Job Discussion Forums

[Nabby Adams]

Do you think that it's an efficient use of time to watch it in order to improve listening skills in Japanese?

I am thinking about buying a tv just to improve my listening (I am a pre-int level student) but I am wondering if it will just be a waste of money. I mean either it will all go over my head or it wont be natural language or maybe too natural with slang.

I was also a bit surprised that my local electical aplliance store only stocks pretty expensive flat screen tvs. What recession? I thought as I checked out what must have been 200 tvs all LCD.

What shows are good for a low level leaner? (no kanji ability)

[Glenski]

Just sit and watch it? No. Total waste.

Sit, take notes. record stuff, replay it, check a dictionary, ask J friends for advice/explanations, etc. ? Sure.

Osmosis works for semipermeable membranes, not for language learning.

[markle]

I'm not sure it would be a total waste, as long as you paid attention and are actually try to fathom what is going on. You can develop an ear for different speech patterns (news, comedy, drama etc). Cultural cues are helpful too, certainly better than most Japanese language learning texts. Put it this way in English which do you think are more realistic/natural, ESL texts and videos or ordinary TV shows?

[JL]

Absolutely.
But before you plunge your money into an expensive flat screen, watch Japanese programming on Youtube. Or, as Seklarwia just posted yesterday on another thread, there happen to be fansub sites of Japanese t.v. shows you can watch. Thanks to her, I just discovered this one, last night. Check it out. It's pretty good.
http://www.crunchyroll.com/media-509166/Detective-Office-5-Episode-1.html

But on that other thread, see my review of this program for a word of caution.
( http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.php?p=730856#730856 ) Also, when watching J-tv, don't try to look up every last word you don't understand --you'll get bogged down and give up. But most definitely be paying attention and try to understand words that keep popping up. Do have a Jap/Eng dictionary close at hand. You'll have to find the right balance, yourself.

Again though, J-tv is available to you on the web. So investigate it here first, to give yourself an idea of what to expect. You may even find that watching via your computer is more conducive to "studying" (ie. stopping and restarting, pausing to look up words), as well.

[GambateBingBangBOOM]

It can help you, if used in addition to many other methods of learning. As Glenski said, you should record, watch over and over, rewind, make notes, ask friends etc.

Start with commericals. They're repetative. Also watch children's programming- the language is simple, and spoken slowly (in an nice irratating voice) and so is easy to understand. Move on to the news (start with simple news, like the weather report). You can also use the radio, but it's harder than TV.

Radio and TV both helped me learn French more than Japanese, but my French level was higher when I started than my Japanese level was when I arrived.

The key to remember is ACTIVE listening. And that listening is only ONE of four connected skills, so by itself it probably isn't going to be that great.

You learn a language by using it. Passively watching a TV and expecting to learn a language is like putting a piano concerto on in the background while you do some housework and thinking that that means you'll be able to play it in a year.

[Nabby Adams]

Thanks for the replies. JL especially as you have saved me the effort of buying a tv. (I wouldn't watch it for anything else much) that's a great idea. Don't know why I didn't think of it myself.
Of course I understand that it needs to be active listening. Though not on a par with listening to a real person in conversation I don't think that "just listening" is a total waste of time though. When I do have a chat in Japanese I don't sit there with notebook in hand and yet I feel that listening to the speech has helped my listening skills somewhat.

[JL]

I'm not going to contradict GambateBingBangBOOM, because I think he makes a good point about "active" listening. But I wouldn't sell short "passive listening" either. I think watching J-tv will, indeed, be very useful. Especially since Nabby lives in Japan, she (he?) can then immediately step outside and be able to also interact with Japanese. (Though I also emphatically recommend watching J-tv for those trying to improve their Japanese while living outside of Japan, too.) As long as the student combines this method with others which people have mentioned above, it's a good tool. The different methods, (including watching t.v.) compliment each other. Whenever I watch Japanese t.v., I invariably learn new vocabulary, and have my listening comprehension pushed, as well.

Also, I believe there is a fine line between studying while watching t.v., and over-doing it. We can all agree that just having the t.v. in the background as so much earwash, is not gonna get it. But stopping to look up every last word, to the point of not being able to simply enjoy watching the program, is a sure way to ruin the experience, and probably burn out. If the program happens to be about something the viewer is familiar with, or otherwise interested in, the viewer will be more readily engaged. Keep it fun. As I said in my above post, each individual has to find the right balance for themselves.

[markle]

Of course there is also the added benefit of being able to join in the office conversation of "Did you see nani nani on TV last night?"

[steki47]