Speak Japanese like a Pro: Tips and Resources

By Ben Schmidt

For numerous Japanese language learners, the most challenging phase involves transitioning from ‘textbook Japanese’ to reading real literature and conversing with native speakers.

Although textbooks are a great way to learn grammar, the Japanese they teach is often contrived and not truly representative of how native speakers actually communicate.

Learning to speak Japanese is an exciting adventure. This guide is for those ready to dive into spoken Japanese, aiming to help you have meaningful conversations and connect with native speakers confidently.

Why Is It Important to Practice Speaking Japanese?

Because as said, if you don’t use it, you will lose it

It is all too usual for language learners to have far greater confidence while writing than when speaking. It’s relatively simple to open your favorite book, compose an email, or post on social media once you have a basic command of the language.

However, finding someone with whom to have a conversation or mustering the bravery to do so is not always so simple.

Speaking with native speakers is a worthwhile (and significant!) aspect of your Japanese study. Reaching native-level written fluency without being able to identify a pen in a real conversation is not what you want to happen.

Japanese Conversation Practice

Effective Ways to Practice Speaking Japanese

Speak Japanese at Home

Specify the groceries you require. Speak to yourself while preparing your preferred meal. Make a list of the things you have to do today.

Anyone who shares a home with you could find it a little strange. However, they will adjust to it. It’s excellent that they might even ask you to translate your words.

This can be used as a self-check to ensure you utilize the proper terminology and language patterns.

While doing this, record yourself and play it back to yourself. Determine any vocabulary terms, as well as any grammatical patterns you are having difficulty pronouncing or memorizing.

Continue practicing and resolve these problems.

Record yourself speaking

If you want to learn spoken Japanese, you’ll probably listen to native speakers, but have you ever tried listening to yourself?

Our experts advise you to record and playback your speech so you may start making adjustments to make your Japanese sound more natural after you acquire an ear for the language.

Listen to a Show or Podcast, but Don’t Watch It

You must improve your listening abilities if you want to speak Japanese.

After all, you spend at least half of the conversation listening to someone else talk. Therefore, it’s critical that you comprehend what they’re expressing.

One of the best ways to improve your listening abilities is to listen to television without viewing it. This is because we cannot decipher what is said through hand gestures, body language, social cues, or English subtitles.

When you do this, you are listening actively because you have to pay attention in order to understand what is being said and to whom.

You can improve your listening comprehension and hear Japanese conversations by tuning into a Japanese drama or podcast.

It’s also a great opportunity to learn more about Japanese culture and get acclimated to hearing people speak in different dialects and at their natural speech rates.

Since Japanese podcasts and live-action television programs more closely mirror Japanese society. They cover things like hand signals and appropriate manners.

Read Out Loud

Consider reading aloud from a Japanese book if you’re not particularly into podcasts. As you may already know, reading aloud and reading in your brain are very different.

Reading aloud increases activity when reading something in your thoughts is more inactive. Speaking aloud lets you hear what you are reading and identify pronunciation errors. Additionally, you have the ability to identify difficult passages for you to understand.

Highlight any terms that are difficult for you to pronounce, unfamiliar terms, or difficult-to-understand grammar patterns.

Repeat words that are difficult to pronounce often until you can easily do so. Look up unfamiliar words and learn about them. Examine grammatical structures that you find challenging to comprehend. In talks, try utilizing these grammatical structures.

Shadowing

A common method for learning a language is shadowing, in which you listen to an audio sample and attempt to replicate it as accurately as possible.

Speaking aloud is a great way to hone your intonation, pronunciation, confidence, and speed! My best suggestion for practicing speaking Japanese on your own would be to shadow.

If you can converse in Japanese rather well already, you can try shadowing whenever you use Japanese audio resources, including when watching TV or listening to a podcast.

Try to repeat what you hear as quickly as possible after you listen to it. It sounds easier than it is.

It’s preferable for novices to gradually transition into shadowing by using audio with transcripts or subtitles so you can follow along. This may be a sentence from your favorite J-drama, a scenario from your textbook or online course, or anything at all.

Immersion

Immersion is the best way to learn conversational Japanese, though I understand it’s not possible for everyone.

