RobertB
Registered
- 8 Jan 2015
- 4
- 1
- 18
Hi, all. I've been registered here for a while but haven't been an active participant. Maybe I should be...
I've been studying Japanese for about four years. I'm pretty good at kanji, I like learning the grammar rules, and I don't have too much trouble picking up new vocabulary. I feel like I've learned a lot ... and yet, when someone speaks Japanese at me, I'm hopeless. My brain just can't keep up. Even if it's all vocabulary and grammar that I know, I just can't decipher it in real time. Give it to me a couple of times slowly, and then give me a minute to work it out, and I'll figure it out. But having a conversation? No way.
I feel like at this point I ought to be able to understand at least basic Japanese. Certainly I should be able to follow everything my teacher says in class. But I sit there with a blank look on my face feeling like an idiot. It's not that I don't know it; it's just that for me, it's like deciphering a code. It takes me time.
I know the solution is practice. What I'm struggling with is figuring out an effective way to practice. Sure, there's tons of Japanese movies and YouTube videos, but the problem is that I have no chance if they're using vocabulary or grammar that I haven't learned yet. What I need is some way to listen to spoken Japanese that I know I can understand, so I can just work on my listening skills.
Anybody been in this position? Any suggestions for how to push through and get to the next level?
I've been studying Japanese for about four years. I'm pretty good at kanji, I like learning the grammar rules, and I don't have too much trouble picking up new vocabulary. I feel like I've learned a lot ... and yet, when someone speaks Japanese at me, I'm hopeless. My brain just can't keep up. Even if it's all vocabulary and grammar that I know, I just can't decipher it in real time. Give it to me a couple of times slowly, and then give me a minute to work it out, and I'll figure it out. But having a conversation? No way.
I feel like at this point I ought to be able to understand at least basic Japanese. Certainly I should be able to follow everything my teacher says in class. But I sit there with a blank look on my face feeling like an idiot. It's not that I don't know it; it's just that for me, it's like deciphering a code. It takes me time.
I know the solution is practice. What I'm struggling with is figuring out an effective way to practice. Sure, there's tons of Japanese movies and YouTube videos, but the problem is that I have no chance if they're using vocabulary or grammar that I haven't learned yet. What I need is some way to listen to spoken Japanese that I know I can understand, so I can just work on my listening skills.
Anybody been in this position? Any suggestions for how to push through and get to the next level?