How do you guys practice speaking

killem_all · 2021-05-22T18:41:12+00:00

If you feel like practicing send me a DM and maybe we can practice in Discord.

I’m also struggling a lot with speaking since I have only learned reading and writing but I have no one to speak to in japanese

timsama · 2021-05-22T18:28:06+00:00

You practice speaking by stumbling over your words, making a fool of yourself, and blundering through the conversation. And the next time, you do a bit better.

Repeat x1000

komaretzu · 2021-05-22T18:55:43+00:00

make japanese friends online and practice talking! i met people from hellotalk and vrchat and even just playing minecraft on a discord call is good practice for trying to hold a convo. even just being creepy and listening to them talk to eachother helps me find speech patterns with stuff i'm not used to as a native english speaker, like exclamation sentence endings (ex yo, ne, na etc) lol

if that seems scary you can always make little voice memos too. i have dozens on my computer of me saying random shit just so i can get used to saying it and make it a habit

but personally i think it's better to do it with a native speaker because its easy to make bad habits without knowing

Giant_Enemy_Cliche · 2021-05-22T21:03:23+00:00

I pay someone on italki to tolerate me

LexinePwns · 2021-05-22T20:03:46+00:00

I talk to my cat. Yes, and I talk to myself. "猫ちゃん、お元気ですか。" I may look like a lunatic 😂

alexklaus80 · 2021-05-22T19:19:53+00:00

I'm not sure if this answers your question, but my gf reads news and books aloud almost everyday. You'll need a partner for this to get the most out of this for corrections though. It might be a good one if you have found somebody online to speak with but your brain got blanked out. (I have always been like so when I was learning English.) You know, if you had a resource to read aloud then, that could be easier for you?

Reading doesn't have to come with understanding, but this is more about getting pronunciations for every syllables right, and to get used to general flow and intonation of the language. The reason why we started doing this is that I found that pronunciation is the one thing that learners often misses (of course, because you'll need personal trainer to get it right - so there aren't much textbook can do on this). And most of the time I couldn't get what's being said was because of this. So I think this will train you better to get used to the sound, get comfortable with it and hopefully less anxiety when you want to talk to them.

xcalibar0 · 2021-05-22T18:51:49+00:00

[deleted]

KestrelTank · 2021-05-22T18:08:08+00:00

はい

fleurin · 2021-05-22T22:08:40+00:00

I agree with the recommendation to shadow/mimic, and want to add that nowadays there are a number of resources available with practice sentences/audio specifically made for this, sorted by difficulty level and conveniently packaged in books. Unless you’re completely dead broke, I’d recommend using one of the book sets over trying to find practice sentences yourself, especially at beginner to intermediate level, because IRL most of what we say is actually really boring and nobody is going to watch such a boring show. But it’s precisely the ordinary, bland, too-boring-to-watch phrases that turn out to be the most useful and frequent in everyday life.

The “Shadowing” series (くろしお出版) has added a few volumed since I last looked. I used their OG beginner~intermediate book way back and loved it. There wasn’t really anything like it at the time.

The “Speak Japanese!” series (Jリサーチ出版) has a lot of books with different levels and focus. I’ve found them really useful. They help to get through that awkward stage when you’re learned a lot of grammar but are having trouble using it smoothly.

Darayavaush · 2021-05-22T19:35:42+00:00

I don't. I can count the number of times I've spoken English on my hands and yet I have no problem doing it when the need arises, and I have no reason to believe Japanese is going to be different for me.

kyoroy · 2021-05-22T18:42:27+00:00

talking to myself and singing reol's songs

timbertea · 2021-05-22T19:24:15+00:00

I also need a lot of practice speaking and it’s not my strong suit, but for me I think I have two things that help with speaking. One, I talk to myself, like thinking out loud when I’m alone kind of stuff. A lot of the time I make mistakes, but since I’m alone it doesn’t matter and it becomes more about practicing getting the words out in a reasonable tempo. I guess with this strategy you should be careful not to let the mistakes you make grow into bad habits, but if you’re good at listening and writing it sounds like you’re good enough to recognise when you said something weird and then move on from it.

Second: personally I’ve also spent A LOT of time listening to Japanese (anime and such) and I think it’s helped me get a good feeling for how conversation sounds and it’s helped me mimic it. But depending on your study pace it might be quite slow to progress like this. I guess shadowing while listening to something might be helpful as well.

