Active Listening + Vocabulary and Grammar Level

[godwheel]

I read through a few threads on people that had similar problems to me, but my question might be a bit different or a bit personal so apologies for posting another thread

Basically, I’m struggling in a few ways. The most obvious is that I’m not understanding much when I watch content. By the time I’m done with the 10 minute video my mind is exhausted and/or after a few minutes my mind wonders off because I’m not understanding (even though I’m engaged with the content, I’m not really listening if that makes sense).

This happens in both YouTube (N5 Level content) or beginner podcasts. I’ve tried slowing down videos, subtitles on/off. Rewatching etc…

So I’m wondering if perhaps my vocabulary is not up to par or perhaps my grammar is not there yet and I’m putting the wheel before the horse sort of speak.

For reference, I’m level 6 in WaniKani vocabulary (though many more on Bunpro where I put commonly used words like the days of the week, family, pronouns, some common verbs, objects, etc …) and on Bunpro grammar level 1,2 and some of 3 and 4. I can spring a few sentences together, but definitely not perfect. I can get decipher most sentences pretty well when reading.

I’m still translating in my head.

I’m thinking maybe my grammar and vocabulary is not strong enough yet, but since I read actively listening is important to do I’ve been trying to do so to help reinforce some vocabulary. Reading the subtitles has helped in that way… At least in vocabulary retention, but listening has been a struggle.

So, when did you become an active listener? How was your initial experience at that level? If you had to do it all over again, how would you do it differently?

Im 44 years old with two jobs, family etc, so I sneak in 30 minutes of learning where I can and I want to keep pushing.

Thanks for reading

[lunchbox1]

Have you been training your active listening? Utilizing the cram feature with Bunpro grammar really helps with this. Then for more casual speech, I usually just watch anime. You can’t just study vocabulary and grammar and expect to be able to immediately hear it (especially if you aren’t in Japan). It’s a separate skill set.

[SudoNymm]

I’ve never been much of an active listener. But I imagine you will struggle with N5 level audio videos until you are closer to finishing N5 grammar. They are often designed to be at the “I am now revising for the N5 test” level and assume you are at least sort of familiar with most of the content. There are also lots of bits and pieces thrown out that will sound like standalone words but are actually grammar points and you might not recognise or be able to parse these until you are more familiar.

Any active and passive listening does help over time. Your brain is working in the background to iron out the cadence and pacing of the language even if it doesn’t feel like it.

That said, wheel might be a little bit before the horse here. I’d keep doing some listening without “expecting” to get things out of it for now. Just try to pick out basic words and tenses. Eventually you’ll pick up bigger bits as you learn more.

Try to be patient. It’s early days yet. Most important thing for you at the moment IMO is to get the N5 grammar under your belt.

Maybe also check this vocab list and try to acquire any words on it you may be missing: http://www.tanos.co.uk/jlpt/jlpt5/vocab/VocabList.N5.pdf (I’d suggest Bunpro’s N5 vocab list, but it’s a little overzealous compared to typical N5 content, so this list here will probably get you “on your feet” more efficiently for now)

[godwheel]

This is super helpful indeed. It makes sense that this would be the case, but no one explicitly makes this recommendation. I will be patient and work through the N5 level first and do some basic listening practice along the way.

One of the things I’ve learned too is that since I’m not well versed in the different verb conjugation is tricky too when reading or listening. So knowing all these “tricky” grammar points seems to be the way to go. Small thing like を being read as o for example can be tricky when you are just listening.

Thanks for taking the time to reply.

[godwheel]

Cool idea! I didn’t think about this at all.

Thanks!

[11441]

Engaging with Sensei Shun’s content can benefit you greatly. He uses the Genki books to guide his content so the sentences and concepts mirror the lessons. Of course, he will insert a few unknown words or phrases for a challenge, but I believe it’s highly effective. Here’s his YT, but he also has an excellent podcast, Patreon, and other content. Also, ensure you are SPEAKING OUT LOUD and increasing your flow as you go. Please do not wait to begin speaking like many of us do. It’s critical to internalize this difficult language. https://www.youtube.com/@JapanesewithShun
頑張って！
がんばって

[casual]

I like to listen to the same sentence a few times back to back, until my brain can parse out every word separately, and they stop blurring into one long mess of “something something が something somewhere”.
It takes more time of course, so it’s a tradeoff, but I think it’s worthwhile.

