【ENG SUB】🧐🙄どうして、日本語学校で勉強しても話せるようにならないの？🏫-(Japanese Podcast with subtitles EN＆JP)

翻訳者【ほんやくしゃ】：　 omoidasete Pokapoka ありがとう！ Hello everyone, it's time for Yuyu's Nihongo Podcast. I hope you all are doing well. Today is the 26th of September 2022.

It's a Monday. Another week has started. I hope this week too, So you don't catch a cold Take care of yourself And do your best this week whether it's for work or studies.

So, yesterday It was Sunday but I was alone on Sunday, which hasn't happened for a while Nidia is in Guadalajara Hmm…how should I say this There was a Kpop event And so there was this pop up store for this event So there's some shops put up And well, they are selling well Okay not really selling well Besides teaching Japanese, Nidia works as someone selling Korean cosmetic products, And so at the event, the pop up store sells Korean cosmetic products. And for me, I didn't really have work that day, and really, I woke up, played games, read some books, and tried going out for lunch on my own. Occasionally, being alone for a day, taking it slow, is not bad, I thought.

Like, I was able to think about a lot of things, And it was really a time just for myself And it was definitely refreshing I wonder, how do you guys use your rest days so that you can feel the most refreshed? But well, this quite depends on the nature of one's job, Jobs that involve having to interact with a lot of people, For example, a Japanese language teacher or A school teacher or, what else… A salaryman etc, for people with jobs where you'd have to interact with a lot of people, I think spending a rest day alone, taking it easy for a day, is kinda good, no? And for people who create things, who don't usually talk with other people, would probably like going out with friends and such.

So, yeah, for today's episode I was thinking about a lot of different topics to talk about but I would like to talk about a topic that is a little more serious. The topic I would like to talk about is: Why is it that even though I attend a Japanese language school I still can't speak Japanese? Well, in reality, I also Teach Japanese classes And it's, well, an online Japanese school but It is really, contrary to what most people expect, quite difficult to be able to speak Japanese And so, to tell you the truth, I would think that There's various problems on the teachers' side And there's also problems on the students' side that factor into this And yes, so Well, this episode, these are just my thoughts working as a Japanese teacher for 10 years So I would like to expound on this topic of Why students are unable to speak the language Let's get into the episode!

🎶 翻訳者【ほんやくしゃ】：　 omoidasete Pokapoka ありがとう！ So, well, Going straight to the point, Um, the Japanese you study at a Japanese language school, Whether it is Japanese that you understand Or Japanese that you can use Is not clearly understood That's one problem. And another one is essentially, the one that needs to be put in the work is yourself This is the second problem. The third point is, in order to be able to speak the language, what's essential?

"Is it really Japanese? " This is the third point I will go through the points one by one, so about the first point: The Japanese you study at a Japanese language school, Is it Japanese that you understand Or Japanese that you can use? Because this is not clearly understood Yes, so generally, in Japanese language schools, they teach Japanese Teaching things like how to speak, verb forms and such And most of the time, they'll start with forming sentences with nouns For example: 私は悠介です （I am Yusuke） After that, making sentences with verbs For example: 私は昨日ご飯を食べました （I ate rice yesterday） And after that one, making sentences with adjectives For example: 私は昨日、おいしいご飯を食べました（Yesterday, I ate delicious rice） And after that, it's about increasing one's knowledge of various expressions And it's called 文型積み上げ式（method of building upon grammar） So um, I think it's a good place to learn these sort of grammar structures however… So, everyone… The Japanese you study everyday in books and the like, Is it Japanese that you understand?

Is it Japanese that you can use? This is the issue In short, it is Japanese that you can use that matters Japanese that you understand versus Japanese that you can use, I think it is completely okay if it changes Japanese that you can understand means… Basically, you have to understand various expressions in the Japanese language And then Japanese that you can use means, as much as possible, phrasing things simply is better, This was what I myself realized when studying Spanish. The words that you can use… If you phrase your thoughts in a simpler way, you'll be faster when communicating But if you overthink In the end, you'll completely lose track of what you wanted to say And because of that, what you learn at Japanese language school can be thought of as For the purpose of learning to speak Japanese It's simple and easy to understand Japanese But Japanese that is understood is completely different This is what is quite hard to teach at Japanese language schools Which is, well Japanese is a bit different from other languages I think it is a language that has a lot of 'correct answers' For example, hmm 昨日2時間くらい勉強しました （I studied for 2 hours yesterday） There are people who say that 昨日2時間ぐらい日本語を勉強しました And there are also people who say is like this Both are OK.

