Where do you get your sound samples from?

resolve Wrote:I'm curious about your usage of sound, too. How long have you been in Japan? I feel like living in Japan, and with the relatively consistent pronunciation Japanese has, pronunciation practice is not such a huge priority after you've got the sounds down pat. Occasionally I notice a Japanese person pronounce a word differently to how I would (too much stress on the first o of obon), but most of the time when a native speaker says a word it sounds like I'd expect it to sound.

I will have been in Japan two years as of August 1st. I have been studying Japanese off and on for way longer than I care to admit. I am not the guy who just "picks up" a language. This year I expect to pass JLPT2 but, I would say that until I started Heisig back in September of last year I was not really serious about studying. Even so, if I were to stay in Japan for 10 years I doubt my pronunciation would ever be perfect. I know the sounds but I will never have them "down pat". I will always tend to cut an う off a word or add one in where it doesn't belong. Sometimes I say, "来て" when I want to say "聞いて" or "切手". I know the う is in the word but when I am speaking my Americanizing of the word tends to drop sounds or add them to fit in line with sounds that feel more natural. Then there is the whole pitch/intonation problem. Try to say either of these sentences or compare your pronunciation to a native speaker who says them.

神の紙は髪で作られた。
箸を持って橋の端を渡った。

I admit the examples are extreme but I can't "flow" with my Japanese in the way Japanese people do, but I want to. Will I ever succeed? I don't know but my point is I try. I shadow what I hear on television shows (even though I can't stand much TV, Japanese or otherwise). I figure if I look at a card, I think the answer it can't hurt to spend the extra second or two to say it out loud too. On single word flash card the effect may not be extreme (these are the cards that have low priority for adding sound to the answer as a result) but if I do a grammar card like this:

Q: It can be said that it's Japan's number one university.
I speak what I think the answer is then check
A: 日本の最高学府といってもよいでしょう。
I hear the native speaker and repeat again.

or lets throw a little 外来語 in just to really make my point,
Q: If you compare his face to a Hollywood star, he's as handsome as Tom Cruise.
A: 顔はハリウッドのスターにたとえると、トム・クルーズのようにかっこいいです。

The effect can be noticeable even across days for the same sentence. I can almost always be expected to butcher 外来語. Will I ever be able to order a トマトチキンフィレオ properly? I have huge issues getting words from my mother language not to come out the way I have said them my whole life. They are usually followed by blank stares from my poor listeners.

resolve Wrote:So integrated pronunciation practice as part of the repetition process is something I haven't looked into. Does it work well for you? Do you think you'll continue to do it after your first few years in Japan?

I like it, I still make mistakes when speaking, but I do think it helps. I don't know what I will do in the future(I will stay in Japan though), as I said I am not all that great at language. So I expect I will keep doing it as long as I feel it helps and currently I feel like it it will help me always.