Conversation Advice: Get Better Slowly Japanese Podcast for Listening Practice

Yes, hello everyone. It's time for YUYU's Japanese podcast. I hope everyone is staying healthy and well? Today I'd like to tell you how to become good at conversation. advice on whether you'll be able to speak fluently in conversations And now, I would like to introduce the training methods. Yes, this is the process by which I became able to speak Spanish. It's a theory or advice that I'm thinking about. Yeah, let me tell you something briefly at the beginning. I came to Mexico 12 years ago. And at that time, I could hardly speak Spanish. That's right, you couldn't understand Spanish at all back then. And amidst all this, as I continued living day by day, I gradually began to speak more and more. I can now comfortably and normally converse with Mexicans. And now, looking back, I realize that gradually becoming able to speak was really great. how exactly do you go about learning conversation? Sometimes it's better to do it little by little. Therefore, today I would like to introduce you to the very first step toward being able to have that conversation. And inside, well, they've studied Japanese so much that they've become able to speak it fluently, So, I think it's time to go ahead and have a conversation. That's why I'm skipping the first step, so I can't understand the conversation properly. There are surprisingly many people who have this kind of problem. Yes, that's the point—I'd like to share this advice with everyone, including the fact that even during the most basic stages, you actually need to think about things like this. First of all, above all, in order to become proficient in using Japanese, There's something I always need to keep in mind in order to become good at conversation, What it means is that the amount of Japanese you can understand must be at least two to three times greater than the amount of Japanese you can actually use. Yes, when studying at a Japanese language school or preparing for the JLPT, The grammar I studied is equivalent to being able to write example sentences in understandable Japanese. I think you always have to train both ways—like, once you understand it, you must use it; once you understand it, you must use it. Then, once you understand expressions like "it must be" or "it has to be," you'll be able to use them immediately. Once you understand what needs to be done, you'll be able to use it right away. That's how I study, but my recommendation is, Ah, it must not exist; I understand, it's unusable. It's better to do so, I understand, yeah, it's unusable. Hmm, hmm, what is it, can't be, I understand, but can't use it, but I get it. In that state, I start asking many questions. Well, I understand that I need to gradually start speaking, um, things like "I have to" or whatever, but in reality, I can only manage "yes" or "no." I see, yeah, I want to eat it. I can't really talk about anything beyond something so basic, though. I understand that it's necessary, but I think there's a greater chance of improving conversation skills in situations like this. Yes, please remember one thing. So, some of us are really good at understanding Japanese, but can't express ourselves in it. I completely understand Yuuyu's podcast, but I can't speak the way Yuuyu does. Completely fine, actually good, yes. The reason is that, ultimately, your Japanese language is, That's because I'll be creating my favorite expressions by customizing them from understandable Japanese. Never does a textbook say it this way, or require you to say it like this, It's not that you're actually speaking your own ideas through the Japanese in the textbook. Yes, that's precisely where the difference lies between whether your Japanese sounds natural or unnatural. Yeah, so please keep listening to the podcast. And keep gradually increasing the amount of Japanese you understand. Yeah, from now on, just keep increasing the number of things you can talk about in the order of the steps I'm about to introduce. We've kept you waiting. Right away, in the conversation that many of you probably skipped over, I'll introduce the three essential steps you must train on first. First, it is capable of reactions. Second, becoming able to easily talk about oneself. Third, I'd like to make a request. There's a possibility that if you can't do this right from the beginning, you'll end up unable to handle actual difficult conversations. And this was actually the first thing I was aware of as I began learning Spanish. Now I can actually have conversations with people who speak Spanish, such as Mexicans, Colombians, or Spaniards. Now I really feel how incredibly important it was that I practiced for such a long time back then. I also would like to introduce that part. First of all, once everyone reaches the level where you understand my podcast, the one thing to focus on in conversation will always be, Yes, no, really? I can learn to say it at the right moment. Yes, the speed at which I understand is catching up to the pace at which Japanese people speak. Ah, you're asking me, so yes, okay, no, can say. Yeah, and then, uh, this isn't directly asking me, I'm just talking, is that right? Actually, it's quite difficult to understand in a conversation whether someone is asking you something or just talking to themselves. And at that time, those of you who could already speak Japanese were thinking about your own ideas, whether the other person is asking you a question during the conversation or just talking about an anecdote by themselves There's a lot I don't understand. If you don't understand this, you'll inevitably miss the rhythm of the conversation. I can't seem to speak at the right moment. Think of it as practice for timing, so please just use words like "yes," "no," and "is that so." Yeah, for example, training—let's say, listening to my podcast, you know, I think it's also good to listen while reacting. For example, if you say, "I think it's good," you can just answer, "Yes," in response. No, yesterday, when I said I ate delicious tacos, she replied, "Oh, really? Well, I see," instead of "Yeah, really?" Yeah, well, something like this—what do everyone think? Become someone who can respond with things like "Hmm, yeah, that's right," or "I think that's good," when asked. I think you should try practicing reacting in that way. Yeah, and next, yes, no, is that so, once you're able to say these, Be able to give short answers to the other person's questions. Yeah, this is the first one; it was really tough at times, but... I absolutely hated Spanish, and I was asked things like, when, where, with whom, and what. Because you can't just answer casually with "yes" or "no." Yeah, that's right, and it's a huge trauma for me internally. You know, like, "What's up?", "What is it?", but you don't want to be asked, you don't want anyone to ask, because you can't answer. Still, questions that are really important—ones that truly matter to me—tend to stick in my ears, you know. For example, in Spanish, "ke" becomes "na," and "ki'en" becomes "dare," but Yeah, that's right—once you understand this, the range of conversations you can join suddenly expands dramatically. Yeah, this is called a closed question and an open question. A closed question is one where the answer is simply yes or no. An open question is one where you have to