By Wonsuh Song
One thunder‑struck evening that finally broke Tokyo’s heatwave, an old radio at home caught my eye. As soon as I tuned in, the clear voice of the DJ carried me straight back to the late‑1990s, when I listened endlessly to Japanese radio. In an era before YouTube or podcasts, radio was virtually the only window through which I could grab authentic Japanese.
During language study and exchange semesters in Japan, I filled dozens of blank cassettes with broadcasts on every trip home. Because music consumed tape space in an instant, I ruthlessly cut songs, leaving only the crisp‑spoken DJ talk and interviews. On the hour‑long bus commute, I played the same tape both outbound and return, switching to a new one each week and replaying it almost to the point of recitation.
Radio’s advantages were obvious. Broadcast‑standard pronunciation sharpened my listening fast, and on each replay fresh words and turns of phrase lodged in my ear. My Japanese comprehension eventually rose to near‑perfect levels, and I lifted my English with the same routine.
Today, an endless flood of content often blurs our focus. We swipe through catchy videos and shorts, yet rarely dig deeply into a single source. All the more reason to pick a podcast or radio archive with precise diction and natural conversation, tweak the playback speed, and commit to repeated listening.
Exposure, enjoyment, and—above all—motivation driven to the finish line are the pillars of language acquisition. Even when a study routine feels dull, the grit to replay the same material until your ears are saturated determines real progress. A flash of summer lightning may inspire, but language soaks in only through the long breath of listening, shadowing, and listening again.
Wonsuh Song (Ph.D.)
Full‑time Lecturer, Shumei University / NKNGO Forum Representative
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