Resources for complete beginner

As a self-studying beginner it can be difficult to get enough listening and speaking practice, so I’d recommend a few things that target those skills:

  • If you’re using Genki, there is this website with additional listening exercises similar to those found in the workbook. There’s an exercise or two for each lesson, and it uses the same vocabulary found in Genki, without being an exact repeat of the dialogues found in the actual text/workbook.
    http://mykikitori.com/index.html#

  • Shadowing: is a technique for improving speaking skills, and it helps your listening as well. The idea is to listen and then repeat the phrase immediately, either in your head or out loud. The book in this video has the English translation on the facing page, so if you have the book, you can see the meaning of what you are repeating (or cover it up to challenge yourself). If you use this book, I would recommend starting it slowly once you get to Lesson 2 in Genki.

  • Graded Readers: At first this may not sound like it will help with speaking/listening, but, many graded readers come with audio, so that you can listen to the book either before you read or while you read. There are some graded readers that do start at a very basic level. Check out this thread for more info:
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