Sakota Daichi to Kimura Haruko no...

[maikkeru wa eigo de, biringaru kaiwa keishiki de-] Michael will respond in English, and bilingually -

[hiki ni shiteiru mono wo tanoshiku katarau poddokyasuto desu!] a podcast and fun little chat about what we're into!

HIIKI BIIKI!

Jun....Senesac.....

[minasan konnichi wa! Kemushi-channeru no Loretta desu!] Hey guys, I'm Loretta!

One of the biggest questions I get from you guys is

"How do I learn to speak Japanese, how to speak naturally, and without thinking about it?"

What really took me from a textbook robot, to someone who can actually speak

was listening to and mimicking podcast almost everyday.

As someone who's really bad at memorizing,

shadowing and mimicking let me build muscle memory

so that I don't have to memorize everything

because it's something I got used to doing over and over again.

I had about 2~3 podcasts that I kept on rotation

but now, almost 10 years later, they don't really exist anymore

so last month I went back to the drawing board

and started downloading and going through podcasts

trying to figure out which ones would be good for you guys!

So today I'm going to show you my all new updated list

of MY TOP 3 PODCASTS that I used to learn and improve my Japanese!

and a few extras as well!

[honto ni, sakki no serifu wo pakutteiru kanji nandakedo] If I can borrow the tagline from HiikiBiiki to say this

[konkai wa, watashi ga masa ni hiiki ni shiteiru podcast wo shokai suru topikku desu!] this time I'm going to chat about the podcasts that I'm into!

So, I separated my picks into 2 categories:

1: Academic, more formal learning

These were focused on structured lessons, grammar etc.

ones you'd listen to in addition to or in place of a textbook.

and then #2, Radio-style, conversation, spoken style of Japanese.

I have top picks for both categories

but for today's video specifically I'll be looking at the radio style, conversation-based podcasts.

because I think these are the ones that are really going to help you get talking fast.

So the first one came straight from you guys!

#1 is HiikiBiiki !

This was by far the most popular one that you guys said you used.

...and I was pleasantly surprised!

The hosts Daichi and Haruka, one guy and a girl

basically sit down and chat about what they like recently.

What I liked about this podcast is that it was very natural

the sound quality was very good,

there's a little bit of music in the background to keep your interest, but it's not too distracting

so you can really just focus on what they're saying.

You really feel like a fly on the wall, just sitting and enjoying their conversation.

It's a chance to hear real natural Japanese between 2 native speakers.

It's easy to pick up the topics because they tell you what they'll talk about before they start

you can also see the topics listed up on their website.

That being said, this podcast is all in Japanese

and as far as I can tell it doesn't look like there are any official scripts

to study that Japanese or check what they're saying.

The biggest downside about this podcast is that

it is no longer officially airing anymore!

But if you go to their website you can find every single episode

click and listen to the one that you like

The Japanese/topics that they use is pretty general and not too time-specific

so you can still enjoy them by downloading the ones you like.

This podcast does not seem to be originally for language learning

however the audio is clean and well produced

so I would recommend this for anyone who's N3 or a comfortable advanced intermediate

especially if you're looking for something to play in the background

to cushion your Japanese studies with more natural speech

you can get started by looking at the topic list on their website

picking out words or topics you know they're going to talk about

look those up, and then start listening!

So this NEXT podcast is one of my all time favorites!

I used to have this really mind-numbing job digitizing old library catalogs

in the basement of my college library.

Hours on end with NOBODY in sight!

It was just me, and these books, and my mind going crazy!

and the only thing that kept me from losing my mind down in these library catacombs

was podcasts!

I used to listen to podcasts for 4~6 hours everyday

wayyyy back in the day, the only podcast that was bilingual

was this one!

SBS Japanese Podcast!

It was really kind of like the first of its kind

I would listen to this one on REPEAT!

I would only pick out the episodes that seemed really interesting to me

or easier to listen to for me!

The host would come on, he'd introduce the topic

and usually bring on a guest speaker, so there was someone different for every topic, every time.

I they would always have very clean, clear, easy-to-listen-to Japanese

I loved hearing about the annual national Japanese speech contest

where Australian citizens who learned to be really good at Japanese

would be interviewed in Japanese about their speech or language studies

it was really good to hear other learners of Japanese speak good Japanese

There was the Master of Wine episode talking about food pairings and all this yummy stuff

Rock bands, sports, comedy

This is what I did:

I listened to 3 or 4 of these episodes on repeat for hours... for almost a year.

The SBS podcast is still available today

the host has changed since I used to listen to it

but it's still just as clean, good content

I think this is a really good way to start picking out relevant topics

that are talked about in a relatable way.

It's not necessarily a formal learning tool

but just like Hiiki Biiki I think this would be great for commutes, in the shower

it would be so good to just keep listening on repeat

and start mimicking your favorite speakers or episodes.

You can use your phone or free programs like Audacity

and you can record yourself imitating the clips your listening to

This is something I used to do, I would listen to the original

then made a playlist where my mimicked version would always play after the original

and I would play that on loop.

