Podcast Recommendation: Manga Sensei

Today’s podcast recommendation is the Manga Sensei podcast, a podcast that offers great Japanese lessons in just 5 minutes each episode!

The podcast is hosted by John (Manga Sensei) who is our helpful guide to the Japanese language. Most of the Manga Sensei episodes are language-focused, where each episode covers a different grammar point.

Grammar point focused episodes will provide an explanation of the grammar point – for example, how to conjugate it and when it used, alongside a few examples.

Outside of grammar study, the Manga Sensei podcast also has interviews with people who regularly use Japanese, normally people who live in Japan and/or write about the Japanese language. There are also episodes that focus on helpful language learning tips for Japanese (or any language) such as bridging the gap between intermediate and advanced (episode from May 14, 2018).

 

Why I like the Manga Sensei podcast

One of the best things about the podcast is how much John sensei manages to cover in a relatively short period of time. Somehow in just five-minute episodes, he has been able to fit in some interesting insight on how grammar points are used, without it feeling too overwhelming. Not only that but with over 250 episodes, there is plenty of content to listen to – new episodes are also uploaded on a daily basis! The type of Japanese covered in the grammar episodes includes more informal speech and is generally more natural than what you might get from a textbook.

In addition, in every episode, John comes across as an enthusiastic teacher who really wants everyone to do the very best with Japanese study. The Manga Sensei ethos is all about knowing you’ll make mistakes and doing it anyway, which I think is the best way to approach languages.

The episodes have not been produced in order of grammar difficulty so you may find yourself searching around for a little while if there is a particular grammar point you are stuck on (if you are a beginner to intermediate Japanese learner, he has most likely covered the grammar point in an episode already!).

 

Who I recommend the podcast for

I think that this podcast is good for anyone studying Japanese, as the grammar points covered range from the basics up to more sophisticated aspects of the language.

I always like to hear about the same grammar points explained in different ways (as I think it helps to really deepen your understanding of how certain aspects of the language work), and so I think the podcast is a nice compliment to someone who is taking classes or self-studying using a textbook. I also find that the interview episodes are really fun and perfect for when I need some study motivation!

You can find the episodes on the Manga Sensei website, or via any podcasting app (just search for “Manga Sensei”. There’s also a Youtube channel with a handful of videos too.

I definitely suggest checking out The Manga Sensei site. Every week there are short manga posted on the website that are designed to help you learn Japanese.

I’d probably recommend these short manga to upper beginners as there is no furigana on the manga itself, although each panel comes with a vocabulary list and helpful notes on the language used.

If you are intending to read manga in Japanese at some point, these notes are pretty useful – you’ll note that the language used is closer to how Japanese is spoken rather than what you might learn in a formal setting.

Aside from that, the website’s blog has a number of posts on the Japanese language (expanding upon a lot of the topics covered in the grammar episodes) and culture, which is all very useful for learners.

Have you tried this podcast? What did you think? Let me know in the comments!

Podcast Recommendation: Learn Japanese Pod

Today’s podcast recommendation is Learn Japanese Pod, not to be confused with JapanesePod101!

The podcast was established by Alex, a Brit living in Japan who started the podcast as a way for himself to work on his Japanese skills. Fortunately for us, the podcast has turned out to be a useful resource for us Japanese learners too!

In each podcast, Alex is joined by a native Japanese speaker – regulars include Asuka and Ami – to help explain key points and offer insights on each topic.

Each episode is about 30-40 minutes and are usually based on a certain situation you might find yourself in living in Japan, such as losing your wallet or ordering food at a restaurant. Others focus on ways to express yourself in Japanese (topics have included how to talk about one’s personality and how to express your opinions). The episodes are usually structured around short dialogs, which are then broken down and explained in more detail. These explanations are really useful as they often include cultural information or show examples of how certain phrases are used.

There also episodes called Fun Fridays, where the presenters discuss a topic in relation to Japan and Japanese culture, as well as interviews with those involved with the world of Japanese language learning.

First and foremost, I recommend this podcast because it is enjoyable to listen to. Sometimes with language learning podcasts, the content can feel overly structured and therefore a little bit boring at times. Fortunately, this is not the case with Learn Japanese Pod, despite the length of the episodes. There’s a really good rapport between the presenters which I think really helps to keep each episode as engaging as it is informative.

