Activate Your Japanese!

    activate your japanese

    Activate Your Japanese! is a 24-episode drama about a Vietnamese girl named Xuan who came to Japan to work in a hotel. It comes from Japan's national broadcasting network, known as NHK, which is known for producing quality video content about all sorts of topics. You can think of them as the BBC or CNN of Japan. In the drama, she encounters a sentient keychain, new friends, and lots of new Japanese. And as with any drama, there are elements of humor and romance that really make it entertaining.

    Each video is divided into parts: The main skit, Today's Strategy, Onomatopoeia, and Welcome to My Japan. The main skit follows Xuan and her time adjusting to Japanese life, all while providing useful communication strategies. Next, the Today's Strategy section focuses on a useful communication strategy or phrase that Xuan utilized in the main skit. Plenty of examples are provided, making this part of each video particularly useful for learners. Then comes the Onomatopoeia bit, which introduces a common Japanese onomatopoeia. Again, several examples are provided to help reinforce how the word is used in real life. And finally, the Welcome to My Japan bit finishes off each video with a presentation of someone's life after coming to Japan. Many of these individuals immigrated to Japan for work and have lived in the country for several years. Their work, interests, and hobbies are highlighted in this section.

    Every video in this series comes with translated captions and even a transcript, making it ideal for learners at level who want to practice reading or listening skills. But even if learning Japanese is not your main goal, the series can still be enjoyed purely as a drama for one's own entertainment. According to the site, this series will be available until 2027, so there's plenty of time to go through each of the 15-minute episodes.

    Beyond Activate Your Japanese!, the NHK has a number of other resources for Japanese learners, like the Essential Japanese section, which provides survival phrases, and Easy Japanese: Conversation Lessons, which contains lots of learning content related to conversation practice. There's something for everyone, so check it out!

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