How to LISTEN to Japanese. Techniques for building audio recognition skills.

[@PedroOliveira-sl6nw]

If I could gather the Seven Dragon Balls and ask for one wish, it would be for her to come back. She left us with the perfect (incomplete - because I'm sure she had so much more to teach us) LEGACY.

[@cureabees9440]

This was some really good advice, especially the points made from about 5:58 to the end of the video. Because gaining the ability to masterfully interpet spoken language can only be attained through hundreds of hours of listening, having the right mindset throughout all of those hours is essential. And you described that mindset perfectly! I think the most important thing when it comes to developing listening ability is to just not worry about it. Don't worry about what you're missing; just sit back, relax, and enjoy what you've got. Just immerse yourself in your immersion.

[@organicjapanesewithcuredol49]

Well said.

[@japanrain7436]

It felt a little weird listening to you the first time i found your channel but now i think im addicted 先生、ありがとうございました！

[@organicjapanesewithcuredol49]

Welcome to the channel!

[@jmoravek8]

I always walk away from Cure Dolly videos strangely turned on.

[@9zero187]

@@jmoravek8 uhh, as long as you learned something

[@firmian]

One of your best lessons up to now ...

[@organicjapanesewithcuredol49]

Thank you!

[@Knight-Cyberia]

Recently realized that my reading abilities are completely above my hearing abilities, so I started watching some raw dramas and animes... but with fear, thinking "what if this is just a waste of time ". And now with your video I know that it was the correct decition. Thank you Dolly先生.

[@organicjapanesewithcuredol49]

Yes. It's best if you can really enjoy your Japanese immersion and not worry about wasting time. You aren't but it is a long journey and if you don't enjoy it for its own sake - well it probably won't end up long enough to get there.

[@lazarossuleimanoglou2426]

In this video you' ve put together things that many of us have experienced and made a coherent theory with it. Thank you for your effort.

[@danielirvin4420]

I do this with weather forecasts from Japan in the morning. I find the repetition of basic phrases and structures helpful, and most of them do have Japanese subtitles.

[@seventhsheaven]

My listening skills are definitely behind my reading skills, but I have found that “shadowing” has helped improve my listening immensely. I have a textbook with a cd called “shadowing Japanese”, but you can shadow anything you want, really. One thing I struggled with was understanding where one word ended and the next began, but the shadowing has made that easier for me.

[@organicjapanesewithcuredol49]

Some people find shadowing difficult or impossible, other people say it works wonders for them, so it is worth trying to find out how it goes.

[@duunchannel]

It's helpful to stay relaxed during listening practice. Worrying about comprehension both limits your understanding and your interest in the material , and if you simply listen along casually and pick out words for an hour or two when you can, the improvements will actually be significant.

[@organicjapanesewithcuredol49]

Yes this is very true. Since with the Organic method we are addressing the "granular" side of structural understanding much more completely than with any other approach, we don't need to be (and shouldn't be) duplicating that while doing pure listening. It will make a huge difference, but the less _obtrusive_ it is during pure listening the better.

[@kevitokagamine5404]

This video was exactly what I needed to hear. I’m rewatching some old animes in Japanese and I try not to read the subtitles, even though I don’t understand 100% I already have an idea of what’s going on since it’s my second time watching it. I still enjoying watching anime and I get excited when I hear some phrases and I don’t have to read the subtitles. I just finished watching ロザリオとバンパイア. I’m think about watching MIRAI NIKKI since that anime is one of my favorites 😸 THANK YOU SO MUCH CURE DOLLY 先生、I hope I can keep giving you my support as a patron, I’m running out of money 😅

[@organicjapanesewithcuredol49]

Thank you so much for commenting. Please don't increase financial difficulty for yourself in supporting me. I am very grateful for your help and that of all my supporters. But you must all look after yourselves. You are precious to me.

[@kingsmans4741]

well think about it. when you are 3 -4 years old or even 5-6. you arent givin a list of vocab and grammar but you naturaly know and understand the language because youve heard it every day and used it. Same with any other language. if you listen to it every day and use it (even if you dont know all the rules and vocab, you will pick it up in time. Thats how good our brain is when it comes to language and pattern recognition. Obviosly add studying into this and its pretty much a time game.

