Exercise your Japanese skills~ It turns out that exercise is not just good for your body, but also good for Japanese study!
This insight was originally published on July 05, 2022, and transferred here later.
I wanted to start making more insights this year about little methods & projects that can be done at home to practice your Japanese. So without further ado, let’s talk about starting your own Japanese exercise drill! ✨💪💪💪✨
Do you even lift, bro?
Exercise is regularly touted as this amazing thing that helps you stay healthy, looking "handsome", and become various varieties of stronk. However, those benefits don't really mean too much because many people still dislike doing exercise; My main assumption is because it sucks to do. This is true for me, and I am sure at least a hand full of you reading this feel similarly. That said, even with a dislike of exercise, I personally found more worth in it when I started thinking about it as a learning tool for studying Japanese. Let's talk about that, and see if you want to try using exercise for your study sessions too!
How can physical exercise be applied to learning Japanese?
The first way that doing exercise can help you practice your Japanese is through what many in workout cultures refer to as the "rep". A rep is the number of times you can complete a single exercise in a sitting. Right off the bat, this gives us the perfect opportunity to make use of learning Japanese numbers. Repetitive, countable exercises are great for counting practice. They also give you something to focus on when you start feeling that insufferable, burning feeling in the middle of your exercises. Furthermore, as you get better at doing the exercises, you also build up the inner strength and stamina to unlock the next set of numbers you haven’t practiced yet!
Another way you can use exercise to practice Japanese is with exercises that have specific moves or distinct processes. Exercises like Yoga may not be physically exerting in the same way that doing a single pull-up seems to be, but it is a very effective exercise that requires a bit of concentration and has specific actions and poses. Those actions and poses have names, and are often a great opportunity for learning interesting phrases and savvy jargon in Japanese. Depending on how much concentration you need in exercises like this, thinking about your new vocabulary is something you can mentally focus on yet again.
A third way exercise is a useful tool for practicing Japanese is via social interaction! Remember how I was saying there is a whole workout culture that talks about "reps" earlier? Well, there is a whole workout culture that exists. Incidentally, they also talk about "reps". Gyms, sports, and recreational activities in general are a great way to do exercise, meet people, and learn from it all. When you are engaging in your exercises and the people around you, you can start talking about how much weight you can lift in Japanese. It brings up an opportunity to practice and teach your studies to others because of your shared interest in the activity. It's a chance to share excitement with your hypothetical sparring partner by teaching them another language's word for grappling: 取り組む (とりくむ / torikumu).
Exercises you can use for Japanese practice
Here are some ideas you can work with to start out. And as you get better and feel more proficient using your Japanese in exercise, try extending the methods you chose, or even adding something completely different. If you’re feeling especially excited, try talking about how many units of exercise you did with counter vocabulary!
Exercises with reps:
- Jumping Jacks
- Pushups
- Sit ups
- Squats
- Running or jogging
- Lifting
Exercises with specialty moves:
- Yoga
- Dancing
- Rock climbing
- Various martial arts
- Most sports, really. 🤷
There are many chances to feel the proud burn of a language learning workout~ Do you have a suggestion for your fellow Nihongo Familiars reading this? Share some ideas or brag about what you’ve already tried in the comments section below 👇👇👇