Japanese Speaking Tips

Out of all of the Japanese tests, I have to say that speaking is the scariest out of them all. Even though it’s only 12 minutes (this is the maximum, less if you are not in Year 12), compared to 45 to 60 minutes for writing, listening and reading. If you came here to find some tips to help you get better at Japanese speaking, this is where you’ll get some (I can’t guarantee that they will be amazing). Oh, and also this probably won’t just apply to Japanese but also to other languages.

— Before the Test —

Practice makes Better

Of course, the number one most important thing to get a smooth conversation going is to practice. I can’t stress how important this is. I try to start practicing answering the questions with a friend, or parent everyday as soon as possible to make answering as natural as possible. Your average parent probably doesn’t know any Japanese so you could write them in romaji and make them recite the questions or at the very least in English, but keep in mind that you want to get used to hearing the questions in Japanese so that it can trigger the start of your answer.

Memorise the Inevitable

This includes the part where you enter the room and the greetings, and the ending too. Anything that you know will appear during the speaking should be memorised so that you can focus on the harder impromptu questions.

Common conversation at the beginning:

Common Conversation at the end:

— During the Test —

Breathe

Stressing about everything doesn’t help you answer to your best ability, try to think of it as a normal conversation. You don’t care what you say to your friend, your don’t stress about your next conversation you’re going to have with your friend. If your heart is beating out of your throat and sweating profusely, you probably need to stop and breathe. It becomes harder to think about things when you have less oxygen in your blood to support your brain. Breathing in deep breaths (you could do this right before the test) will clear your brain from the pressure.

Focus… but not too much

It might sound counterintuitive but thinking about the questions, or your surroundings too hard might stress your brain too much, triggering a mind blank. Pretend to be someone who has been to the place before (even if you haven’t), don’t mind what is around you. Focus on the examiner and what they are talking about, not what they (or the marker next to them) are writing.

Speak Clearly

Speaking too fast can disadvantage you because the examiner might not understand if you are slurring words together (by all means if you have practiced a lot and you can speak consistently fast, then that’s better because you can include more content), if you haven’t prepared an awful amount. It can make you mispronounce words or skip out on grammar structures that are vital to get a high mark (unfortunately).

Develop your Answers

It is tempting to answer any impromptu questions chucked your way with a quick はい or いいえ, but building a sentence or two (even without grammar structures) can help you get the marks for content. Recently they changed the marking key for speaking by taking a mark off both fluency and understand of the questions, and added one mark each to the use of a wide range of grammar and content of the answers.

What if they cut me off?

If you are speaking for too long or are taking too much time to think about your answer, they might cut you off and ask you another question. You don’t need to panic as the examiner is there to help you get the most marks, so if they cut you off, it’s for your benefit. It is a bit rude and might interrupt your train of thought but shift you focus to the next question asked.

Take Control of the Conversation

How does one do this? You can plant a red herring in your responses (which you should already be doing in the speech for Part B) that might lead the examiner to a question you want them to ask (or prepared before). You can think of it as throwing a trail of seeds to bird and leading it into your trap. It can feel really good for the examiner to bite the bait and ask you the exact question you wanted them to ask. These are great to use grammar that you haven’t yet used.

Example (I couldn’t think of a better one, I slightly altered what was asked in my speaking exam):

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