Another thing that I really like about the podcast is that they are full of useful expressions that reflect Japanese as it is actually spoken. For this reason, this is a great podcast for those who want to build their spoken fluency or focus on expressing themselves more naturally in Japanese. Similarly, as the podcast is dialogue focused, the episodes are great for shadowing.

I also recommend taking a look at the Learn Japanese Pod website, which has downloadable show notes for each episode containing all of the dialogues.

I think that this podcast is especially good for beginner to intermediate learners, who might be taking formal classes. As classes might not always cover ‘real’ Japanese, this is a great complement to the stuff that gets taught in a classroom setting.

You can find the episodes on their website, via any podcasting app, and on the Learn Japanese Pod YouTube channel.

Have you tried this podcast? What did you think? Let me know in the comments!

5 Japanese Podcasts to Test your Listening Skills

I’ve written before about how I use podcasts to study Japanese. Since then I have been trying about a few different podcasts and thought I would share a few that I have enjoyed listening to. I find these podcasts interesting and they happen to be in Japanese, which is a win-win situation. If you are looking for more Japanese study related podcasts, I would check out the podcast recommendation series of posts.

I’ve linked to each podcast in the titles below: alternatively, you should be able to find the podcast by searching for the title if you have a specific podcasting app (or iTunes).

 

SBSの日本語放送

This is a podcast aimed at the Japanese community in Australia and sometimes focuses on community events taking place around the country. Don’t let this put you off because each episode covers a different topic and includes interviews and discussions in Japanese. There is often a quick summary in English of what each episode is about at the very beginning.

I really like the range of interviews they have on this podcast, which normally last 10-15 minutes. Not only that, I find the speaking really clear which makes it a great podcast to listen to when you are out and about.

 

Hotcast

In my previous post on podcasts, I mentioned a podcast called ひいきびいき. This podcast follows a similar format in that it is usually two people (one male, one female), who discuss specific topics in each episode. This podcast has been going for some time and there are hundreds of episodes to listen to, generally covering everyday topics such as food and drink, technology and TV.

Like ひいきびいき, I just enjoy hearing the presenters views on different things, and the discussions are usually interesting. At 30-40 minutes long, the average episode length is probably the longest of the podcasts covered in this post.

 

ピートのふしぎなガレージ

This is probably my favourite on the list. Each episode focuses on a different topic, which is often the origin of things from Japan and beyond: previous episodes have covered topics such as such as yakitori, saunas, ukiyoe, and darts to name a few. The episodes start out with a short drama skit in which the main character goes back in time to learn how and why the topic of the episode came to be as it is in the present. This is then followed up with an interview with someone who is a specialist in said topic to discuss it in more detail.

I really like the way of presenting the history of each topic in the form of a skit which makes the podcast both engaging and easy to digest, especially for Japanese learners. I do feel like I have learnt a lot from listening to only a couple of episodes!

 

明るいニュースのふたり

Sometimes watching the news can be very depressing – this podcast is all about sharing various news stories that are uplifting and interesting. Each podcast episode is about 20 minutes long and covers 2-3 good news stories. The two presenters read out the story and will have a brief discussion around each one.

This is a nice episode to relax to either in the morning or evening.There are not too many episodes and podcast hasn’t been updated for a few months, but I still think it is worth listening to when you get tired of the normal news channels.

 

きくドラ

This podcast is a series of dramatised versions of various stories, with each episode focusing on a different story. These stories are a mix of Japanese and non-Japanese authors, including the likes of Shakespeare and Chekhov. A lot of the stories covered are well-known traditional stories that you can find in Japanese on Aozora Bunko.

I find that the podcasts are an interesting way to listen to stories that you may already be familiar with. You can easily find one of the stories (for beginners I recommend the stories by Kyusaku Yumeno, Mimei Ogawa or Nankichi Niimi) on Aozora Bunko and try giving them a read before you listen to the corresponding episode.

What podcasts do you like listening to and why? Please let me know in the comments!