provide an answer. You need answers like "I went with Nidia" or "I ate tacos," right? And in conversation, are there closed questions—yes or no answers—or open questions—where you have to provide an answer? Well, if you just say "Is that so?", once you understand these three things, you really start to get a feel for the rhythm of conversation—it becomes incredibly clear. Well, uh, I see, I get it now—sort of—how you ask questions, how you talk, it's becoming a bit clearer, you know. It's not something you understand through knowledge, but rather something that gradually becomes clear through intuition. And the reason for focusing on this first step is, above all, to set aside your own ideas and fully concentrate on the other person. When having a conversation with a Japanese person, it's probably a good idea to practice this process beforehand. Then, when you get to step 2 and talk about yourself, you'll gradually begin to understand when exactly to speak. So, when you think, "Wow, this conversation is kind of difficult," you might wonder whether to say yes or no, give an answer, or just say "I see." I think the best approach is to keep practicing by having conversations with Japanese people until you start to understand. Practicing conversation lessons with the same person all the time makes it difficult to train in certain aspects, so I think it's better to talk to as many different people as possible. These days, there are applications and such, so I think it would be fine to go about it that way. Next, you'll be able to talk about yourself briefly. This is step 2. What's important here is the ability to string words together rapidly within the fast pace of conversation. This is quite difficult. It took me about a year to get good at it. Yeah, like, um, yesterday I went and had tacos, and they were super delicious, right? It's about getting to the point where phrases like "yesterday I went and had tacos, and they were super delicious" just come out quickly and naturally, without having to think too hard. I think this point is really, really important. And in Japanese conversation, brevity is especially important. Well, even in my previous native Japanese podcast, I noticed that when conversations get too long, Japanese people tend to lose interest and stop responding, so they keep their speech short. Yes, I think it would be helpful to do a training exercise where you pick one important thing you did yesterday and briefly talk about it. Yeah, for example, yesterday, since my vacation ended and I came back, I've been working nonstop all day. Yeah, I think you should do some training to be able to briefly talk about things like yesterday's events or tomorrow's plans in about five seconds or less. So, you should do plenty of training and speaking practice at home, and once you've got the rhythm down—yes, no, and that "is that so?" kind of response—then try inserting your own little comments into that flow. That would probably be a good approach. I think so. And finally, this is the ultimate, well, basic conversation's final boss, the last boss, so I'm asking a favor. Yes. It was quite difficult for me to ask for a favor. Yeah, what's hard about it is that you don't directly say the words "please" or "I'm asking you to." You know, kind of like, if there was a previous explanation or something, to avoid making the other person feel uncomfortable, you gently bring up another topic, just a little bit, sort of like, "um," and then eventually make your request. Yeah. You don't ask someone to help with work, do you? So, for example, if you wanted to ask someone to help with work, well, hey, Yuyu-kun, do you have a little time right now? I'm sorry, but I'm actually super busy right now and can't finish this task. Could you help me out? I'll treat you to ice cream later. Something like that. Yeah. Once you understand this, you'll be able to speak while considering the other person's feelings. You naturally want someone to definitely say yes to your request, don't you? So, to make it okay, the timing is fine. I'll treat you to ice cream. So, I'll say it in a slightly humble way, like "I'd really appreciate your help." Once you understand the importance of considering the other person's feelings while speaking, you'll gradually find that your ability to talk about yourself or respond appropriately also improves—because you'll start to better understand the other person's feelings. The ability to consider the other person's feelings and think about how they might be thinking during a conversation is extremely important. That's precisely why the final boss for those who can't handle such conversations is the ability to ask for help. Moreover, there's also a cultural aspect to it, so we really need to carefully observe and listen to how Japanese people actually make requests. Well, it's like, while I was living there, I'd hear other Mexicans talking to each other, and I'd realize, "Ah, that's how you ask for something." It might have taken a year and a half or even two years to fully understand it. I'm not particularly smart, so it took me a really long time to learn this, but I'm sure you all are very intelligent, so probably, if you watch dramas, you'd immediately understand that you should ask in this way. That's why that reaction is possible. Become able to talk about oneself briefly. I have a favor to ask. And hearing this step, well, I'm not really sure about myself, to be honest. You know, I can definitely talk really enthusiastically about travel experiences, but if you ask me whether I can react appropriately, I'm a bit unsure. And when it comes to briefly talking about myself, I'm not sure how well I'd do. I can't decide the order of words quickly, like "papapa," or I don't know how to ask properly when I need to ask. Those of you who have realized, perhaps for the first time, that you haven't been considering the other person's feelings or aspects of cultural sensitivity, I strongly encourage you to go back to these three steps starting today, retrain yourself, and then build upon them—imagine adding what you truly want to say on top of this foundation. Lastly, well, since we have a little time, I'd like to talk about something. For example, to a child: "Yusuke, I want to score a goal in soccer." Let's say you were told something like, "You want to score a goal by shooting in soccer, so that's why you're practicing your kicks toward the goal." Do you think that's okay like that? No, it's not right. You have to be able to dribble, and if you can't run fast, you won't get the pass. Getting the pass and placing the ball near your foot, then kicking it toward the goal from a good position—those are also important points, aren't they? There are actually countless things you must do before you can finally get to doing what you truly want to do. It's the same with conversation. That's precisely why, if you properly follow the three steps I just mentioned, your actual feelings and ideas you want to express will naturally come out. I think it will gradually and smoothly come out naturally in conversation. So, thanks to slowly improving my Spanish in this way, I... Now that I feel I've become good at communicating with people from Mexico and those who speak Spanish, I really, really recommend that everyone try it too. Yes, so please keep studying Japanese hard. See you later, bye!