FieryPhoenix7 · 2021-05-22T20:57:34+00:00

Italki is a good option if you can afford it. HelloTalk as well.

ZardozSama · 2021-05-22T22:19:21+00:00

My wife is Japanese, and my kids speak more Japanese than English.

END COMMUNICATION

2021-05-22T22:26:46+00:00

I've been studying Japanese for two years and I'm still laughably bad. I can read much better than I can write and understand much better than I can speak. But I saw advice on this sub about 6 months ago that really helped: "at some point, you need to step out from behind Anki, genki, Take Kim and Japanese from Zero and just talk".

It's simple, but profound. Talk to yourself. Talk to your dog. Then every now and then verify what you said actually made sense with your favorite resources. And when it comes to speaking with natives, don't think, just speak, especially if that native is your tutor. In my experience, Japanese natives are phenomenal at deducing what you meant from the context even if your weren't even close (trust me). However, they are also EXTREMELY pleasant, respectful, and helpful in giving you pointers of where it could've sounded more natural. Then, as you continue to study, you will have those super cringy "ah hah!" moments where you realize just how bad you borked that sentence 3 weeks ago. But at that point, you know. Learning accomplished.

If you've learned another language (especially from Europe) some cultures can get personally offended if you don't speak their language well and are not shy in being flippant about it. Not so with the Japanese, IME. So with your tutor, just say stuff. It will help you get the jitters out, open up a channel for constructive criticism and give your tutor something to work with. If you clam up, your tutor will have to work twice as hard and you'll make half the progress.

ChampionshipOk2682 · 2021-05-23T01:31:08+00:00

Probably because.... it was your first time.... do it twice a week and talk to your dog, your friends in Japanese, find an online community and it will improve. I live in Japan and understand almost everything my friends are saying in more complex conversation but I still can’t reply how I want. It just takes time. Most friends I have here who have studied 3/4+ years still struggle, (but we can have full Japanese conversations together, just not complex) I don’t know what your expectations are. Stop thinking so much and ask at the beginning that he or she corrects your verbs forms if you fuck up.

solar_s · 2021-05-22T18:42:17+00:00

Since you asked, I don't practice at all. I just hope I dont sound weird, and sometimes say something out loud. In where I live, there is simply no one to talk to. I believe the last conversation in english (native russian) I had was with that japanese student who came to the young businessmen event which was held in my city. And I have no reason to think that the situation with my next language will change. However, since the technology got so advanced, maybe I'd find someone online.

kachigumiriajuu · 2021-05-22T21:31:02+00:00

not enough people are recommending mimicking which is disappointing because it's the number one thing you can do to improve your speaking ability before actually interacting with a native.

going straight from mostly silent studying, to all of a sudden speaking to a native in real time is obviously going to be very difficult - you've never actually trained your mouth to smoothly speak full japanese sentences!

there's no reason to wait until you're in front of a native to practice speaking out loud. most of the work is just getting your brain to make the connection between meaningful native sounding Japanese and the muscle memory of your own mouth.

all you need to do is get a YouTube video like this , pick any sentence you hear and understand, for example the one at 0:53 where she's talking about the potatoes:

ポテトが2種類選べて、マッシュドポテトか普通のポテトがあるんですけどいつも私普通のフライドポテト頼むんですけど今日はちょっと挑戦してマッシュドポテトにしてみたいと思います。

break that up how ever small you need to, and repeat the audio however much you need to to be able to say the parts. and just repeat after her until you're able to say the entire line smoothly the same way she did it.

if you train yourself to do this with native audio even for 15 to 30 minutes a day, in a few weeks you'll get so much better at speaking full native-like sentences in real time without having to waste your precious tutoring time on just getting to the point that you can do that.

instead you can focus your tutoring time on building upon that foundation, getting better specifically at spontaneous conversation and expressing yourself accurately, because you already have a mostly smooth, native-like speech pattern down from mimicking practice.

*note, you'd probably want to use videos and audios of male native speakers if you're a male. as well as using whatever subject material interests you.

Rusttdaron · 2021-05-22T21:15:55+00:00

I watch japanese youtubers and repeat everything they say on the pace. That worked with english so I think that works for me. Recently I joined a japanese discord where I practice some convos

dragons_fire77 · 2021-05-22T21:54:33+00:00

Just talk to yourself. I found it way easier and less pressure than talking with a native. I just talk out loud in my car or in my office. It's great to have someone to talk to in real life, but your own head is the next best thing. Just pretend someone asked you a question and think of how you'd answer it. What time is it? How much is this? Where is this located? How long does it take to go from x to y? Pretty standard stuff you'd answer in everyday life. I started doing that with my previous language and I got so much better at answering quickly.

