Listening Comprehension help

[bullruckle]

Hi all
I've just got my results back for the jlpt Level 3. I did fine in the kanji/vocab (95) and grammar/reading (193) but i cold only manage a 52 for the listening. Obviously my weak point, I am now very keen to invest a lot of time into listening comprehension study but was hoping for some advice as to how to go about it. What worked for you?
Thank you in advance.

[Savage Japan]

My native Japanese professor friend has stressed over and over with me the importance of listening to as much Japanese as possible.

The most concentrated and powerful preparation for the JLPT for me has been to buy companion audio CDs that match the content of the textbooks I use. I listen to the CDs (and converted MP3s) over and over during the day, even when I am working on other things and cannot give them my full concentration. This has the advantage of specifically reinforcing listening ability with grammar and vocabulary that is pertinent to your studies.

I also use Japanese movies as a less stressful and more enjoyable way to work on my listening comprehension, but some movies are definitely better than others for listening practice. [Hint: Avoid Samurai movies and historical dramas if modern Japanese listening comprehension practice is your primary goal from watching Japanese movies.]

Maybe some others out here can recommend text books suitable for level 2 progression that also have companion audio available. I would be interested in those as well. I will only take level 3 this December, but I plan to start working on level 2 content well before the end of this year.

Dan Savage
www.SavageJapan.com
Movie Listening Comprehension Practice Tips can be found at the bottom of this page:
www.SavageJapanMovieReviews.com/Special ... views.html

[mithrilfox]

The most effective listening comprehension activity for me is definitely dictation/transcription.

Basically, I listen to some audio material first, then transcribe it word-for-word, and then check it over again.

To start out, finding a 5 minute section is ideal. Later, moving up to 10-15 minutes is very effective.

Here are the steps I take:

1) Find some good audio material. Nothing too unusual or difficult to understand. Radio DJ's talking, people talking on a TV show, a podcast, news, etc. are options.

2) Listen to the whole section you will transcribe. Just get a feel for the material.

3) Listen again, trying to understand as much as possible. Repeat if you need to.

4) Begin transcribing the whole section of audio word-for-word, going back as many times as necessary to get it right (using a computer to do it is easiest). Ask someone if you just can't understand a part of it.

5) Listen again, checking your transcription. Look up anything you don't know (though you probably did that in step #4).

6) Try to speak along with the audio as much as possible (shadowing is good too).

If you do this just ONCE to a certain material, your understanding of that material will sky rocket! I did this just ONCE to a weather broadcast on NHK, and now I understand three times as much as I used to (words like 中部、見込み were not part of my vocabulary before).

[Savage Japan]

I really like the transcription idea. I imagine that really forces you to listen intently and speeds up your brain's recognition ability of fast paced Japanese.

For someone at my low level, I think for transcription I might have to limit myself to audio conversations from study materials I am using.

I may try to transcribe some pieces of audio from each chapter of Minna no Nihongo's audio CDs as I review and move forward.

Dan
www.SavageJapan.com

[bullruckle]

Hey thanks for the advice. Dictation, transcription sounds like a great way to improve.
I will definitely devote some time to this.
Man i cant wait for the day when i can actually start understanding what people are saying around me.

Thanks again

[Mikawika]

Thank you for the recommendations. I will also be trying to listen to more Japanese television (minus subtitles) and the transcription idea. Incidentally, I also passed the JLPT Level 3 but with a 35% for the listening.

I am also trying out JapanesePod101 (http://www.japanesepod101.com/)
It is a free podcast show. It's pretty good in that they take a short conversation and do it three times (once regular speed, slow, then with English), review some vocab and grammar points. If you pay a small fee, you can also get transcripts of the conversation as well.

[Kates]

I am currently taking some classes at a university and we often do dictation exercises while watching Japanese dramas. I have some exercises I could share that we used with a drama called "Sakura" and another called "Ai shiteru to itte kure", if anyone is interested. (I can't share the video files I have but... they shouldn't be hard to come by.... >_> )