To make it more efficient, I use hotkeys “to the beginning of last subtitle” / “to the beginning of next subtitle” in my player.

When I was in a similar N5/N4 situation, it helped a lot to have actual Japanese subtitles for this. As you say, sometimes even with slowed down audio you just can’t figure out some words. Now, most of the time I can pick out which word(s) I don’t know, so the subs are there just for rewind timestamps.

And then when you force your brain to parse out each word of the subtitles, you can either figure out the grammar of the whole sentence, or just move on to the next one and focus on listening.

I’ve even made an Anki deck by parsing a couple of anime episodes into subtitle lines. Card front: audio and a picture, card back: subtitle sentence. Not sure if that was an efficient use of time, but back then it helped.

So I suppose this is an argument to listen to the same input until it becomes completely comprehensible, as opposed to listening to a lot of input that’s not.

[godwheel]

I follow this YouTube channel, but never really engaged with it. Thanks for the resource.

By speaking out do you mean shadowing what he says?

[godwheel]

I just tried your suggestion (repeat over and over) as well as the suggestion to cram bunpro listening. It was a bit difficult since the sentence itself was not all N5, but it was a good exercise. I was able to parse half of most of the sentences after 5-10 playbacks and it was quite fun to do. Felt more like a game!

I think with a bit more vocabulary and grammar under my belt I can get there.

Thanks to everyone for the suggestions it has been super helpful.

[homa]

I started repeating every word (basically like shadowing) while watching anime (I do it in my head).
I think it helps differentiate words and maybe learn them faster.

[scarecrowfield]

What anime are you watching?

[homa]

Right now “地縛少年花子くん” one of the most beautiful Art Nouveau styled anime!

[homa]

It’s also very understandable and has really short sentences. I’ve already learned word 階段 from it)

[scarecrowfield]

Wow, I didn’t know that this anime’s animation is so beautiful

[11441]

Not necessarily. I mean vocalizing anything you’re reading/learning/etc. Shadowing is always beneficial, but you can break things up into shadowing, listening, etc., if you feel like it. Get into some online groups, local meetups, etc., and start talking as soon as possible. There’s no substitute for engaging with other speakers of the language, no matter what level you or they may be at. Many of us speed through grammar and vocabulary exercises nowadays, yet many highly rated users cannot carry on an elementary conversation. I am not trying to put anyone down; I was guilty of it, too, but once you start engaging in actual conversations, you will be ahead of most people. I would really like to see Bunpro create a weekly meetup where we can use these skills.

[scarecrowfield]

A weekly meetup sounds both scary and fun

[godwheel]

Where I live the local library has an event kinda for this… I’ve never gone, but maybe look at your local place and see if they have something similar.

[scarecrowfield]

Unfortunately, I’ve never heard anything like that where I live, I don’t think it exists.

[11441]

It relies heavily on where you live. In my town, the Japanese population is scarce. But if I travel an hour to Columbus, there are weekly, monthly, and yearly meetings ranging from conversation practice to fully formed festivals, etc. There are tons available online as well: Meetup, Discord, iTalki, HelloTalk, and so on. Just put yourself out there, man. I won’t lie; it’s scary fuh the first few times, but you have to get through that eventually, so it is better to do it early in your journey. I was a solid upper N5 lower N4, thinking I knew so much I could carry on a simple conversation, but I was sorely mistaken. The thing is, no one cares! Everyone is at different levels and has various resources available, so get past the fear and do it. Just listen if you need to. Trust me, you can be leaps and bounds further than your peers if you engage. Best of luck! Oh yeah, check local libraries, universities, and Japanese cultural centers/orgs around your area. You will be surprised by what you find.

[11441]

Dude, they definitely exist, lol! You have to put in the work. Get on it! Where are you located generally? I am happy to share the info I gather. I will try to remember to post my groups here too, when I get home.