help in deciphering how fast-paced conversations go. This will, in turn, help you improve your conversational skills.
If you want to enhance your active listening further, you can use audio tools like podcasts and radio. These resources will let you understand different accents and dialects that will then help you improve your Japanese language skills.
4. Practice Repeating and Shadowing
If you are watching any TV show or listening to the radio, pause the show after some regular intervals and stop to repeat aloud the sentences or phrases you listened to. This will help you in perfecting your pronunciation and improve your memory retention for the Japanese language words.
This technique is called shadowing, and it helps you make your speaking style more natural. And one more thing… As you shadow and repeat, it is advised to focus not only on words but also on the emotional details conveyed in the dialogue. This will help you achieve a more authentic and expressive speech.
If you want to see how you sound while speaking Japanese, you can also record yourself while shadowing and then compare your style of speech to the original dialogue. Doing this will keep refining your pronunciation and fluency of the language while keeping it all fun.
5. Utilize Language Apps
For those of you who might not know, there are several language apps that can help you improve your Japanese language in a fun way while watching TV. As mentioned above, you can use apps that provide Japanese titles to watch your favorite shows while also learning the language.
If you cannot do that, you can just coordinate your TV-watching routine with language-learning apps that complement the content. There are many apps that will offer quizzes and certain other exercises that are related to the themes of the shows you are watching.
These interactive apps will help you get immediate feedback on what you are learning, which will then enhance your retention and comprehension of the language.
6. Create Vocabulary Lists
When you are watching Japanese shows on the TV and find any difficult or unfamiliar words and phrases, you can write them down and create your personal vocabulary list. When you are finished watching TV, you can go back to these lists and categorize all the words based on themes or topics.
Doing this will improve your retention and facilitate targeted vocabulary practice. You can then regularly review these words and incorporate them into daily usage. By this way, you can strengthen your vocabulary and overall language proficiency.
If you want to reinforce that routine, you can use visual aids and flashcards with images and some example sentences.
7. Practice Predicting Dialogue
When you are watching TV, you can practice predicting the dialogue based on the overall context of the TV show and visual cues. This will not only help you stay active throughout the learning process but will also make it a fun learning experience for you.
It is true that it’s not quite an easy thing to do, but you can make it somehow easier by paying attention to characters’ expressions, gestures, and the overall scene to anticipate their lines. …We all do it when watching shows in our local language…