[@c0nt1nuumd34th]

What I have learned is that anything that sounds closer to its English counterpart is always in Katakana. I havent seen the anime you posted just yet but I ll give it a whirl. It has gotten to the point that my friend and I started translating some of the english dubbed dialogue to Japanese even though it sounded dumb. Its a fun side quest while learning the language. XD

[@kevitokagamine5404]

@@c0nt1nuumd34th That sounds fun, transliteration is the key to understand who Japanese language works. When we read subtitles on anime, they are more like an interpretation rather than an acurrate translation. I do the same thing with music. Please check my latest video on my channel and let me know how I did. It's called Kevito and I translated the song "Snow White Princess" by Miku

[@cassandrabarrett4633]

What a great video Dolly sensei! Lately, I started to read more in Japanese while using a dictionary, but not making Anki flashcards because I genuinely don't feel like making cards for every new word anymore. Plus, time used to make new flashcards could be time to read a new page of a book because I want to enjoy what I'm reading rather than "study" as you said. There's a manga I started reading called Great Pretender, and I found out it has an anime on Netflix! I figured since I'm reading the manga, I could watch the anime too. I want to see how much I understand while enjoying the show, and this video gives me the confidence to do just that. I'm always grateful for your videos Dolly sensei!

[@organicjapanesewithcuredol49]

I take a very pragmatic view of flashcards. One should use them as little as you can get away with. I recommend them because most people find it impossible to learn vocabulary fast and accurately enough by just "picking it up". But there's no reason to make more than you actually need. They are a necessary evil, not a duty.

[@moonmoon69696]

I have been stuck, felt no direction in language acquisition. Thanks Dolly, this really helped 🙇🏻

[@organicjapanesewithcuredol49]

I do recommend following the structure course as well as pure listening though. youtu.be/kzbin.info/aero/PLg9uYxuZf8x_A-vcqqyOFZu06WlhnypWj

[@saaah707]

Absolutely true! It's also the guiding principle behind "tadoku" which I'm sure you've heard of. My reading speed (and listening ability) skyrocketed when I finally gave up on the 100% comprehension dream and put down the dictionary. But good luck convincing any of the "glass case Japanese" scholars on any of this.

[@organicjapanesewithcuredol49]

Yes I almost mentioned tadoku (多読) here. While our regular anime with subtitles look-ups etc. is like seidoku (精読), listening at full speed should be treated more like tadoku.

[@ct_warrior]

One thing I found helpful is going through the first two episodes or 20% of a series with subtitles and familiarizing yourself with the words they like to use and any words you don't know that pop up. They say that 80% of all the vocab you need is in the first 20% or so. After that, you can watch raw and become more and more comfortable with that 80% and pick up some new words from less fuzzy context.

[@organicjapanesewithcuredol49]

That sounds like a good strategy.

[@maxxi5263]

Thank you Dolly Sensei for once more giving us some awesome advice! :) Until today I used to always sit and watch an anime and worry about having to understand every word and every sentence.. but I'll scrap that off and watch animes in a completely different way now!! Thank you so much for your help :)

[@TIMRUM]

i practice my listening with doujin asmr, sfw ones of course

[@smugfrog1041]

I wish there was some tool that lets you choose your listening level and based on that omit the appropriate parts of the subtitles to get you used to listening while letting you understand the more complicated sentences

[@just_another_Japan_Life_Vlog]

So useful. I've been doing this for years, just enjoying J-Drama and J-Pop, so my listening skill is reasonably strong. The rest is lacking but I can pick up things in real life conversation now I decided it should just be fun!!

[@DanneoYT]

Learning Japanese has made me appreciate my second language. Despite neglecting it all my life, it would take thousands of hours of listening to Japanese to even catch up which just makes me treasure my second language even more

[@HCRAYERT.]

She died

[@cherubin7th]

I was just listening to Japanese. Thanks for the tip.

[@goldeer7129]

A few personnal notes on the video (I'll go back to it soon as well). To help listening comprehension you should have moments where you just listen without caring about learning stuff, but just pick up what you can.

[@MrKeepItTrill]

Here's a trick I've picked up: before you watch an episode of something without subtitles, read the plot summary of that episode on Wikipedia (these are usually something like 3 sentences, a very basic outline).That way there's still plenty of information to pick up, but you'll never feel too lost.

