When I was listening to the Harry Potter audiobook this morning, it was the end of Chapter 1 (that has my favorite title いきのこったおとこの子 “the boy who lived/survived” 生きlife残ったremained/survived男の子boy); and into the next Chapter, (きえたグラス “vanished glass” 消えたグラス).Both of these Chapters I have previously READ every word and STUDIED every sentence once. But I don’t do reviews, so I don’t remember all of those words that I’d had to look up. (which was a lot, essentially every.single.sentence.!!)
In trying to level up my listening comprehension, I believe that Cure Dolly was right when she described this optimal “Pincer Attack”. I can finally now distinctly hear the words in the sentences, for multiple sentences in a row. It’s still like someone relentlessly quickly throwing reviews at me, and I’m only able to correctly respond to 1/3 of them.
I have to squelch my desire to wonder (“Ah…I know とにかく… what was it, again?”), because it interferes with my listening to what else I’m being told! That alone is an advanced listening skill, IMHO.
But the exciting thing for me, that I feel a real difference as compared to last year. Last year, I couldn’t even really make out the words. Now I can hear them, even if I don’t recognize the meaning. And for the words I KNOW (or that are advancing toward that “don’t gotta think about it anymore”), the recognition is coming faster. At last! Larger and larger amounts of words are familiar to me. I still feel stumbly trying to create output (speak/write)… but I’m faster and much more confident than this time last year.
Admittedly, the advance is coming excruciatingly slowly. I would have hoped for these gains in a month which took me a year!! I’m working so hard isshoukenmei 一生懸命!! I’m smart… this should have happened faster! But…it is what it is, and it actually is happening!
I was really able to hear much more of each sentence in Chapter 2 this morning. I could tell (oh, they’re getting ice cream at the zoo; oh, they’re in the reptile house… here comes the talking snake) what was happening.
I believe that it is very helpful to intensively study material, and to listen and relisten to that material (to bring it into focus), in addition to the extensive listening to material that you haven’t previously been exposed to. It’s so exciting to grasp parts of material that I haven’t previously heard!! But also has been evolving so agonizingly slowly…
The good news is also that the advances do transfer to new material, previously unknown. Larger amounts of new material are “heard, if not understood” by me. So I will still continue extensive listening (“top down” in Cure Dolly) in addition to intensive listening (“bottom up”), even though my “day to day” or “month to month” improvement isn’t really noticeable.
I feel much closer to a breakthrough now that I’ve been doing both for 2 years. (The first year wasonly daily Duolingo)
Ganbarimshou ne? 頑張りましょうねぇぇ
If it was easy, everyone would do it
EDIT: I find it striking that encouraging “top down” (pure immersion) listening, “extensive listening” is a lot like “the Tadoku Method” to reading books (just read, don’t stop and look things up). LOL, I see now that I added the link that it’s called extensive reading.
I ended up watching Mika Real Japanese “Asking Someone Out”, since it came on next while I was writing… ミカビデオを見てしまった.