Recognizing distinct vocabulary, idiomatic expressions, and language structures in spoken context.

Understanding Unique Vocabulary

Develop an aptitude for specific vocabulary items. These might be field-specific, regionally used or traditional terms that the speaker uses in the spoken context.
Make use of context clues. Analyse the surrounding words of a new or unknown vocabulary item to deduce its possible meaning.
Practise familiarising yourself with the roots and pattern of encountered words. This understanding can help in predicting the meaning of other related words that may appear in different contexts.

Grasp the contextual meaning of the expressions. As idioms can’t often be translated literally, understanding their contextual meaning is essential.
Focus on popular idiomatic expressions you may come across in real life situations, news reports, public announcements etc., to better understand the native Japanese conversation.
Regular practising with authentic material and expressive Japanese will aid in recognizing idiomatic usage more easily.

Pay attention to common sentence patterns and structures used in spoken Japanese, like dependent clauses, conjunction usage, particle variations etc.
Be aware of the target audience. The complexity of structural patterns can change based on the target audience. For example, formal announcements might involve complex sentences and honorific speech.
Try to understand the structures from functional and usage perspectives. Instead of just knowing the construction rule and meaning, learn how and when to use them in a real conversation.
Use language learning strategies such as metacognitive, cognitive, social and memory-related strategies to handle unknown structures as well as to remember known ones.
Store and recall frequent patterns that are commonly used, this can assist in understanding novel structures too. Once you’re accustomed to certain patterns, listen and look for these patterns in other conversational scenarios.