12/28/10

My Study Method Part 2- Writing

On Tuesdays I focus on writing. 
There are 10 things I have on my agenda for this.


1. Core Vocabulary
I write the vocab from the Genki chapter that I'm studying.
First I write the word in hiragana/katakana and then in kanji.
I say the word as I write it.
I write the word in one row.
This is a long process and I take breaks every 25min.
I try to get through the whole list from the chapter.


2. Grammar
I then focus on a section of grammar from the chapter.
I make a collum for the grammar and conjugate all the words from the chapter.
If there's not enough verbs then I add some from a previous chapter.
This drills the conjugation till it becomes second nature.


3. Workbook
I do the homework that I've been assigned for the week.
I make sure I write all the words in kanji instead of being lazy 
and just writing it in its hiragana form. 


4. Kanji
I have a separate book I'm focusing kanji on from Genki.
I try to do 1-2 pages of it.
I have other kanji writing books but for now I am focusing on only one.


5. Journal
I try to write an entry in my journal all in Japanese.
This is a long process but seeing a page full of characters that 
I wrote makes me feel accomplishment.
THIS is the best method I know to remember how to write kanji.
Because you're using the kanji in context and writing it often.
Instead of just drills.


6. Video Game
I have a DS game from Japan called "Beautiful Kanji".
The DS pen is even designed like a calligraphy brush.
The game is addicting as it is quite difficult.
The game is very picky of your strokes.
Having something giving me scores motivates me to beat my best record.


7.Mixi
On Mixi there is a journal too.
So I type up what I wrote in my real journal.
Extra practice.


8. Letter
I write replies to my friends in Japan via snail mail.
It's hard but great practice. 
I get a lot of help in this part.
Because there is much I can't express.


9. Textbook
I go over drills from Genki on the grammar I practiced earlier in the day.
I write my answers down and check if I got it right.


10. Review Test
I copy down the sentences from my tests to drill in to sentence structure
and to review what I got wrong. 


I try to get as many of these done as I can. 
Obviously I put a lot of tasks for this day.
So I might not get through it all.Even if I only do 1 out of the 10 it is better than doing none at all.
It's a lot of work but it pays off.


You just have to get it over with.

Learning language can't be all fun and games.
My method for writing practice doesn't feel just right yet.


I hope this gave you some ideas how to start studying.
But this is not the only way.


How do you like to study writing?




12/27/10

My Study Method Part 1- Vocab

One of the difficult things when you first start studying language is...
is well figuring out how to study it. Everyone learns differently, and everyone has a method of their own. It can work for awhile and then sometimes you have to tweak it again and again. Till you figure out something that will work. People always say you have to focus on writing, reading, and speaking. But how?


I've had many methods and have always put too much on my plate. I still do. But I learn from what works for me and keep making it better for me. I'm not saying the way I do it is how you should too. This is just simply what works for me. Maybe you can get some ideas or help from seeing my study plan.


I've spread out my study plan for a week. Since I know I tend to desire to do a lot more than I can I cut it up by days. Everyday is something different. Some might say this is bad because you should repeat more often and focus on one thing. I've tried this and end up not  doing it, because I'm curious to learn everything I can.


I'm going to write down each day what I do.
Since today is Monday I focus on Vocabulary.
For this one I do 7 things.
No particular order.
I like to use visual method for this.
For me pictures of the words work best.
I use mainly flash cards and games.
For time it depends on school.
So it's quite short.


1. Quiz 
I go over the words I got wrong on my last quiz. 
I write it over and over. Saying the word as I write. 
First in hiragana, and then in kanji.
Then I write a sentence with that word.
16min,


2. DS Game
I go through a lesson in the game "My Japanese Coach".
It's not the best thing in the world but it is good review for me.
The games they have are also fun. Plus they have difficulty levels.
15min


3. PC Game
My first ever Japanese study product was "Smart Start Japanese".
I love to use it to learn nouns. They have a bingo game that I'm addicted too.
They also have a listen and repeat mode to see how well you pronounce.
15min


4. Kumon Cards
When you start learning a language you're knowledge is like a child.
So why not learn like them?
In Japan they have these big flash cards with a picture and the word on the back.
I love to go through the cards and test myself how well I remember them. 
15min


5. Main Vocab
I have certain vocabulary I'm required to know for class.
All the other vocab I learn is for fun.
For class I use Genki flash cards.
They come with picture of the word and I write the word on the back.
This has helped me a lot to memorize the vocab more easily.
30min


6. JLPT
I go over the words I don't know from the JLPT practice books.
These I write down and say over and over.
These are my second focus vocab since I know I need to know them for 
the next exam.