[@organicjapanesewithcuredol49]

If you find yourself getting lost in anime this can be useful.

[@organicjapanesewithcuredol49]

PS - and of course you can use Japanese Wikipedia and get the summary in Japanese.

[@grumpus5248]

I've started watching/listening to some light dramas on Netflix. I do a lot of rewinding, a bit of coasting, but I can feel some of those "legos" falling into place.

[@shin-chan6051]

Thanks! Maybe a tricky question: would you recommend to listen to the same audio multiple times (say 5 times) to maximize your understanding of this given audio, or would you rather listen to 5 different audios to maximize the variety of your inputs? Same time spent, but I can't decide which strategy would be the most efficient in the long run.

[@organicjapanesewithcuredol49]

For audio worked-through with J-subs I would hear it multiple times (in the background) because comprehensible audio grabs your attention (non-comprehensible audio generally gets tuned out if it is in the background). For "raw" listening I would go for something with visual input too if possible (anime etc) and so long as you are understanding at an acceptable level (enough to enjoy it even if you are missing parts) then just keep watching the series. But it also depends what you like doing. If you want (for enjoyment) to watch it again then do. But actual full-speed raw watching shouldn't be regarded as a "learning exercise" but as consuming media. Other kinds of watching are different.

[@lullasings3466]

Whenever I go to the library (2-4 times per month) I borrow a few (2-4) Japanese movies on DVD. I watch them without subtitles. I watch them once and then return them. Is that a good way to do it? By the way, this time I got Kagemusha, The Hidden Fortress, and Hana: the Tale of a Reluctant Samurai. I knew so little vocabulary from them that I had no idea wat the plot was.

[@organicjapanesewithcuredol49]

How much do you feel you are getting out of them? I don't think much is gained (at least by most people) from "blind" listening. I am generally recommending listening for people who have a reasonable amount of structure and vocabulary (with the Organic approach have done quite a lot of J-subbed anime) and then to watch anime simple enough that they can follow at least a substantial proportion. I don't think the "listen and hope" strategy takes most people very far.

[@Top_Weeb]

I listen to "spicy" audio dramas. It works, folks.

[@eltoroluckypatientzero1355]

Yes! I need this.

[@azer84]

I have a question related to the technicalities of 多読 : How to deal with unknow reading ? Because when we forget how to read a word, Japanese can be a completely mute language and 多読-style exacerbate the issue. While learning English, my inner monologue has always be full-on English. No matter how weird pronunciation can be In English we can always make an attempt at sounding out a word. And when I finally hear the word in a movie or show, most of the time I recognize it because my internal attempted pronunciation was never that far from the actual one. It's a completly different game in Japanese, very often I don't recognize word I hear, even when I read them hundred and hundred of time before. In the past I attempted to read 多読-style for 6 months, barely stopping to check words, focusing on quantity. I made good progress but I also was forgetting more and more word reading at an alarming rate and my inner monologue would get more and more a mix of Japanese and English. Instead of getting the language into my blood, it was turning the language more and more into an abstract thing, with no relation to sound any more. At some point I even forgot how to sound out a really basic word (I think it was 確認), got scared and backed out completely. Now I try to slow down and always sound out everything in my head in Japanese while reading no matter what. Word and sound get progressively attached to each other again, but then I'm back to square one and have to stop constantly to check if I got the reading right.

[@organicjapanesewithcuredol49]

This is really why I recommend a mix of top down and bottom up. Top down has a lot of advantages, but also disadvantages - such as the ones you are reporting here. This is especially important in Japanese because just as you say - if you forget a word and aren't fairly sure of the on-readings you have no idea how to pronounce it (unlike most languages). This is where bottom-up reading and maintaining an Anki deck is important. You can get away without something like Anki in most languages, but kanji make that very difficult in Japanese. By the way have you tried the Sound Sisters to help with on-readings? kzbin.info/www/bejne/ppekm5d4n5Kjbrc

[@TheLightFish]

When I go out and have to say something in Japanese, my mind goes blank. If I saw or heard what I want to say I'd recognize it, but can't come up with it on my own. I still talk with a few words and not sentences. If I use a translation app and see the result I wonder why I couldn't come up with that myself. It's very frustrating. I'm sure I need to speak more to get better, but it's hard to practice when I can't think of what to say. We don't speak much at school either (virus, no chatting in groups) other than reading out loud or repeating the teacher which doesn't help me think on my feet! Do you have any suggestions? You're right about subtitles. Sometimes I can't catch what is said on TV but I can read the captions along with the audio and understand a little more. Thank you.

