What the title says. I am just curious to what other people do with regards to practicing with a Native speaker.
I have a tutor, with whom I do 1 hour Skype lessons twice a week. I also met a friend on Hello Talk that I talk with daily, and Skype with weekly. This has been super helpful for me, as I can put in practice what I learn in WaniKani. I also found that quizzing my friend on what I learned that day in wanikani helps both of us. Ill say the Japanese vocab, and she has to come up with the English.
Does anyone have a routine like me? What else do you do?
Yeah it’s horrific in the Summer.
I know Amagasaki well, my job actually takes me all around (and even outside) Kansai, so I’ve got the lay of the land pretty well.
Actually I don’t like Osaka city very much, it’s really ugly and there’s almost no green at all in the city. Not much to do except shopping, although the nightlife is good, there’s nothing to do in the day. It was work that took me here.
Anyway, I think the idea in your original post is good. It’s imperative people get as much interaction with a native speaker as possible, especially with a language so different to English as Japanese is.
I wish I could talk with natives, but being in Upstate New York, there aren’t many. And its not like you can just run up to someone on the street and be like “Hey you, be my friend”.
As for HelloTalk, iTalki, etc… can’t really see myself doing the ‘random conversations with total strangers’ thing. shy/awkward/boring/etc I am
Wow Nice. lol. You have a great routine going for you there. Keep it up!
I used to have weekly tutor lessons on skype, and one of my old roommates used to tutor me as well. (Because she was studying to be a Japanese language teacher.) And that was absolutely fantastic. I also used to go study at cafe’s with my best friend. She would study English, me Japanese, and as we were studying we’d bounce questions off each other. I really miss those times!
But as of recently, I don’t really study/practice with my Japanese friends much. I Just text, talk on the phone, or go out to dinner/hang out. Which is good for keeping up my communication skills but I’m not really challenging myself with new words or grammar. (Which I should really start doing again…) Heck, I still go to weekly language exchanges, but I mainly use it as a place to just keep Japanese, rather then increase my Japanese skills.
I am in Upstate… South Carolina. So as you can imagine, not many around me either. For Hello Talk and iTalki, I wouldn’t worry about it being awkward. Everyone I have ever talked with on Hello Talk has been super nice! And even if it isn’t the most dynamic conversation, it is still fun! Give it a try!
Sometimes just regular conversation is best. I love reading the news, so I tried to get into NHK easy articles with my Japanese friends, but most don’t care about the news, they just wana chat lol
DaisukeJigen: As an introvert I can relate. However, speaking to a native speaker helps immensely with my comprehension. I speak 2 hours a week to two different native speakers. It took a little while to find the right people, but both are no longer strangers- they are friends.
The conversations go from boring and awkward to funny and interesting the same way your conversations with your other friends do. The problem is that it takes about 6 months of weekly conversations to reach that stage.
The nice thing is when I finally when I finally went to Japan I was able to meet them both in person and it significantly enhanced my trip.
Also, if the person you’re talking to sometimes talk using your language, you’ll see that they seem just as awkward and that you don’t mind since you know they’re learning. Takes the edge off a bit I think
Yeah, maybe when I build my vocabulary more, and can better follow podcasts I listen to. Afraid I would just annoy the other person at this point.
I also have like, I don’t want call it phone-phobia, but even regular phones calls make me oddly nervous. Even ordering a pizza or whatever I have to spend a few minutes psyching myself up and rehearsing the call in my head. Totally stupid and illogical I know. Phone calls and haircuts are two things that give me anxiety, for absolutely no logical reason.
I totally understand the dislike of calling people. I have the same issue, but my job and life in general won’t allow me to completely avoid the phone.
After you get over the initial hurdles it gets much easier, but my first Skype call was painful. I won’t try to sugarcoat it. However, we did become good friends and enjoyed talking about both our families. Sadly, I lost her to lung cancer about 5 years ago and miss her to this day.
