Nagoya – While it may feel like you’re not learning anything when you hear a Japanese 曲 (
kyoku, song), it turns out that listening to music in a foreign language does have a positive impact on language learning. Research shows that listening to music can improve familiarity, pronunciation, syntax, memorization and more.
Some might claim that listening to Japanese music without a specific study focus is 役に立たない (
yaku ni tatanai, not useful), but this isn’t necessarily true. The benefits to passive listening may be subtle, but they can build up over the years. The more time you spend exposed to the Japanese language, the better, so even casual listening can help. For a 初心者 (