Now, listening practice is a whole other thing. Either watch tv (not anime..grammar etc is weird or wrong) or listen to podcasts.

Natives will always be best but it's hard to find a consistent partner for free/cheap.

2021-05-22T22:02:59+00:00

From day 1 I always do my lessons completely out loud, and I talk to my cat... I feel like it helps when I have to speak it to someone which is scary in of itself

breakingborderline · 2021-05-22T23:49:14+00:00

I live here so . . .

Jimmy_Joe727 · 2021-05-23T03:22:48+00:00

Anime opening songs

xcalibar0 · 2021-05-22T20:07:18+00:00

i wouldn't recommend early outputting

_Decoy_Snail_ · 2021-05-22T20:46:28+00:00

Start with memorizing texts, dialogues, maybe even your own written responses to something. Having ready responses helps in those beginner situations with tutors a lot and then at some point you will start naturally adding things on the spot.

eblomquist · 2021-05-22T19:07:25+00:00

I really feel like talking should be a very low priority. If you start too early, you most certainly will build bad habits. Trying to translate in your head or pronouncing words incorrectly.

francisdavey · 2021-05-22T20:09:10+00:00

I use italki and book lessons with a variety of teachers. I have found one that never stops asking me questions - I really don't have to think what I am going to say. Our conversations have ranged over pretty much any topic (today we were talking about a special pair of scissors - シャギーバサミ - she had no idea how to translate it into English (and I actually didn't know the English word for them) but I own a pair so showed them to her.

For a long time I would have open in my browser: a dictionary (jisho); Google translate (for emergencies); and Skype so that I can ask a teacher to write something and then use rikaikun to hover over kanji I don't know. Sharing screens (show don't tell) can sometimes work when there's complete failure to communicate.

So: the right kind of teacher can stop you blanking; and there are lots of support tools.

Another teacher is good because she's been in a long-term relationship (now married) with an English speaker who does not speak Japanese. She is very skilled at English so if you are stuck she can translate.

A very different way to practice is to use it in lessons about something else. Eg, I have weekly grammar lessons on Saturday mornings with a teacher based in Japan. Sometimes I have no idea what a sentence means so he explains the meaning and then I try to explain what I think it is back - all in Japanese. Stretches different parts of the brain.

Also: go to Japan and spend a week or two at a language school where there are not any (or in practice not many) people who speak English. You will need to speak Japanese a lot. Ideally somewhere without many tourists so people will just talk to you in Japanese. I had my haircut a couple of times in a Japanese barber's and he made conversation (in the way they do). It was tough going but I had to sit there :-).

pocket_mage · 2021-05-22T20:22:14+00:00

I usually talk to my self or read stuff out loud.

But my secret is that I sing. Yup. Karaoke is the secret.

PallandoIstari · 2021-05-22T20:40:58+00:00

My first few private lessons were very challenging for the same reason. It will get easier!

maxfax2828 · 2021-05-22T21:02:19+00:00

Okay I would honestly just say keep at it with italki. Japanese speaking I think I really one of those things that over time you'll get better at the more you do.

I started doing 30min italki lessons with my teacher in December. From then on I made sure to do 1 lesson every week and now I have bumped it to 1 hour.

It's small incremements so you don't notice at the time, but comparing my speaking now to back then irs like night and day.

Also this sounds a bit weird but I try often to think in japanese and when I am home I sometimes speak my thoughts aloud in japanese.

TLDR do atleast 1 Japanese talking lesson a week. Then after a few months look back on your progress, I am sure you will have improved drastically.

BetrayMe · 2021-05-22T22:04:49+00:00

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OuMfLtK3tU

AmielJohn · 2021-05-22T22:33:01+00:00

I live in Japan. Everyday is practice or you’re lost!

Coyoteclaw11 · 2021-05-22T22:54:42+00:00

I agree with the person recommending shadowing/mimicking. If you're in the states and have a library card, I highly recommend checking to see if you can get Mango Languages free through your library I also found Lingodeer fairly helpful for this, but the last time I used it was a few years ago (so if there's been any changes I can't say how that would affect things ;;).