But to me, when it comes to other languages I only speak Spanish though so I can't say this for sure It's quite, like, for the European languages There's a certain correct way of using the language I think For example, くらい You'd say "mas o menos" If this becomes "maz menoz" It turns into a completely different word entirely The meaning is completely changed The syllable isn't altered There isn't a ゛ in the syllable So, for people from countries like these If the Japanese they know is only as they've learnt it in school, When they hear it being spoken they won't understand it, Leading them to panic As often is the case. Yeah, so really listening to radio or Podcasts or Watching anime “Ah, I think I sort of understand”, or “I think I get what the emotion in this moment is” If you don't start to get a feel for these things With a Japanese person When the time comes to actually have a conversation with them I think there are a lot of people who say I couldn't understand and so I failed to have a conversation Yeah, so as for the sequence of a conversation Regardless of you knowing many different expressions And being able to say them If you don't understand what is being said, At what point in time should you speak, you will not know. Therefore, the first step to whether you can or Can't have a conversation, The first thing you must do is be able to understand Yeah, so for example For people who say, I am studying Japanese in school Aside from what you study at school I think it's good to take off time To listen to Japanese.

Right? Right now, on YouTube There are many people doing podcasts like me Like…That one voice actor, right? They have their YouTube channels too There are also people who live stream their games, right?

There's also Vtubers. Watch a lot of those for now Different men and women of different generations Grandfathers, grandmothers Young people, I hope that you listen to how Japanese is spoken by these different people Of course at first, you might not understand but But if you start listening I think you'll slowly become able to understand. And one more point.

Regarding why you can't use the Japanese taught in language schools in conversation, It's because it (that kind of Japanese) has a 'right answer’. When you study at a language school, you'd likely have to take tests And so the tests are looking for a right answer And thus there's also a wrong answer So, the most important thing in language schools, Is guiding students to the correct answer This is a little difficult but Basically, making sure that there are no mistakes Becomes important But in real life, making those mistakes Is not so bad Rather, there are times where it is better to be "wrong" What this is is Foreigners For me, I'm a foreigner in Mexico So if I were to speak too perfectly It's a little uninteresting, yeah It doesn’t feel like what a foreigner would say So, what's best is even though you are a little bit wrong grammatically What you're trying to say is being conveyed. This is what foreigners aim for In being good in a foreign language If it's you guys, it's Japanese But for me, it's Spanish But for those learning English, Then it's English It's bad if you make someone wonder: “what is this person trying to say?

”, but if that person is able to understand and think "I think they're trying to say…" That's important For example right, let's say for Japanese 寒かったでした It was cold Even if you say it like this You'd understand the meaning Ah, they're saying 昨日寒かったんだな （It was cold yesterday） 昨日寒かったでした works fine too. However, 友達がプレゼントをあげました （My friend gave a present） My friend gave a present You can't mess this one up Because 友達がプレゼントをあげた means My friend gave someone a present But what I wanted to say was 友達にプレゼントをあげた （I gave my friend a present） If you make a mistake here You'd make people confused And so, since all of you are currently studying Japanese There's Japanese that you can make a mistake and still be fine And there's Japanese that if you make a mistake, the meaning completely changes. There's parts of Japanese that will make people think "What on earth are they trying to say?

