Why Your Listening Score Isn't Improving: It's Not Just Your Ears

1. Listening is about "Filtering," not just "Hearing"
Students who struggle with listening often panic because they try to understand every single word. However, the secret to scoring high isn't full comprehension—it’s about "picking up" only the specific information the question requires.

2. Three "Patterns" to Boost Your Score
Pattern 1: Decide what to listen for in advance
Scan the options before the audio starts. Identify if the focus is on a Person, Place, Time, or Reason. Narrowing your target beforehand helps you maintain focus throughout the clip.

Pattern 2: Beware of Paraphrasing
Don't just wait for the exact words you see in the options. The correct answer is often hidden behind "different wording" or synonyms in the actual dialogue. Stay alert for expressions that mean the same thing.

Pattern 3: Catch the Conclusion after "But" or "So"
If you lose your way, listen for transition words like "Shikashi" (But) or "Dakara" (So). In many cases, the sentences following these markers contain the actual answer, even if you didn't understand the first half of the conversation.

3. Summary: Selective Listening is Key
While training your ears is important, scoring efficiently requires knowing what to ignore and what to catch.

Not sure which keywords you should be focusing on?
Start by solidifying your grammar and vocabulary foundation with 10 questions a day on Rapid Japanese (Beta). Once your basics are strong, the important keywords in listening tasks will naturally start to stand out.

Check your skills for free:
https://rapid-jt.com/