It will be very beneficial to be surrounded by only Japanese speakers. You have several options for traveling to Japan for immersion: you can go as an exchange student, via JET, a study abroad program, or merely with a friend or friend of a friend.

Planning your own mini-immersions can be beneficial if you cannot participate in a real immersion.

Choose to spend a day, a week, or a year solely watching Japanese TV series and listening to Japanese music.

Find a friend who speaks Japanese and have conversations exclusively in Japanese. You could also gather with friends who are studying Japanese and commit to speaking only in Japanese during activities, such as having lunch together. This shared dedication to practicing the language can significantly enhance your skills.

YouTube Japanese conversation practice videos

You can find many films that simulate a conversation by asking questions, giving you time to respond, and then offering sample replies if you search for “Japanese conversation practice” on YouTube.

You can also use any film featuring interviews or conversations for speaking practice. When the interviewer poses the question, simply pause the video and respond with your own response.

Put on your acting shoes and act like a movie star. It’s excellent preparation for answering unforeseen inquiries.

Pronunciation study

In regular Japanese classes, pronunciation and its closely related relative, pitch accent, are usually not given much attention. However, studying Japanese is useless if no one can comprehend you.

If you can pronounce words correctly, you will be able to speak Japanese more efficiently, confidently, and fluently.

Stay positive

Finally, but just as importantly, remember to enjoy your accomplishments! Any language can be difficult to learn, but with persistence and effort, you can pronounce “nihongo ga hanasemasu” in no time.

Best Apps To Learn Japanese:

Pimsleur Japanese

Available on: iOS | Android | Web

One of the most well-known and enduring tools for learning a second language is Pimsleur. Its courses prioritize verbal and auditory communication abilities over reading and writing comprehension and grammar clarifications. With Pimsleur, you can choose from more than 50 language courses, most of which are taught through audio lessons.

JapanesePod101

Available on: iOS | Android | Web

Even if the lessons from ten years ago aren’t as good as the more current ones, JapanesePod101 still has an incredible amount of listening content, making it one of the greatest locations to practice listening to Japanese.

It’s important to note that you won’t be able to learn Japanese with just this as your resource. However, there’s a lot to enjoy in listening practice.

Although the advanced level material isn’t quite as great due to the massive content volume, excellent courses are still available for students at all levels. The thorough notes included with every audio lesson make learning a lot simpler.

Takoboto

Available on: Android | Web

One of the greatest offline Japanese dictionaries on the market is this one. It contains more than 170,000 Japanese language entries together with example sentences, conjugated verb forms, and English translations.

Additionally, there are pre-made study lists, flashcards, lists of history and favorites, and word exporting to the Anki app. This one goes well beyond just giving definitions.

LingoPie

Available on: iOS | Android | Web

LingoPie isn’t your typical language-learning app. There isn’t a predetermined curriculum or learning path. Alternatively, LingoPie is a video-on-demand platform that teaches you Japanese through TV series and movies.

Particularly for learning Japanese, this can be a perfect fit. Learning Japanese is popular among those who want to watch anime sans subtitles.

Rosetta Stone

Available on: iOS | Android | Web

The key components of the Rosetta Stone learning approach are imagery and immersion. The Rosetta Stone Japanese application includes pictures in almost every practice activity and lesson.

It’s by far the most visually appealing of all the more conventional Japanese language study apps we’ve bought and used.

So, What is the Best App for YOU to Learn Japanese?

As mentioned earlier, this list does not include every Japanese learning app. Additionally, it does not cover all of the great resources that aren’t available as apps.

See the top Japanese podcasts, YouTube channels, and courses for more resources beyond applications that are great for learning Japanese.

It is wise to use multiple resources for your language-learning endeavors. Even though many of the applications on this list are quite helpful, they work best when combined with other practice techniques.

Because there are so many to choose from, you should have no problem selecting one or two solutions that work for you.

Since Japanese is one of the hardest languages to learn, it should be no surprise that locating the best learning applications is just as difficult.

For this reason, before deciding which app or apps can help you become fluent in Japanese, you need to know what constitutes a great app for learning the language.

Also Read: Top Online Resources for Mastering Japanese