[@organicjapanesewithcuredol49]

It seems kind of strange when you are in Japan - but then even without the virus it isn't always that easy to have many conversations - but you could think about getting an online conversation tutor - they are often inexpensive because they aren't qualified teachers. Also you could look in your area to see if there are any volunteer conversation groups for foreigners. There are quite a few of these (though they may not be operating in the virus - it's even possible that they may do something online). It does make sense to have actual help in conversation (tutoring/groups) although it is artificial because it sounds as if you are at a stage where simple conversation isn't coming all that easily. Another thing you can do which is free is get an online conversation partner. The drawback there is that you have to spend half the time talking in English or your native language. If you do that make sure that the time is neatly divided in half by the clock - because English has a tendency to splurge all over if you aren't careful.

[@santaclaus804]

two things i think you could try are making flashcards that are in english then you have to come up with the answer in japanese, or just think in japanese rather than english, and if you dont know a word you just cant express that thought. i hope maybe this will help!

[@louish5068]

Ive been learning japanese for a year and a half and I struggle with listening. Its because a lot of textbooks dont stress the importance of listening. They just give you reading and reading and more reading to do. Even when they do give you listening. Its wayyyy too easy, and not real japanese. When you then try real japanese its so much harder

[@Nic0Flores]

Great!

[@KyomiVWhiteTiger]

Wonderful video as usual dear Dolly Sensei! Might I suggest something? I'm someone who likes to write and Idk I'm just not satisfy with my japanese handwriting (I've been learning for 6 y-o but still I'm not satisfy with my actual level) and I was wondering what kind of pens or fontain pains would you suggest

[@organicjapanesewithcuredol49]

I am afraid I never use physical writing implements. My hands weren't really made for that kind of delicate manipulation though I can just about manage if I really have to.

[@Linkin-2603]

Fun fact Anpanman's design is actually the inspiration for the character Saitama from the series, One Punch Man.

[@a.m.4479]

There's no way to get good at cold listening (that is, raw, full speed, real time speech) other than doing cold listening When you practice this, don't worry about what you can't understand, just kick back, relax and try to get what you can while enjoying the anime, just like kids do ( With the Organic Method, from the start we are listening to the audio of episodes we slowly worked through, but at some point we have to start watching anime that we haven't worked through with no subtitles [cold listening]. To start with cold listening, you can use one of the shows from the dedcription of this video or some simple anime that you have watched a long time ago, so that you at least know the story Don't look at this as trying to learn Japanese, look at it as growing up in Japanese, enjoying your Japanese childhood, having fun with anime in Japanese, because that's the only way to have fun with anime. There isn't any anime in English in your world, and that's a happy thing, because all your anime is the real thing

[@YSFmemories]

illusion of understanding... very interesting concept. It's something I haven't thought of before. I thought i could pretty much understand Japanese shows without subtitles now, but how much of it is based on the context of the graphics rather than actually understanding the words? Hard to say. But I think your examples about native speakers misunderstanding or not understanding is a bit different... it's more like different people have different ideas and rather than a problem of not understanding the language, it's more a problem of language not being a precise enough instrument to deliver *exactly* what we want to say, and our understanding of the world is fundamentally different from someone else's, and we're not fully understanding the emotional state of the speaker. For example, Jane tells Bob "I feel kind of ill." And Bob responds with "You should drink some hot water", he didn't really understand Jane's emotional state and why she gave Bob this piece of information, even though Bob understood the words in the language.

[@organicjapanesewithcuredol49]

I am afraid the nuances of human emotion are something I am not very good at understanding, so I can't really speak of that; but there are certainly many cases when a completely clear and logical argument is mistaken by the hearer to be saying something quite other than that which it really is saying. Though I think emotions often play a role in this because in many cases the illusion of understanding I believe comes from listeners having emotional reactions to words when there is no emotional intent and they are simply statements of a logical or factual proposition. However equally often they come from the fact that the listener is more familiar with some other proposition and interprets the new one as something they already know based the fact that it shares or appears to share certain elements with it.

