Japanese through TED Talks (2): Study Methods using TED Talks
In “Studying Japanese through TED Talks (1),” I explained why I recommend using TED talks. Here I will introduce specific study methods.
Points to note when watching videos
1. Choose videos on topics that interest you
Begin by choosing videos on topics you find interesting. For specific recommendations, see “Studying Japanese through TED Talks (3): 10 Recommended TED Talks.”
2. Adjust your settings
You can adjust the replay speed and subtitle settings on TED videos.
- Replay speed
- “Standard” will play the video at the actual speed used by the speaker. Other than that, you can adjust the speed over eight stages from 0.25 to 2 (where “Standard” is 1), with smaller numbers indicating slower speeds. First, try listening at “Standard” speed, and if you find it difficult reset the speed to 0.5 or 0.75.
- Subtitles
- You can choose whether or not to use subtitles. The number next to the subtitle display shows the number of subtitles (languages) available. The photo above shows a video with English subtitles, which can also be viewed with subtitles in Greek, Spanish, or of course Japanese. However, note that automatically generated or translated subtitles tend to be of poor quality.
Recommended study methods
First, watch the video at the standard speed, without subtitles. Even if you can’t follow the talk at all, the slide images will help you get an idea of the content. If it seems difficult, try listening again after adjusting the speed and/or adding subtitles. After several repetitions, you should begin to understand the sections you had trouble with at first.
As well, you can try various ideas depending on what skills or abilities you want to work on.
1. Grasping general content
Before listening to the talk, read the title and the introduction on the TEDx website to get a general sense of what the talk is about. It’s also a good idea to bring to mind in advance what you know about the topic yourself.
When you start listening, don’t worry if you don’t know all the words; just focus on grasping the overall content. Pay attention to the words that keep coming up and those spoken more loudly and slowly, because they are the important parts that the speaker wants to emphasize. The progression of the talk will be easier to understand if you focus on the expressions (called conjunctions and discourse markers) which show how the discourse is structured and developed.
2. Enhancing listening and pronunciation abilities
First, pause the video after each sentence or phrase and repeat it out loud while reading the subtitles. As you do so, be aware of the meaning and the sentence structure as well, and check anything you don’t understand in a dictionary or reference book. Next, try to speak at the same speed as the speaker while reading the subtitles.
Finally, turn off the subtitles and repeat each word immediately after the speaker. This is a practice method called shadowing, which is also widely used in training for simultaneous interpretation. You can also pause the video after each sentence or phrase and repeat it without reading the subtitles (memorizing the phrase).
3. Expanding vocabulary and expressions
If you encounter words you didn’t know or might be able to put to use in the future, try making your own original vocabulary book. You can copy the words into an ordinary notebook or set of flashcards, or record them in a vocabulary app. There are also apps which will test you on the words you’ve recorded.
4. Enhancing writing ability
After listening to the talk, write out a summary of its content. Use a dedicated notebook of your own and record the date you watched the video, the TED talk title and the speaker’s name, along with a summary of the content and your own opinions. The notebook will become a wonderful portfolio of your learning process.
If keeping it up on your own is difficult, try reporting on the TED talks you watched and your opinions on them on social media such as Facebook or Twitter.
5. Enhancing speaking ability
As in step 4, you can also try talking to someone about the content of the TED talks and your opinions about them. Your understanding and thinking will be further deepened by watching the same TED talks and discussing them with your friends.
You can also use TED talks to increase your speaking abilities. If there is a speaker whose style particularly inspires you, carefully observe their way of speaking and their non-verbal behavior. What about them draws you in? You might be affected by the content of the talk or its structure, the choice of words, the speaker’s tone of voice, the pauses in their speech, their expression, or their posture. Try imitating them and giving a speech the way they do.