? " But in language schools, They teach you in a way that you feel like you have to be perfect and never make mistakes And so, everyone For now, I'll work hard and do my best But because we're human It's impossible to never make a mistake in conversation Yet, which parts you have to get right And which parts you'll be fine making a mistake in, Because you don't know one from the other I would think that you wouldn't be able to speak well So we're limited by memory, the mental resources you can personally use Focus on the parts where you have to get right no matter what But the parts where it's okay to slip up, it's okay to slip up I think doing so would help That was the first reason why Even though you study at a Japanese language school, it doesn't translate to you being able to speak the language Or the second reason I think? 翻訳者【ほんやくしゃ】：　 omoidasete Pokapoka ありがとう！ Okay, second reason In the end, the one that works hard and tries their best is you Learning a language Is based on ability So in the end, if you don't practice You won't get better Here's an example A person who wants to get better at soccer will go onto Youtube How to shoot a soccer ball How to kick the ball in order to score If they watch tons of those videos For 2 hours Just doing that, well, They won't get better at soccer, right?

But they'll feel like they've become better Like, “Oh, I can kick the ball like that too,” They might think But if they don’t practice a lot, they won’t get better, right? For example, let’s see… When you watch cooking shows, The chefs, right While giving advice Like how to cut the vegetables How to cut them well Everyone has their fingers curled like a cat’s when cutting (猫の手) What is that, hmm When you cut using a knife, you don’t put power into it Cut as if you’re pulling Please take a look. Wow, I feel like I’ve improved You might feel this way but But when you try for yourself, you’ll find that Hey, I’m not good at this at all And so, from there, you have to practice the skill a lot Learning Japanese is absolutely the same Japanese classes are for you to learn and realize how things are done And from there, if you don’t practice on your own You won’t get better So if you only go for Japanese classes I think it’s definitely not the case that you’ll get better at Japanese Then, conversely, there's something not good (about Japanese language schools) What that is is that Japanese language schools Have no sense of independence This is a difficult word 自立性がない means Not thinking for oneself or doing things for oneself Because look, schools are essentially not having to choose what to study The only things that you decide and do for yourself Is only the decision to go to the school And so, if you take a seat, they’ll teach you The practices are also made for you And thus, you don’t have to think for yourself You can do all sorts of practice and studying The most scary thing is though, The school also provides goals Goals for studying Japanese Basically, tests However, each of us has to have a clear idea of why we’re studying Is it it order to communicate with people or I want to talk more about this topic, and the like If you don’t think this way Your motivation will surely plummet And for Japanese language schools If your motivation declines, you’ll quit And so in order to raise motivation, The school creates goals.

And that is probably Why tests are made Wow, 100 points on the test? That’s amazing Being told so I think would increase your levels of motivation That is a fake goal, it’s not a real goal What you study, the materials you use to study The school provides all of it for you “Here’s the homework” Basically, what this is is you’re learning Japanese in an overprotective manner 過保護/かほご means Being shielded too much or overprotected Fathers and mothers Those who love their kids like crazy You can probably picture Such a father or mother, right? Sort of like, “O!

You shouldn't touch that! ” “That’s dirty! Let me do it” “Yuusuke-kun should just sit on the sofa And watch TV” And the father too, “It's dangerous outside so you mustn't go out!

” “Whenever you go out You must go with either your father or mother! ” “You’re looking for something to eat? Eat only what mum has made, okay?

” So, for example “Dad I want to play soccer” “Soccer? That kind of thing is dangerous so it's out of the question” Kids raised like this Really become unable to think for themselves And Japanese language schools Have this aspect to them too Hmm, and so, it’s all How should I say this… If you study only in the manner that you are taught Then, your ability to think for yourself Won't be cultivated In other words, you won’t improve And on the contrary, that most important thing Is the ability to think for yourself Especially in order to be able to speak Japanese, I think that’s the most important thing Hmm…And not only that The worst thing is You can blame it on the classes you took For example, if you never became able To really speak Japanese, you'd blame the classes you took Because the teacher Couldn't explain well enough, or Saying the teacher was disorganized In this way you can blame the classes you took But, going back to the topic In the end the one who should work hard is you. Well, being that I run a Japanese language school, an online school, I think these aren't things I should be saying but honestly People who become able to speak Japanese, Regardless of who their teacher is, they'll learn to speak Japanese This is without a doubt It’s people who can work hard on their own And honestly, those who, regardless of whose class they attend Never learn to speak Japanese Perhaps If they changed schools They'll get more motivated And some of them may even find their own goal but The probability is low And yeah, I’ll repeat once more For those who feel they particularly can't Speak Japanese Well… First, do you or don't you have a goal Next, is what you’re studying determined for you yourself or by the school?