[@eltoroluckypatientzero1355]

Even if my listening skills are bad outside of a classroom. I feel like its important to at least listen to it.

[@organicjapanesewithcuredol49]

Yes, real listening is important.

[@Soulskinner]

(I hope I've understood it right XD) I think there is one really important detail which... Presented wrong in this video? Actually, not only in this video. Speed. It sounds logical, that "you" should get good speed in understanding words and this kind of stuff. But there is one important detail: there are two completely different types of understanding (from vocab|grammar point of view). "Manual" and "automatic" (I think these words just describe this stuff better). Manual - is when we're manually analyzing grammar of the sentence, remembering translations of the words and doing this kind of stuff. Yep. And in this case we can talk about speed of doing it. While "automatic" when "our brain does it by itself". While, we're... Actually, just understanding the content without thinking of anything "technical". We can kinda say that "it's fast", or that our brain does the same work, but I think it's completely different thing. Considering that it happens "under the hood". And actually, it's the thing we should aim to. Maybe even do some things to get there. Maybe even do some stuff "wrong" from "manual" point of view. It's really easy to bring an example - our native languages. XD We can be even really slow on breaking down grammar of sentences in our native languages, but we understand it with ease. Yep. I don't really think that it's something new to you, but don't know. Information in videos leave a bit different impression, and I think that it's really important to stress it. Another video where I've heard about speed is video about vocab (don't remember which one). But in a case of vocab, Japanese words should represent their meanings, not their "translations". Like when we hear/read 雑誌[ざっし] we actually "imagine" 雑誌, not think "magazine" and after that "imagine" 雑誌. With grammar, I think it's more complicated, but maybe it's the same story. But here, I think important thing is get used to "information flow" of the language (but I'm a bit lazy to write about it, and this post is getting bigger XD). Actually, I think that one of the problems with listening can be... Inability to understand language in "automatic mode". Actually, that's mentioned in the video. "By speed". I just mean that wen we're reading, we're free to spend as much time as we want, on analyzing sentences, while when listening to actual, raw language... Sometimes there is no time for any "additional" analyzing. Like they say one sentence, then, after that next one... While "we" was trying to understand the last one. But I think that it can be really useful. Maybe even important to listen a lot. While just trying to understand... Without trying to translate, or even analyze the grammar. But it'll put our brain in the type of situation, where it needs to work in "automatic mode" in order to understand anything. (I haven't mentioned "do not translate, understand as it is" phrase, because I think that it's something obvious) (lol, and I understand that my level of Japanese, let's politely call it "not the best one", but I really feel all that stuff in details, at least these problems, and meanwhile, when I compare it with my level of English XD)

[@organicjapanesewithcuredol49]

I agree. I did a whole video on the automaticity of language and the importance of cultivating it. You can find it here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/sJLZiGuDeM9smaM

[@Soulskinner]

@@organicjapanesewithcuredol49 Funny, haven't seen that video. I just think that it's more global, than just "topic for a video". I think, it's one of the "secrets" which textbooks never tell you. And it have really strong connection with this types of topics. Like listening, or vocab etc. Actually, as I've wrote that it's important to stress that there is not just "speed", but these "two types of language understanding". As I get, to make things automatic, requires actual conscious effort. Which sounds funny, but it's hard to not to translate, when "you" don't used to.

[@organicjapanesewithcuredol49]

@@Soulskinner I think it's global too. I actually have a few videos that introduce things that are extremely important and far-reaching. However having explained them one can't keep on making videos about them so they do get rather lost. I have a short list of videos like that and I often wonder how to give them more prominence because they are easily missed and what they say - even though it only takes a video to explain - is absolutely crucial in importance.

[@Soulskinner]

@@organicjapanesewithcuredol49 (I'll check it later) But, maybe, it'll be good idea to create playlist for them? And add the link to that playlist, in the description of videos?

[@organicjapanesewithcuredol49]

@@Soulskinner That may be an idea. Essentially there is no connection between them except that they are all "things you really need to know and no one usually tells you". I think they are all general points about how language works that tend to be ignored in conventional language teaching.

[@sblevine1]

We agree with full immersion. It's time for your videos to be in Japanese!