Podcast Recommendation: Bilingual NY Learn Japanese

The Bilingual NY Learn Japanese podcast (not to be confused with the Bilingual News Podcast!) is a regular podcast covering the latest news articles in Japanese. Inspired by the Bilingual News Podcast, the articles covered are given in Japanese, followed up with an explanation in English.

I believe the format has changed somewhat recently, but I am basing this review on the most recent format as described below which I think works well.

The articles covered are usually from NHK News Web Easy, so if you make use of this website already, then this podcast is a nice companion resource. Each episode focuses on one article in depth. The article is first read out in full in Japanese, then English definitions are given before a line by line English translation by Ben, the presenter.

This is then followed up by a more difficult version of the same story, normally an article taken from one of the main newspapers. I think this is a great idea for showing the difference in style between the kinds of articles you find on NHK Easy as opposed to actual Japanese newspapers, as there is often a difference in formality which affects the vocabulary and grammar you come across.

At about 10-15 minutes each, the episode length is not as long as the other Bilingual News Podcast. However, given the structure of each podcast episode, I think this works quite well to study from in short bursts.

At the end of the podcast, there is a segment on English to Japanese translation practice. I didn’t really like this part as the sentences and vocabulary unrelated to the article itself. It was also pronounced by the presenter who is a non-native speaker, which some people may not like. This is a minor negative as it is only a couple of minutes long and of course, easily skippable.

Overall I do like this podcast for when I have less time to listen to the Bilingual News Podcast. There is a certain level of assumed knowledge in terms of vocabulary and grammar, so I would recommend this for upper beginner to intermediate learners. If the Bilingual News Podcast is a bit beyond your current level, I recommend giving this podcast a try instead.

You can find the episodes on Soundcloud, iTunes or on a podcasting app of your choice.

Looking for another Japanese podcast in simpler Japanese? I have also covered the wonderful News in Easy Japanese podcast which you may also be interested in 🙂

Have you tried out this podcast? Do you like it? Let me know in the comments!

Using podcasts to study Japanese

Podcasts are great for language learning because you can use them to get used to the rhythm and sounds of a language and are often educational at the same time. I’ve recommended a couple of podcasts on the blog before but I thought that it would be best to put together a post that explains why I love using them for language learning.

There are two main ways that I use podcasts for learning Japanese:

1) Podcasts for immersion. These are the podcasts I like to play as background noise while I am doing something else.

I try to pick up as much as possible and may listen to the podcast more than once, but I do not worry too much if I come across something that I do not quite understand. I download the NHK daily news bulletins for this purpose, but I normally catch up with current affairs in English first before listening to give me an idea of what might come up in each bulletin.

Example podcasts: NHK daily news (there are morning, noon and evening podcasts every day), ひいきびいき (two presenters talk about a given topic each week – the podcasts can be lengthy but I find the episodes on topics that interest me very entertaining!).

2) Podcasts for study. These are the ones that I will study to make sense everything that I hear.

Depending on what your language level is, this may include some that mix English and Japanese. I might use a bilingual podcast to go over a grammar point or review some vocabulary.

I also listen to podcasts entirely in Japanese, but unlike the podcasts in the first category, I am using them to study more actively. For example, I will review the podcast together with the transcript (if available) and look up the words and phrases I didn’t understand.

Example podcasts: JapanesePod101, News in Slow Japanese, Bilingual News Podcast

I also use podcasts to:

Learn about Japanese culture. Culture is so closely intertwined with Japanese that knowledge of culture greatly informs your knowledge of the language and vice versa. For example, I am trying to improve my knowledge of Japanese history and so I have started listening to the Samurai Archives Japanese History Podcast.

Boost my language learning motivation. Sometimes finding the motivation to study is difficult. For times like these, I listen to a couple of podcasts that relate to motivation and language learning in more general terms.

One of my favourites is the SpongeMind podcast (I recommend this in particular for Korean learners, as each episode is available in English and Korean), where the hosts Jeremy and Jonson discuss different aspects of language learning in each episode and always impart useful advice.

What do you use to listen to podcasts?

I like to use Podcast Republic (available on the Google Play store) to listen to my podcasts as it is free and very user-friendly. By clicking ‘Add Podcast’ and then searching for the podcast name, you can easily subscribe and download podcast episodes for all of the podcasts I have mentioned in this post.

