I want to share with you all one of the tools I have used to learn Japanese since very early on in my pursuit of fluency. It’s one of my favorite applications and I really recommend it to anyone who is learning any language.
(psst! long post coming, but stick around to the end for a shot at the giveaway!)
HelloTalk is a language learning app that allows you to connect with native speakers of your target language.What I really like about HelloTalk is that there are multiple features that not only encourage you to try speaking, but also help to ease you into it without to pressure of a real time face to face conversation (this is a real life saver if you are even marginally as shy as I am!)
On your profile you can write a nice self introduction- Try writing it all in Japanese!- and you can even record up to a 60 second audio introduction! This is great because it’s a good opportunity to practice your pronunciation and to let other people hear your pronunciation so that they can let you know what you’re doing wrong (or right!)
From there you can go to the search page , which will show you all of your new potential language exchange partners or to the moments page, which will show you some other members short personal posts that you can like or comment on to get a conversation going.
If you tap “learn” on the moments page it will display posts that are written in your target language. I love this because it allows you to immerse yourself in the language and to practice thinking in it.
All that there is left to do is to start talking!
Most conversations will start of text based, but there is always the option to send an audio message by clicking on the microphone icon at the bottom right corner. There is also a transliteration button just above the microphone icon. This allows you to check to see that what you’re writing makes sense. After you type a sentence you can check it by hitting the transliteration button.
Once your ready, and after you have received 5 messages from you language partner you will have the option to do a voice call.
This will work like a regular telephone call and will be real time. And on top of that; if you and your language exchange partner are both VIP members you can make a video call and talk face to face!
Seriously!
HelloTalk is such a useful app to have! Having conversations with native Japanese speakers and helping them with their English while they help me with my Japanese has been both fun and challenging, and that’s the best way to learn something new! Keeping regular contact with someone in your target language will definitely help you to retain more!
As an apology for my long time absence, and as a thank you for both new followers and those who have been hanging on with me for a long time (we have more than 2,000 study buddies now! WOW!)
I’ll be working with the nice people at HelloTalk to give away a one year VIP-membership to one lucky follower!
All you have to do to enter is reblog this post!! That’s it! And for the sake of inspiring some of you to practice speaking out loud; if you record a video of yourself giving a short self introduction in Japanese you’ll get a second entry for the giveaway!!
BE SURE TO TAG ME (@nodoyobenkyou) SO I’LL SEE IT! And please make sure to include subtitles in your video so that we can all understand what you’re saying, no matter our level of understanding!
The giveaway will end Friday December 29th, so reblog and record before then! Good luck everyone!
一緒に日本語を勉強するのはつづきましょう！
Morning reblog!
This is a great app and I’ve met tons of amazing people on here. They also have a really low tolerance for harassment, which is always a concern with any of these apps.
Seriously, I’m sharing recipes with Japanese housewives and talking about dinosaurs with a financial analyst it is EXCELLENT
Kimchi and Justice 