[@organicjapanesewithcuredol49]

Well since I get complaints all the time that my English speaking is weird and unnatural I wouldn't like to put my Japanese speaking forward as any kind of model.

[@barrydanser4334]

I am going to watch Your Name on Netflix I have watched a few years ago .

[@organicjapanesewithcuredol49]

Good luck!

[@gnerkus]

My recommendation for anime without subtitles: Psycho Pass. Enjoy. /s

[@fluxx9458]

I'd recommend a slice of life anime like Nichijou

[@長飛丸-s8s]

@@fluxx9458 Problem with these slice of life anime is that they are incredibly boring. Apart from Shirokuma cafe, I've yet to find any that have anything remotely interesting. Contrast this to normal anime like One Piece (pirates!), Naruto (ninjas!), Jojo's Bizarre Adventure/Hajime no Ippo/Fist of the Northstar (manly men doing manly stuff), Death Note/Psychopass/Kindaichi (smart guys doing smart stuff), etc.

[@organicjapanesewithcuredol49]

@@長飛丸-s8s In case anyone was in doubt Psycho Pass was a joke. Only recommended for very advanced listening without subs. Personally I can't watch ordinary slice of life - too many basic human assumptions that I don't get. Aria is very nice and fantasy-ish enough for those of use for whom ordinary human life is a mystery.

[@Soulskinner]

@@長飛丸-s8s "Naruto"... Lol. Sllllooooowwwww niiiinnnnjjjjjaaaassss... (really, It've could be cut to 24 episodes season, without loosing any context XD) (I would recommend something, but I don't remember names of these)

[@gnerkus]

@佐藤和真 So sorry! I could offer a better suggestion that I've worked with recently: Vtubers. They're a great listening resource if you like video games. And if you're not a huge fan of video games, most, if not all, have discussion streams. I've used the streams to mine vocab and practice listening.

[@ct_warrior]

My take is that it's important to build up an "anticipation base" that lets you auto complete phrases and sentences. If you can't pull up natural Japanese in your head to anticipate what's going to be said next or guess what was said unclearly before, then you'd have to rely on perfect listening ability in a language with a high number of phonemes/syllables per second. This ability is necessary to to listen properly and to read quickly and I believe is cultivated through output. I have an idea for another video. You've taught us the casual form first, but when it comes to using the language we need to be able to write/speak politely. You've mentioned things like avoiding pronouns, not using the masu form in phrases/clauses that modify a noun. I feel uncertain for compound sentences with kedo, whether desu after an adjective should be used before things like kedo, nara, and the quotation particle, to. I worry if sentence enders like na or yo are too casual or not formal enough. Whether I should have used the formal form here in what feels like a sort of misordered sentence that Japanese people seem to do a lot なんかごめんなさいね、行間を読めなくて. I used nanka because I was worried for no reason but didn't feel I should apologize fully for worrying about someone, but even that seems a bit too casual. I also googled in quotations "masunara" and found more hits than I was comfortable, but not enough to be sure it's really a thing. To me, it's not about trying to pretend you're more comfortable with Japanese than you are, but just being polite, not standing out too much, and not making gaijins look too bad, which are all very important to me actually using the language.

[@organicjapanesewithcuredol49]

I think reading also helps with this. Often when you turn a page you know what the first few words on the next page will be because they are the natural completion of the last phrase on the current page.

[@ct_warrior]

​@@organicjapanesewithcuredol49 Yeah it does. I guess my opinion or argument is that one should actively develop the skill to output natural Japanese even if their main goal is only to read and listen.

[@organicjapanesewithcuredol49]

@@ct_warrior Well I think everyone has her own goals and learning style - but as I've said before I do think using Japanese for input/output is what encourages the mind to treat it as Language (the actual means of communication) so I do agree that there is a lot to be said for using the language for two-way communication even if that isn't one's main aim. On the other hand quite a few very competent non-native English internet users use English almost entirely for consumption and written usage. But of course they are using it to communicate even if not speaking it much.

[@血みどろなジャム]

You are pretty amazing God bless

[@_PM__]

This channel has some great lessons but the audio quality is terrible and the animated head is very distracting. Perhaps there is a reason for the voice being a bit tinny and less than clear, like it forces you you concentrate on what is being said, but I find it much easier to scroll the talking head off my screen when playing the video. Still, I do enjoy the quality of the content.