Alternatively, you can get the podcasts by going through the websites linked above and downloading them manually onto any device – you can then listen to these through specialised podcast apps such as Podcast Republic or any other music playing app you already have.

As I have entirely Android devices I do not often use iTunes, but iTunes is a great source for podcasts – reading the reviews can give you a good idea of whether you’d enjoy the podcast before you listen to it.

What I find particularly useful about podcast apps like the one I use is that you can skip forward or backwards by 15 secs in order to listen to a key piece of info again or for shadowing.

Which podcasts do you listen to? Please let me know in the comments (especially if they relate to Japan, Japanese or language learning!).

Podcast Recommendation : News in Slow Japanese

Are you interested in listening to news articles whilst learning Japanese but don’t have time to tackle a full length piece? Then News in Slow Japanese may be the podcast for you.

Every week or so Sakura produces a short podcast of 2-3 minutes long covering something that has been in the news recently. Each episode of the podcast has this news piece read at a slower pace to allow learners to pick up on words and grammar points they may not have caught at native speed. There is also a version of the same article being read at native speed to test your listening skills.

I had been alternating between the slower speed and native speed episodes to see what I could pick up, and then looking up the words I didn’t know to add to my language journal. Little did I know that the website for News In Slow Japanese is a wonderful resource in itself – here you can find printable pages for each episode with transcripts in kana and romaji as well as ready made vocabulary lists! It is also worth mentioning that the website allows you to sort by topic, so if there is a topic you would like to study in more depth you can choose to focus on that only, which is useful no matter your Japanese language level is.

These podcasts and accompanying website have clearly been decided with language learners in mind. I think this resource is a good way of dipping your toe into newspaper style articles and seeing how much you can pick up: at only a couple of minutes long it is easy to listen to an episode a day without feeling too overwhelming. Sakura herself recommends using the podcasts to shadow a native speaker’s pronounciation, rhythm and intonation, which is certainly a great way of making use of the podcast in addition to testing your listening skills. Some of the earlier episodes have YouTube videos with the transcript, which some learners may find helpful too.

Everything I have mentioned above is free, although Sakura offers a monthly subscription service that gives you access to additional study materials for reading comprehension, vocabulary tests and shadowing.

I think this resource is best more intermediate and above learners, but I think the short form of the episodes makes the podcast accessible to advanced beginners too.

Podcast recommendation: Bilingual News Podcast

I love podcasts, as I find them a great way of brushing up on my Japanese when I’m on the go (I’ve written about why I like them so much in a separate post). Fortunately I have found a new podcast which is great for my work commute: Bilingual News Podcast.

This weekly bilingual news podcast is hosted by Michael and Mami. Each episode is usually at least an hour in duration but the nature of the podcast makes it easy to listen for 15 minutes or so at a time.

Why do I recommend it?

Each podcast covers a number of current news stories from around the world which are usually read out by Mami in Japanese, then Michael follows up with the story in English. There is then a discussion in both languages around the topic.

I really like the podcast as you get to hear the article in Japanese first, then the English translation which allows you to check your comprehension before they delve into the given topic. Whilst the article summary uses the type of vocabulary and grammar constructions you would find in a written article, the discussion that follows is always in more everyday Japanese. Mami normally sticks to speaking Japanese and Michael English, although they do both switch between the two languages.

There is an accompanying app which has transcripts for each podcast along with other useful functions such as the ability to make notes, vocab lists, use the dictionary functions and access essays. Whilst the transcripts for the first 3 episodes are free, This has a subscription fee of 240 yen a month. I have not tried it myself but as a relatively cheap subscription it sounds like good value for money.

Newspapers can be especially tricky but I think listening to this podcast, especially while reading the transcripts will really help you get used to the nature of the type of language that gets used in newspapers and how it differs to standard spoken language. I think if you already enjoy news digest podcasts and are looking to listen to something similar but in Japanese this is a good start. I would also recommend this if you are preparing for the JLPT, or if reading a newspaper in Japanese is something you would like to work towards.

Check out the podcast from the official website, and if you do enjoy the podcast make sure to show the team some love on Twitter or other social media 🙂