learning through the idiot box

It has been a habit of mine to watch TV while having dinner. Maybe because in my tiny studio, the TV is just in front of the box I used to call my dining table. Now that I have a proper table, it occupies the same area as the box.

Initially I thought it would be a great idea to learn Japanese through TV, there are interesting Japanese game shows which are either modified or replicated in other countries due to their unique engaging characteristics. I realised, there are quite a bit of educational stuff on TV too, nevermind that it's called the idiot box for a good reason. (I have not watched TV in Malaysia for a long time, and no we do not have Astro either)

There are some which shows simple exercises, like for those who wish to reduce their belly, like shown above. They would invite either some health expert or fitness instructor, and a member of the audience, or some celebrity would try to follow the steps.

The one they were showing tonight was hot yoga. Nothing fancy, just simple ones that you can do in the comfort of your home, for perhaps 10-15 minutes or so. Considering my lifestyle, any exercise is better than nothing!

These 2 shots are not exactly exercise programme like the earlier one, but a talk show which showcases Japanese wives married and living abroad. In this instance, it's the wife of Billy the famous fitness guru, who is shown here as part of the gym member! The audience in the show are invited to try to follow the moves on the video too (top left).

There are also language lessons, different ones for each day of the weekday. I think these were taken on a Tuesday. German lessons after Mandarin lessons. Of course, I'm trying to learn Mandarin now that it's worse than my Japanese.

My usual programmes are cooking lessons, though I never jot down any of the recipes lol! Maybe after watching many of these I'm hoping the tips would be immersed unconsciously and emerge as ideas one day.

NHK does a great job showing all sorts of educational programmes on their channel. If I had all the time in the world, I'd love to actually practice some of these : cooking, sewing, craft making, linguistics, gardening, exercise, and even singing.

If you're interested in other similar self development programmes, there are more tips here : http://www.nhk.or.jp/kurashi/