Contrary to what the title suggests, I am not crazy. Not yet at least. (I think!)

I find that even though I study a language, I sometimes end up sitting by myself studying. I guess that's fine as well, but if you are alone and suddenly get an itch to speak Japanese and there is no one else around... well.

So I was thinking about methods to practice speaking while you are alone. Do you guys have any tips, hints or tricks in your back pocket, that you'd wish to share? It feels like simply speaking out loud what I'm feeling at the moment isn't enough, and it's also difficult to get a "conversation" going. w

Yes, you can always call your Japanese friends, or start a Skype session; but assuming no one is around at the moment and you simply *have* to speak Japanese, how do you make it a challenge for yourself?


One suggestions I came up with was to start some random video or radio show (not in Japanese) and then try to translate what they're saying and speak it out loud, at the same time they're saying it. The challenge would then be to not fall to far behind, or not to leave too much out.

If the show is recorded, you can record yourself as well and then play back yourself, comparing it to the audio from the show and in that way check how correct you were.

What do you think?

Another member, I think it was AlexandreC, posted quite a lot about this somewhere. They called it "self talk" so you might try searching for that if they don't notice this thread. From what I remember, the idea was basically to find some topic of conversation and then prepare a speech about it without writing anything down. For example, you could watch a TV program then describe the plot and what you thought of it etc. Whenever you find you have difficulty saying something you should practice repeating it until you are able to say it reasonably well.

Here is a link to a self-talk exercise: http://tiny.cc/mac57

A lot of people told me it was quite helpful for them.

(Thanks, Splatted)

I do it sometimes, but I find it hard to get myself to do it consistently. It forces you to recall vocab and structure sentences just like you would in a conversation. The more you practise doing this sort of thing, the more smoothly you'll be able to speak Japanese. Making a habit of doing it as you go about your day, maybe commenting on your surroundings, gives you a chance to use a wide range of vocab too.

Javizy Wrote:I do it sometimes, but I find it hard to get myself to do it consistently. It forces you to recall vocab and structure sentences just like you would in a conversation. The more you practise doing this sort of thing, the more smoothly you'll be able to speak Japanese. Making a habit of doing it as you go about your day, maybe commenting on your surroundings, gives you a chance to use a wide range of vocab too.

You could force yourself to do it consistently in some specific instances, such as in the shower or in the bus. It doesn't seem like much, but it's still good daily practice. Or you could go for a walk for this purpose only. Write down the words you forgot and look them up when you get home.

Thanks for all your valuable suggestions!

Do you comment out loud even if there are people around?

hotaru114 Wrote:Thanks for all your valuable suggestions!

Do you comment out loud even if there are people around?

No. But if you are in a bus, for instance, you can just mutter to yourself. The bus is loud and no one will hear you. As stated in the other post, making the actual mouth movements (even if just partially) is valuable. You can certainly whisper if you are going for a walk in your neighbourhood.