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Alone on these busy streets... | ||
Tags: Listening | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Advice Center |  | |
| kujichagulia Senior Member Japan Joined 4656 days ago 1031 posts - 1571 votes  Speaks: English* Studies: Japanese, Portuguese | Message 1 of 6 13 June 2013 at 2:38pm | IP Logged |
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Every morning I have about a 10-minute walk from my home to the train station, and another 10-minute walk from the train station near my job to my job. In the afternoon it is reversed, with two more 10-minute walks.
I have a portable music player loaded with dialogs from my textbooks, language podcasts, and some podcasts intended for native speakers. My idea was to just play something and listen to it while I walk. But I'm worried about just doing passive listening. I can only understand 30% of native Japanese podcasts, and less for Portuguese ones. As for the language podcasts and dialogs, listening and repeating would be nice, but there are many people walking on the streets that I walk on, and I don't want to look like an idiot speaking and repeating Japanese to myself, especially in Japan! Any ideas on how to use that time more effectively? 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| iguanamon Pentaglot Senior Member Virgin Islands Speaks: Ladino Joined 5071 days ago 2237 posts - 6731 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish, Portuguese, Haitian Creole, Creole (French) | Message 2 of 6 13 June 2013 at 3:44pm | IP Logged |
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I know how you feel, when I was learning Haitian Creole with Pimsleur, I had the lessons on my phone and would do them while I was walking. It can get awkward, I know. Here, it is considered the height of rudeness not to acknowledge someone you meet in passing with the greeting of the day. Still, I managed. I could acknowledge someone with a wave and fulfill my obligation. Most people just thought I was talking on the phone. To feel less self-conscious sometimes, I would pull out the phone and look at it while talking. People seem to accept that because that situation is fairly common.
Living in densely populated Japan is another matter entirely. I have absolutely no idea of the social dynamics at play there, and I'm sure that you already feel self-conscious enough being a foreigner in a very homogenous society. You could try to develop a strong internal voice. With a strong internal voice, you don't need to speak out loud. Another alternative is to barely voice the words, almost a whisper. People will just think you're having a phone conversation. Remember to keep glancing at the phone periodically. People who constantly yammer on their phones in public may be considered rude but folks don't tend to think of them as psychos. With Portuguese, I wouldn't have a problem with speaking at a somewhat higher, though not full volume, tone- still maintaining the phone farce. Who knows, maybe a Portuguese-speaker will overhear you and strike up a conversation. I met a Haitian Creole-speaker that way while doing a Pimsleur lesson at the park one day. I explained that I was learning the language and we had a nice chat for a while. Edited by iguanamon on 13 June 2013 at 3:45pm 3 persons have voted this message useful | |
| mike245 Triglot Senior Member Hong Kong Joined 6781 days ago 303 posts - 408 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish, Cantonese Studies: French, German, Mandarin, Khmer | Message 3 of 6 13 June 2013 at 4:55pm | IP Logged |
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What about using flashcards during your walks? I use Anki on my iPhone when I'm walking,
since I can just glance at my phone screen for a second or so every time I am studying a new card and then just repeat the word to myself a few times as I walk. For extra practice, I'll try to make sentences using the words. That said, I often repeat the words under my breath as I am walking or on the metro here in Hong Kong, and haven't once gotten any strange looks from people. I find that in a busy metropolitan city, people usually mind their own business. And if you aren't too loud, chances are they might not even hear you above the noise of the cars and the other conversations in the crowd. 3 persons have voted this message useful | |
| vogue Triglot Senior Member United States Joined 4063 days ago 109 posts - 181 votes Speaks: English*, Italian, Spanish Studies: Ukrainian | Message 4 of 6 14 June 2013 at 12:26am | IP Logged |
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When I lived in London, while out walking I'd just maintain the phone call farce (though I have a feeling that'd
be harder to pull of in Italy with Italian as I'm saying ridiculous sentences 'why yes I'd like a glass of water'), but then on public transport I'd either just mouth the answer or say it in my head because it's a lot harder to maintain the phone call look when you're repeating variations on the same sentence as is the case with Pimsleur and Michel Thomas. 2 persons have voted this message useful | |
| osoymar Tetraglot Pro Member United States Joined 4545 days ago 190 posts - 344 votes Speaks: English*, German, Portuguese, Japanese Studies: Spanish, French Personal Language Map | Message 5 of 6 14 June 2013 at 1:11am | IP Logged |
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It's too bad that bluetooth headsets haven't taken off in Japan, because that justifies
all kinds of lunatic behavior in the U.S. 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| kujichagulia Senior Member Japan Joined 4656 days ago 1031 posts - 1571 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Japanese, Portuguese | Message 6 of 6 14 June 2013 at 6:53am | IP Logged |
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Yes, Bluetooth sets would be nice. They have them here... in the back corners of the ubiquitous electronics stores. But the next person I see on the street here in Osaka with a Bluetooth set on would be the first. On the other hand, my brother in the U.S. must have his Bluetooth set surgically attached to his ear!
I would feel a lot comfortable speaking out loud in Portuguese on a busy Osaka street than in Japanese, so I could use the phone charade to practice some Portuguese. Otherwise... I like mike245's idea about using Anki while walking. That is something I might try! 1 person has voted this message useful |
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