You really start to internalize where you messed up, why it sounded weird

the gap between the native version and yours

that's something that I did for hours that really helped.

The third podcast is HaPa EiKaiWa PodCaStTtt...

...let me say that normally.

Hapa Eikaiwa Podcast.

When I found it I was like " *GASP* This is what I've been looking for!!!"

Hapa Eikaiwa Podcast is hosted by Jun Senesac

He speaks Japanese and American English, both bilingually.

The thing I love about this podcast is, it covers news and relevant topics

but the structure of it makes it so easy to learn from

especially if you're trying to learn from English to Japanese.

It starts off with an introductory, relevant news bit

recently he talked about the superbowl (american football), hipsters, Austin, Portland, BBQ

all this stuff is so American like... Am I HoME ?!?!

He talked about all of that in Japanese, and then restates it in English

You get to hear this relevant, authentic versions of what you already talk about everyday

but now also it's in Japanese!

There are questions, so kind of like a little activity

then after the questions there another section with a guest speaker

and on top of that.. there are also... TRANSCRIPTS!

FINALLY! Transcripts!! Why does no one make transcripts to their podcasts?!

The podcast itself is free, but if there's an episode you really like

you can purchase the specific transcript for one episode or all of them

he first introduces a topic in English

so that the Japanese listeners really have to strain and focus hard

and then he repeats in Japanese to kind of reinforce the learning

as a native English speaker, on the reverse side,

it gives you English context of what he's about to say

even if you're not necessarily at that level

you can kind of bootstrap your way in because the Engilsh comes first.

So with this one you can start maybe high beginner, intermediate,

you can start picking out words and phrases,

and if you really want to dig deep into it you can use transcripts for your favorite episode

to really start breaking down the Japanese that he's using

to figure out how to incorporate that into your own speech.

The downside of this podcast is that

when I first listened to this it seemed very cheesy!

But after a while I realized that that was his charm

that's what kept it interesting

It has great content and an easy to use format

PLUS transcripts, which makes it perfect for studying

but it's also interesting!

Even though it's cheesy, that's kind of what makes it good

and I found myself coming back to this one more than anything!

It may take a little getting used to but give it a couple listens

but it's still running now, the sound quality's great, it comes with transcripts

honestly I think anyone N4 and up, maybe even N5

If you're N4, N3, N2, right there in the middle

looking for something to listen to AND study from

I would really recommend this one!

So! Those are my top 3, but I do have a few bonus podcasts!

Honorable Mentions goes to Bilingual News!

Which is hosted by Michael and Mami!

After Hiiki Biiki, Bilingual News is the podcast most of you guys mentioned I should try.

In a nutshell, this podcast is exactly what the title sounds like

it's news...done bilingually!

Every week they introduce a relevant news topic

business news, social news,

one of their most recent episodes was about the new batch of emojis that just came out

they introduce it both in Japanese and in English!

After the topic is introduced they start talking about it.

Both hosts, Michael and Mami are bilingual

but Mami tends to respond in Japanese

and Michael tends to respond in English

although they both mix in a little bit here and there.

One of the good things about this Podcast is that they also have transcripts available! THANK YOU!

They have a special, official moji-okoshi app

a transcription app that they produce themselves

it gives the scripts from each episode in text format

you can highlight and copy and paste into your favorite dictionary

The podcast is free, but the transcripts you need to pay for a subscription

honestly, I think the transcript is the most valueable part of this

but it's up to you if you just want to use it for listening

or if you actually want to go deeper and use it to study.

So this podcast, I wouldn't recommend it for everyone

specifically because the content is more editorial style

sometimes it's more opinionated that content-based

this one is a little more TENSHON-HIKUI

the excitement level is brought down,

so you may like that if you enjoy more calm, laid-back style of talk

For me it was hard to keep coming back to

because if you are specifically trying to use podcasts for learning

you may find that the content can be distracting at times

sometimes the topics themselves or the way they talk about it can be a bit crass

I think it's good they have both hosts,

because it keeps the energy and the conversation balanced

that's one of the good things, they kind of even each other out

So if you're looking for more raw conversation,

more opinionated conversation,

the other thing to be aware of is that because it's bilingual

the streams of sound / content that they use are usually interrupted.

So Mami may start speaking in Japanese, but Michael will respond in English

I read an article citing Michael explaining that

he thought it was really important for the podcast to have English context

because if it's all Japanese it's overwhelming.

I definitely get where he's coming from but I also wish

that there was a section that was all Japanese or all English in addition to their conversation.

I recommend this for more advanced speakers of Japanese

N2, N1...

specifically because it's bilingual

and because the streams of sound are cut between English and Japanese

I would use this to pick up phrases, to learn how to turn a phrase

to learn how to respond to someone.

If you're a guy, this is one of the few podcasts that features an adult male

talking about adult, male topics that may interest you!

If you're trying to practice formally speaking Japanese

I would say obviously you need the transcripts

if you're trying to learn to speak casually at your office

or talk to anyone who's even slightly above you for more than two sentences