I do good in basic conversation. it's pretty good and i can speak it close to fluently in basic conversation. I mean its not that basic i know quite a bit, since i studied 4 years. But , start going away from the basic and into subjects in which i have no experience and i don't understand nothing. Like i listened to some podcasts in iTunes in japanese and some of them i could understand, like when it was a nice girl speaking clearly and abut some fun thing, i could understand it, but then i turned to a BUSINESS related podcasts and i could not understand at all.
I know it's obvious that i wouldn't understand the business one. But so my question is, without going to japan or having Japan friends willing to talk to you in japanese, how do you get good?
I could listen to business podcasts, but that doesn't help cause i will never understand no matter how i try. They have too much vocab dependent on culture and i never live in japan so it's impossible to know.
2006-12-28 03:08:28 · 11 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Languages
apractice, practice and more practice.**
2006-12-28 03:09:55 · answer #1 · answered by musafir 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It just depends on what you study. If you have never studied any business Japanese, it's natural you won't understand it.
The only way you can get good at understanding business Japanese is to study and use it. So yeah, listen to the business podcasts, read as much business Japanese as you can and you will get good at it. There is a lot of vocab, but that's precisely the reason you can't understand it right now. As for the vocab being related to the culture, well yes it is, but that doesn't stop you from enjoying finding out about the country and culture. Remember Japanese is your second language and it does require some study.
If you want material this is really good:
http://www.tv-asahi.co.jp/ann/news/web/index.html
It's just a news site, but it's divided into Politics, Economics, Society, International and Sports. It has videos that you can watch and practise listening and text that you can read (which usually matches what's on the video 90%). It's a slow process but you will find you'll improve.
Another idea:
Nikkei - Japanese business newspaper:
http://www.nikkei.co.jp/
for reading practice.
2006-12-30 14:16:13 · answer #2 · answered by Salvador 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's good thing that you already have basic skills.
I think you can constantly watch Japanese news, even though you don't understand them all. That's how I learned English. I watched TV, listened to radio (still doing it^^), and I also bought many dvds of my favorite tv shows and watched it over and over.
If you keep listen to some language and you get the feel of it and it's amazing that you will start picking up really fast at some point.
And of course don't foget to practice too.^^
Good luck^^ And the most fastest way to learn the language is to live in that country for few years. If you are able to do so.^^
2006-12-28 03:23:03 · answer #3 · answered by abby l 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
O Genki Desu Ka?
The main problem with Nihongo-ga is that it is full of informal "slang" if you will, that is used in a lot of one-on-one conversations and in everyday use, such as newscasts. Unless you totally immerse yourself in it, it will be very difficult to move on much further. I will recommend Barnes & Noble and Borders books. They usually have quite a few books on Japanese. Another way to try and catch up on the idioisms of the language is to read some manga. In there, the dialogue is largely informal and you will be exposed to more words and phrases they don't teach in most course books. In fact there is a book, about learning Japanese through manga. I hope I was of some help.
Domo Arigato Gozaimasu
2006-12-28 03:16:26 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you've studied for four years, odds are you have a good grasp of grammar, syntax and the like. With business-related things, as with other topics of conversation, I think it's probably just massive amounts of vocabulary you don't know.
Unfortunately, I'm not sure if there are books or the like full of vocabulary terms you could look at. I guess that's where I'd begin the search.
2006-12-28 18:04:41 · answer #5 · answered by Ian M 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Just because you don't have any Japanese friends doesn't mean you can't find some.
Skype is a free program (you just have to buy a microphone) that will let you get connected with Japanese speakers who are practicing their English. By practicing and teaching together, you can learn equally.
2006-12-28 05:55:57 · answer #6 · answered by Belie 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I would also reccomend going onto Amazon.jp and ordering up some of your favorite books in the Japanese translation. I have Harry Potter in Japanese. Reading it has given me a number of new vocabulary words.
(Admittedly, these words can be a bit "magical" at times, but the books cover so many areas of politics, school life, etc. that you're sure to pick up a few good words.)
2006-12-28 04:37:45 · answer #7 · answered by electric.bleu 1 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I can say many Japanese women don't understand about business. They are like you. I think you have to study business terms and Japan's market or something.
I agree with electric.bleu. Visit Amazon Japan and buy books on business or something you like.
Amazon Japan
http://www.amazon.co.jp/
I recommend you to buy 現代用語の基礎知識 that describes a lot of technical terms used in Japan.
http://www.amazon.co.jp/gp/product/4426101255/
2006-12-28 12:53:01 · answer #8 · answered by Black Dog 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
If you want to speak the language fluently then you should do advanced studies in the language, I think the country where this language is spoken would be the best place to do the advanced studies.
2006-12-28 03:12:24 · answer #9 · answered by maria fkun 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
dude you can't even speak english fluently now you wanna learn japanese? lmao
2006-12-28 04:04:19 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋
Rosetta stone! (and dont put so much info in your question)
2006-12-28 03:09:57 · answer #11 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