[@organicjapanesewithcuredol49]

I am regret that my voice production is still not quite human-like though I believe it has improved. I include full and accurate subtitles in case some humans have any problems in understanding (these days most don't seem to, I am happy to say).

[@andresbarragan7212]

My mom learned english by only watching english televition when she was a child

[@Powerphail]

Whether it's demystifying the most confusing peculiarities of Japanese grammar or simply reminding people to slow down, relax and enjoy the process of living in Japanese, you always have something thoughtful and practicable to offer. I may have said it before but I don't think there's been a single Cure Dolly video that I haven't found valuable and enriching on my path to understanding and speaking Japanese. Listening without j-subs always feels like a blow to my ego, so it's good to be reminded that it's a skill in its self, and that I should endeavour to enjoy whatever it is I'm watching and shouldn't self-flagellate too much about not understanding it all. I think a lot of the problem is that because learning a language like Japanese is necessarily a slow and gradual process, it's difficult to imagine myself being any worse than I currently am at any given moment in time. I take what I can understand as a given (and therefore no cause for celebration) but hyper-focus on what I still don't understand. It's good to relax and just let it soak in sometimes, 100%, 90%, 41.3% comprehension be damned. いつもありがとう！

[@glicogeno4550]

"Whether it's demystifying the most confusing peculiarities of Japanese grammar", yes, that's the point we are missing. The rest is fantasy.

[@organicjapanesewithcuredol49]

@@glicogeno4550 The rest is immersion, and without it we're going nowhere.

[@organicjapanesewithcuredol49]

@Powerphail Thank you so much! I think you are very right. Some people suggest to "be happy with what you CAN understand' in listening and I understand the advice. However I think the ideal is to get away from the whole conscious question of understanding. If you can become so involved in the story that you forget all about "language" that is by far the best state. With the organic method we are hitting structure hard both theoretically and in our reading/intensive subtitled anime etc. We don't need to be doing the same job here. We need to be absorbing. Don't worry, the structure work _will_ be helping but the importance here is letting it work at the automatic level.

[@glicogeno4550]

@@organicjapanesewithcuredol49 There are persons who live in a foreign country and never learn the language or can say only simple sentences, even if they are full immersed. This simple point, very clear, is somehow denied. You can teach a person how to float and then leave it all day in a swimming pool. He will never learn to swim properly he will only be very good at floating.

[@glicogeno4550]

​@@organicjapanesewithcuredol49 身勝手の極意

[@user-hf6jm4tv2v]

I am able to roll my r's so the pronunciation of らりるれろ I found fairly easy and being able to pronounce the phonemes helps with compression immensely, though I also can put on a voice that might be worthy enough for voice acting so that also helps with any sort of pronunciation of anything. I haven't just yet choose to acquire Chinese but I found that I have an easy time hearing Chinese even though it isn't my native tongue, I believe I likely do have a great listening ability for languages. I can as well listen to your videos without the need for the closed captions though occasionally I do mishear what was said.

[@shailakamble727]

Can you please pronounce little clear i couldn't understand

[@vodoraslo]

Turn on subtitles

[@glicogeno4550]

just listen 100 times and you will able to undertand at full speed: thats the way. And, in english, it will works very well.

[@organicjapanesewithcuredol49]

Yes that is what the subtitles are for. As my human-speech reproduction improves the minority of people who find me hard to understand seems to be shrinking (some people now find me easier than human speakers to understand). But I am not human and can't get some tricks of human intonation which is why we have full subtitles.

[@shailakamble727]

@@vodoraslo sorry but i dont know how to turn on subtitled. Can you please guide

[@Soulskinner]

@@shailakamble727 Just click on "CC" button (in the video frame).

[@keptleroymg6877]

Is your voice broken ??

[@vinilzord1]

Excellent lesson dear sensei! I sent you a message on Patreon a few days ago. Could you please take a look? I know you're a busy android, but that would be super. Thank you :) Sincerely, your student

[@organicjapanesewithcuredol49]

Sorry - with the video coming out I didn't get to it yet but I will now.

[@かえる77]

[@nepcorn889]

i can barely undferstand you

[@MB-gl2bl]

I’m actually learning after all these years 🥹