That, yeah Hmm… Your own goal and the content of your studies Perhaps these two will do. Whether these two are being decided for you by the school or not I think it would be good for you to confirm with yourself once more Then, for sure If being praised by your teacher Has become your goal, or If you think, on the next test Getting 100 points Has become your goal I think you should be more careful And so Like, I studied Japanese! I think everyone here is studying Japanese Is what you’re studying is purely based on what your teacher has told you?

You can use anything to learn For example, right Listening to podcasts The people who listen to my podcast have obviously chosen to listen And I think there’s no problem with that For example, if your friends tell you “I don’t seem to be getting better at Japanese” “It’s boring” Just one thing Besides homework assigned by the school What you yourself like You can listen to podcasts You can watch anime You can read books Anything goes So what if you decide and try it out? If you give them some advice like that I think it’d be pretty good, yeah. 🎶 翻訳者【ほんやくしゃ】：　 omoidasete Pokapoka ありがとう！ Yes, the last point, the 3rd point In order to be able to speak, the important thing is Is it Japanese?

In order for me to become proficient in conversation The most…the most… I think the most important power is kindness This is unexpectedly not related to Japanese, no? But yeah, because it’s conversation Whether you can create a comfortable atmosphere for the person you’re speaking to Is extremely important I think Yeah, this is, your native language For example If you’re Korean, it’s Korean If you’re American, it’s English And if you’re Mexican, it’s Spanish And so when you talk to friends I want you to think about a time when you thought “this guy is a good person” It’s obviously when you’re together with this person And when you’re unhappy They make you feel good (Make you feel good is a rather weird way to phrase this but) For example, they listen to you They show interest in you as a person If you have friends that will worry about you I would think that you would feel happy about it And so, that power is definitely the most important thing Yeah. It’s okay if it’s a lie at first But for now, do this a lot Like, I am interested in you as a person And asking a ton of questions That becomes the start of conversation “A-chan, I need to tell you something!

Yesterday, there was this super interesting thing that happened Yesterday, I went shopping And at the supermarket Who do you think I met? You don’t know, who? ” “Him!

Our friend in middle school, Takeru I met him! That guy is, well… He’s super weird now He’s like this old geezer” “But well, we also are We’ll be turning 33 years old soon Like, we’re also Getting old too you know? ” Like that, if you start that way “Hey, A-chan, what did you do yesterday?

” A-chan: “Yesterday? Not much really, just normal things I just stayed at home and lazed about” “Hey, A-chan Do you remember Takeru? ” A-chan: “Oh, Takeru?

He’s our friend from middle school Yeah, what about him? ” “I went to the supermarket yesterday, you see And I met him there” A-chan: “Oh, is that so? He’s doing okay?

” “He’s doing great And recently, you know, We talked about studying English together with you, A-chan He wondered whether you’re doing well” A-chan: “Oh, really? That makes me happy to hear that Next time, I want to have a meal with everyone” Yeah Something like that Which conversation do you think is better? Well it's already clearly The latter, right?

So, I used to be just the same way too but Lots of teachers at Japanese language schools, me too Would say that’s a personality thing It has no relation to one’s Japanese language ability There are a lot of people that will tell you this in this clear cut way But in reality Ask a lot of questions about your partner That Takeru-kun expressed his interest in A-chan as a person And when she thought, “let's go out and eat some time together” A-chan remained quiet And seemed like she wasn’t listening So ask a lot of questions Actually, my topic today I think A-chan was also kind in that she wanted to continue the conversation And so, I said this earlier but Japanese language schools Are really overprotective Essentially, because everyone is protective of students The teachers are, what they do is, They would ask a lot of questions to the students in class “Good morning, everyone. ” Teacher: “Yuusuke-kun, what did you do yesterday? ” “Yesterday?

