Most of my learning is via textbook and attending a language school. I’m also reading children books at my level (pre N5). For reference I just got to なand い adjectives in class. I use downloaded Anki decks based on the textbook in class and mining a little from the books I’m reading. I’m watching anime but not mining that. r/
I switched to a beginner Japanese podcast Nihongo Con Teppei recently for listening on my commutes and runs. Obviously I’m not able to record words into Anki while running or driving. Is this a waste of time and should I just go back to my English podcast consumption?
I find I can understand about half of the japanese podcast so far.
4 comments
No it is not a waste of time. Your brain will get better at connecting the dots and applying what you’ve been studying through listening. Granted you have to be somewhat paying attention to it and not just letting it be noise.
If it’s comprehensible and enjoyable then do as you please, but it’s going to be less productive than any form of active study.
As long as you actively listen it will be beneficial. Do you have access to a transcript so you can check for unknown vocabulary and whether you understood correctly?
I’ve never mined anything in my life, so I think you’re fine to also skip (particularly if you’re taking classes and studying textbooks). Mining is to increase your vocab based on the sort of content you consume, but if you’re already working on vocab, and especially if the content you’re using is beginner, then you’ll probably just end up mining words that are already going to come up in your study.
Also, not everything needs to end up in your Anki. If it’s a low frequency word for you but it just happens to pop up, not much point spending time studying it.
Edit: which doesn’t actually answer your question. So here’s the actual answer: no, not a waste. You need listening practice, and that listening practice doesn’t have to include mining.