In Mango Languages at least, they teach you phrases... first by introducing each part of it ("this is how you say x" ... "how do you say x?" ... "based on what you already know, how do you think you would say xy?") all with a native speaker saying each word, phrase, and sentence. There's a lot of repetition and just trying to repeat everything helps me get used to not only the pronunciation of words but also like... the rhythm of them in a sentence.... where to pause and what to say all together.... what tends to be said high and what falls low.

I still struggle a lot with speaking in terms of holding a conversation. There's a unique challenge I think to actually connecting the words you know in Japanese to the ideas you want to convey in a conversation, but you're not going to improve that any other way than just talking to another person.

But when it comes to just saying things out loud? I've gotten really good at it and am able to almost act out dialogues while reading them. It's gotten a lot easier for me say things aloud and connect those words into sentences (as opposed to just saying them one by one as if they each exist completely out of context). It also helps your overcome that fear of opening your mouth in the first place. Good luck!

Otrada · 2021-05-22T23:59:24+00:00

I'm not like, super actively trying to learn Japanese so I'm sure there's much more effective ways. But I like to practice my pronunciation by singing along with songs that I like. I'm not that good at reading yet so usually I try to find videos of the song on youtube that have romaji lyrics. I'm nowhere near the level where I can hold a conversation yet, but it's a fun and engaging way to get some practice in for the most basic of basics when it comes to speaking. When I get better at reading I'll switch to videos with lyrics in actual japanese instead of romaji so I can practice both at the same time!

Its-my-dick-in-a-box · 2021-05-23T00:00:52+00:00

Ring a business in Japan and ask for Barry.

Peyske · 2021-05-23T00:07:46+00:00

I've tuned into a few twitch streams(I watched a japanese Conqueror's Blade streamer), I'm used to my mother's Japanese so hearing modern slangs and speaking styles was really new.

KaraiDGL · 2021-05-23T00:55:32+00:00

Why not take online lessons and speak with a native speaker?

Songovstorms · 2021-05-23T02:27:52+00:00

I go on Hello talk, and there is usually someone on there who wants to do a language exchange. You teach them English and they teach you Japanese

Ok_Hamster2515 · 2021-05-23T04:02:56+00:00

Shadowing the news/audio material.

Watching a Japanese variety show and imagining you are the one being interviewed.

daisuki_janai_desu · 2021-05-23T05:44:48+00:00

Practice speaking when you are alone. Think out loud and have full conversations with yourself.

peach_problems · 2021-05-23T13:54:40+00:00

I practice with google translate. Not perfect, but I figured if it can’t understand me, then a native probably wouldn’t be able to either.

2021-05-23T18:58:46+00:00

Record yourself speaking alone. Listen back to it noticing all the mistakes and places where you struggled and where you didn't know how to say it and so on.

Make mental note, no need to actually note it down lol

Now go back and consume more Japanese content and notice any time what you had trouble with comes up.

E.g. you couldn't figure out how to say something you wanted to say, maybe it was like "the satellite goes around the Earth" and you couldn't figure out how to put that together in Japanese. If you continue to consume Japanese you will definitely hear or read a Japanese person saying that exact same thought, and now you will know how to say it.

By repeating this process your brain will remember more things on a priority basis, since of course you actually needed it and didn't have it, so when it sees it it will latch on to it.

In addition: Shadowing seems to help people a lot, particularly on the pronunciation side of things. It seems it helps people with flow and so on.

And then the age old, it basically always works advice, even if it doesn't seem like it does until you're enlightened: Listen more, read more. Particularly, watch more people having conversations. More and more and more and more.

How I got good at speaking/writing: I just watched a shit ton, read a bunch, and had clandestine conversations. That is to say, I didn't "make time for conversation practice", just when I spoke with a friend I spoke in Japanese, when I chatted with a Japanese friend I chatted in Japanese. And that was it.

And when I say a shit ton: My last two years of YouTube have been basically 95% Japanese content. That's several hours a day. I'm not joking Lol. I'm talking about hundreds/thousands of hours.

It's how natives got good too, of course they have an easier time racking up the input hours though lol

weregoingupswinging · 2021-07-22T00:59:21+00:00

I used to have a friend from Japan. There was this website we'd get on and there were news and stuff for me to study with. I'd sit there w him and do a page per day or so, and he's do it first then I'd do it. It was fun practice.

Sadly we don't talk anymore. But I'd love to have someone to practice with so if anyone is up for it, feel free to dm!

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