I didn’t do anything and just lazed about. ” Teacher: “Oh, okay, what did you eat for lunch? ” “Oh, I ate some rice.

” Teacher: “Ah, I see. Was it good? ” “Yes, it was delicious.

” No, no, no Do you understand how much a teacher has to endure Even though they’re asking all these questions? I’ll insert the teacher’s thoughts here, okay? Teacher: “Yuusuke-kun, what did you do yesterday?

” “Yesterday? I didn’t do anything and just lazed about. ” Teacher: “ahhhh, lazing around?

You probably did other things too, no? Like playing games, right? Because you’re always playing games” Ah, I’m fed up with this…I have to ask something… “Oh, is that so.

” “Oh, okay, what did you eat for lunch? ” “Oh, I ate some rice. ” Teacher: “You’re Japanese so Of course you eat rice.

” Like, was it something your mom made for you or What you like to eat Hey, add some details for me please This is kinda annoying… “How was it? ” “It was delicious. ” Teacher: This is futile.

It’s not worth it. Ask about the other person too. So, something like this.

When everyone answers like this How do you think the teacher is feeling? Don’t think that their just asking questions You’re only answering what one is asked. Don't you think this is overly self-centered?

No, it's not exactly a bad thing But, at that time, When the Japanese class Was asked those questions by the teacher "Well then Teacher, What did you do yesterday? ” or “What is your favorite food? ” and other related questions, even the Teacher will become happy.

So, if you are able to do this, then you will get better at conversations, without a doubt. Even if you make mistakes in Japanese, that’s fine. “Excuse me, what do you like to eat, sensei?

” That’s also fine. The most important thing Is the feeling of “I want the teacher to talk to me” “I want to know about my teacher’s favorite food” Yeah, but if it's always just You being asked and only answering When it comes to a real conversation Without someone asking you something You will become unable to respond Then, by and large, foreigners In a real conversation, like that teacher Don't get asked about much at all. If you don't create conversation by yourself For example, In a scenario with 2 Japanese people and 1 foreigner It would be easier for the Japanese person to talk to other Japanese people But in order to get in on that conversation Endeavour to ask questions yourself And create conversation “Ah, this foreigner kind of Seems to be interested in us That’s nice!

That makes us happy. ” I think you need to get them to feel this way Therefore, in order to learn Japanese, I often ask students, What is it that you must do? Most people Answer that one must study But you see, study May not be necessary.

On the contrary yeah. Um, anyway, those Three points from before In Japanese The Japanese you study at a Japanese language school Is it Japanese that you can use? Japanese that you can simply become able to say Yeah, so get a firm Understanding of it and practice.

Then, in the end, you study You study… hmm, not ‘study’ but In the end the one who works hard is you, Pick content that you want to study and Even just that one thing, and stick with it Yeah, and then have your own goal Don't leave up to school to decide your goal Then, third With kindness Approach conversation with Lots of people just wanting To talk with them Yeah, if you can do these 3 things You'll definitely become able to speak Why? Because with Spanish I am paying attention to these 3 things Yeah, so, more or less I've been able to talk to a lot of people using Spanish But I can't speak perfectly It's not beautiful Spanish But I have a lot of friends Hmm, wait, do I? Friends and People I can talk to There's a lot of those people And so, especially People who think I can't make Japanese friends I can't speak Japanese It's scary If you would take my advice today And consider it I think it would be helpful Lastly, Please let me read some announcements Yuyu's Japanese Podcast is on Patreon By supporting me at 1 dollar a month, You can submit topic requests At 20 dollars a month You can download the transcript If you're interested, please check it out.

And in addition, I will continue to do my best with Yuyu's Japanese Podcast channel At the moment, about 83,000 people About 1,700 more until we reach a 100,000 subscribers So everyone, Please if anyone would like to do something To make me happy I would be happy if you would introduce this YouTube channel to your friends People who are currently studying in Japanese language schools, If you could introduce this podcast to your classmates, I would be extremely happy. Yeah. And so, please continue to work hard in your Japanese language studies.

And that's all for today, see you next time!