5 RECOMMENDED WEBSITES to learn JAPANESE LISTENING

Commonly people will try to search for books and CD to practice Japanese listening skill. However, beside finding books and CD outside, we can always look for Japanese listening materials through the vast pool of information on the Internet. This time, we would like to share 5 recommended websites to learn listening Japanese.

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1 - Youtube

Talking about websites for Japanese listening skill, many people may only focus on the websites dedicated only to Japanese learning. But as the matter of fact, entertainment websites such as Youtube, one of the most popular video websites, can also be much helpful for learning listening Japanese. On Youtube you can find pretty much everything you need to learn Japanese, from music to Japanese learning video, and even film, movie or anime. As for listening Japanese, there are several good channels and videos such as Learn Japanese with JapanesePod101.com or JapanSocietyNYC, all provide good contents and illustrative presentations. Because listening Japanese also means that we have to be able to listen to daily-life, real-life conversation, it is best to look for real-life context materials. And on Youtube, you can find lots of them. Even though Youtube is a good source for listening Japanese learning, the downside is that you have to dive in this enormous information source, so you might get confused during the searching period for the best-fit materials for you.

2 - NHK

In the previous post, we recommended NHK for Japanese beginners, and this time around it is a good idea to bring it out again. As we shared, NHK, or NHK World (Nippon Hōsō Kyōkai - Japan Broadcasting Corporation), is originally an international broadcasting service, Japan’s public broadcaster. NHK World provides 48 lessons in total, each lesson is delivered through audio file so it is suitable for both studying Japanese and Japanese listening at the same time. The lessons' topics are varied, from University, dormitory to Japanese culture, shopping, .etc..., all lessons are well presented and it is best-suit for beginners. Another special trait of NHK is that since it is public broadcaster, you can always find interesting news, information, knowledge about Japan and its culture. If you are in advanced level, it is recommended to check out NHK website in Japanese. 

3 - FluentU

Even though we covered FluentU in previous post, it would be a waste if we do not mention it this time. FluentU is famous for its language learning service, but what makes it special is the way it delivers the knowledge. Unlike normal method which is offering lessons, each lesson has a topic and specific knowledge, and after that doing the exercise, FluentU utilizes the advantage of audio, video to help people learn new language, in this case is Japanese, in the best way possible. FluentU provides a wide range of videos, vary from entertaining videos to news, discovery videos. Each videos have Japanese subtitles and we can always check out the definitions and usages of the new words. Also there are tons of  videos which surround real world stories, knowledge. After all, isn't it fun to watch the videos you want alongside with learning about Japan and Japanese listening skill?

4 - Crunchyroll

Some people may know this website, Crunchyroll is in fact a website about anime and manga, and many people may wonder: "What is anime website doing in here?". For people who may not think about it, anime can helps a lot in learning Japanese listening. If we search Google for "learning Japanese through anime" or "learning Japanese listening through anime" or anything similar, we can actually find a lot of results. For anime or manga or Japan lovers, anime is a good approach to learn Japanese in general and Japanese listening in particular. Crunchyroll has a enourmous storage of anime and it is constantly updated, and it can be easily accessed with a small fee of 6.95$ per month. Besides Crunchyroll, there are many other websites which offer similar service. Some pages may even offer service for free, however they are not recommended.

5 - JapaneseTest4You

Unlike the 4 recommended websites above, JapaneseTest4You focuses on JLPT tests and exercises so for people who are trying hard to be able to take on JLPT exam, this one is suitable for their needs. This website has tons of exercises for JLPT listening practice, from JLPT N5 to N1. You can do the exercises directly on its website, it provides answers and the transcripts so that you can always be able to check the results. Besides Japanese listening materials, it also has exercises and tests for grammar, reading, kanji, vocabulary. In overall, JapaneseTest4You offers good exercises and tests for JLPT training, the only downside though is that the website looks a little bit plain so it may not appeal to you at the first glance.

So those are 5 RECOMMENDED WEBSITES to learn JAPANESE LISTENING. Good luck and have fun in your Japanese learning journey!

 Source: Blog Akirademy