Most Japanese learners who have looked for listening practice are probably familiar with Teppei by now. A Japanese teacher on the platform iTalki, Teppei has long championed listening practice through podcasts, and come out with hours and hours of material through a number of different series, including solo podcasts for beginners, intermediate, and advanced learners, and a collaborative podcast with fellow online Japanese teacher Noriko.
This podcast, the aptly named Japanese Podcast for Beginners (Nihongo Con Teppei), is exactly as it says. Similar to his main podcast series aimed at lower-intermediate learners, Japanese Podcast for Beginners takes everything that’s great about that main series and makes it even more accessible. Episodes tend to be about 4 minutes long, covering a wide range of topics like many other Japanese podcasts.
Unlike many other Japanese podcasts aimed at beginners however, Teppei doesn’t really slow his speech much. Instead, he simply speaks clearly, only really pausing around the title or any other key phrases. Of course, it’s not quite a native speed conversation, but for beginners hoping to work their way up to more natural speed Japanese, Japanese Podcast for Beginners might be just the stepping stone you need.