Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Language Learning - Listening by Ear

Hello again!

With this post, I begin my series of articles focusing on language learning tips. If you're in the process of learning or studying a language, whichever stage/level you may be in, I hope these tips may be of help!

This is my most effective method of picking up new vocabulary, sentence structures, common phrases said by the native speakers, and a few inside jokes - listening by ear.

What I mean is specifically the use of televised media (dramas, reality/variety shows and movies) and songs. I would never have gotten to my current levels (Japanese and Korean, especially) without them.

I would recommend learning the basics and pronunciation ways of the language first, so that the listening process may go more swimmingly. This way, when you listen and try to write the new word you picked up down, there will be less chances of misspelling it. Choose those with subs, because you will want to learn first, then test yourself with the raw (unsubbed) ones if you like.

Then at a certain point, cover the subs or simply don't look at them. Try to guess the topic of the conversation and then the point of each dialogue, even if the subs tempt you. Of course you don't have to do this for every dialogue you hear.


Drama: Seigi no Mikata (Episode 1)



Guessing it before checking with the subtitles makes you think. The more you think about it, the higher the probability that it will stick to your mind ;D You can learn a lot from just one conversation, in fact. Be it a new word, a new slang or a new sentence structure that it not written in the textbooks.

Now that you've (hopefully) managed to pick up some words, you may either jot them down on a notebook or rely on your strong memory to remember them. Okay, so you're sure you've got the general meanings of the words right. You are very extremely positively 100% sure it means what you believe it is. So much that you think...

Who needs dictionaries and phrase books? Off with their covers (read: heads)! 


OK, that was a bit too much and utterly unrealtisic but you get what I mean

But it never hurts to make sure! Ask your loyal companion, the dictionary. You do not want to be humiliated by using the wrong words just because you were blinded by hubris! D:

However! Be forewarned that the language commonly used in TV shows, cartoons or songs are usually colloquial. It is not wise to use the way a teenager talks to her friend when you talk to an old lady on the street who is at least five decades older than you.You may even pick up some bad words that you didn't know were offensive.

Let's hope that sweet old lady wasn't a martial arts champion back in the day.

The importance of respect to your seniors, superiors and elders by the language you use varies for every culture. For example, in Japan and Korea, they have different language structures for various occasions and formality. So do check properly the context of which the words may be used, otherwise you may anger/offend those who do speak the language D:

The speech in dramas, movies and songs tend to contain quite a lot of recurring phrases, many of which are useful. If you aim for such a level of fluency that you can understand every hip slang the natives use, this method could prove to be a keeper. You will most likely be able to impress your practice partner with a fair knowledge of common slangs, provided that they are people with whom you are actually allowed to use such colloquial terms with. Oh, and that does include your language teacher. We've tried that in German class before, and our teacher was speechless x'D
I still remember the first song that got me into Kpop: Koe wo Kikasete by Big Bang. This isn't a Kpop song; it's a song sung purely in Japanese by a Korean group. From then I got into Big Bang and their Korean music, and yeah.

Here are a few starters that I recommend if you are interested in learning Japanese by TV shows: Hana Yori Dango (the first Japanese drama I watched), Attention Please, Seigi no Mikata, Bloody Monday, Code Blue, Mr.Brain, Hanazakari no Kimitachi e, and lots more. Anime is great as well, although they may contain many made-up words because of their generally fantasy-ish nature.

Here are my recommendations for Korean TV dramas: Rooftop Prince, The Moon That Embraces the Sun, My Girlfriend is a Nine-Tailed Fox, You're Beautiful (Korean ver. of 'Ikemen Desu ne!'), Boys Before Flowers (Korean ver. of 'Hana Yori Dango'), High Kick Through the Roof (it's a sitcom series, I've only ever finished Season 2) and more. Queen Seon Deok, Rooftop Prince, and The Moon That Embraces the Sun are set in the Shilla and Joseon period, so their language and dialect differ considerably. As for variety shows Hello Baby, Running Man, Infinite Challenge and We Got Married are some popular ones.

Forgive me as I may not know too well about TV shows in other languages. For people who seek to improve their English skills, there are countless movies and TV shows in English, in a wide variety of genres that you will surely be able to find something that matches your taste.

The results: Before I knew it, I was saying things without even having to think beforehand. If you've managed to permanently store some commonly used fixed phrases via listening, they'll be on standby whenever you need them. It definitely makes communication a lot smoother and less pausing time for thinking. It also made me more accustomed to the speed which native speakers usually talk in.

Once you think you've heard enough to understand the point or the topic of common dialogues, you can give yourself the challenge of watching raw/with no subtitles. The satisfaction, I assure you, is indescribable! xD
But this definitely won't happen overnight. Unless you are already extremely knowledgeable and exposed to the language, learning and understanding all by ear will take time. Patience and a keen ear is definitely required, but most of all, just have fun and enjoy the process! Learning a language is not a race or a competition. Also, you should learn a language because you want to, because I believe that it does make a difference in the speed of progress.

Do let me know if you've tried this before and whether it has worked for you or not! If you have any questions, please leave them in the comments section :)

アリシア

Now listening: Firework - Katy Perry

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