7. Phrasebook
My friend gave me a point and speak phrasebook for my birthday.
I like to focus on a topic and just read it over and over. 
I make up sentences too. The pictures are fun to look at.
15min


I try to get as many of these done as I can. 
Even if I only do 1 out of the 7 it is better than doing none at all.
I like learning vocab the most so all these things are fun.


And that's the key thing.
Fun.
It has to be fun and not daunting. 


I hope this gave you some ideas how to start studying.
But this is not the only way.


How do you like to study vocab?



12/22/10

できるできるできる~

Yesterday I had my Japanese session with my tutor.
After taking the JLPT she has started to give me weekly quizzes.
She never did because she hated the idea.
But now that I've taken an exam and plan to take it again next year 
she figures it's good to keep practicing.

I think it's a wonderful idea.
In this way I can see what I need to review.
Especially kanji.
The quizzes she gives me are review from our first textbook.
This way I won't forget what I've learned.

She gives me 8 minutes to fill in the blank and translate into English.
This week was my first one so I hope to do better next week.
I usually dislike tests but since it's Japanese it's fun.
It gives me stepping stones and allows me to see my progress.
Nothing feels like work when it's something you love. 

We studied potential verbs. (Can do)
I finally know what できる is!
The conjugation is not difficult, 
but saying it is a bit of a tongue twister.

One thing that frustrated me was that in one of the
exercises they used the conjugation to say too much of something. 
(高すぎて
Neither my teacher or I remember learning that.
It was easy but I can't find it in my last textbook.
><

12/21/10

I Don't Know When, I Don't Know How

日本語


( The ___ mark means I don't know how to say it in Japanese.)

最近英語と日本語でリトルマーメイド映画を見ました。
子供の時この映画が大好きでした。
 今も大好きです。
アリエルは私の一番デイズニ姫です。
子供の時、アリエルは___________。
パート・オブ・ユア・ワールが綺麗だったと思います。
 そしてこの歌は力があったと思います。

でも今この歌は悲しくて心細いだと思います。
_____
アリエルは人間の国を興味があります。
私は日本を興味があります。
アリエルは世界のいちぶりなりたいです。
私は日本の世界のいちぶりなりたいです。

____
夢です。
_____
いつもこの歌を聞いて泣きます。

そしてリプライズバージョンを聞きます。
____
もっと勉強したいです。
_____

______
______
______
______





~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


英語





Recently I watched "The Little Mermaid" in English and Japanese.
When I was a kid I loved this movie.
Even know I love it.
Ariel is my favorite Disney princess.
When I was a kid I wanted to be Ariel.
I thought that the song "Part of Your World" was beautiful.
I also thought the song had strength.

But now I think the song is sad and disheartening.
It made me think how similar I am to Ariel.
She wants to learn about another culture. (humans)
I want to learn about another culture. (Japan)
She wants to be a part of that world.
I want to be a part of that world.

Yet it feels like an unreachable dream.
It's just a dream.
It feels impossible.
Every time I listen to the song I cry.

Then I listen to the reprise vesion.
That one gives me hope.
It makes me want to study more.
Someday it will come true.

Ariel got her wish.
I will too.
By God's aid,
and my perseverance. 

"Never give up on something you can't go a day without thinking about" (quote source unknown)






[I know I must have made many mistakes in my post. Please inform me of my errors so I can learn from them]

12/18/10

Fashion words

I was skimming through a Japanese magazine (I think the magazine is called Zipper) that my friend gave me. It's interesting to see what people are into over there. Zipper is a magazine for young women that like cute unconventional style. I don't understand most of it but there were a few pages that was interesting to learn fashion vocabulary. It will be great for when I shop in Japan or talking to my friends I can be more specific.

Fur-ファー
Fur hat-ファー帽
Fur charm-ファーチャーム
Fur earmuffs-ファーイヤーマフ

Bagバッグ
Chain bagチイーンバッグ
Tote bagトートバッグ

Hat帽子
Bowler hatボーラーハット
Bell hat? ベルー帽
Cap (the kind that covers your ears) 耳あてつきキャップ

Accessories アクセ (アクセサリー)
Neck accessories まきもの
 Footwear 足もと

This made me think about when I got to Japan. 
What will my style be like?
Many people's style changes when they move because of influences.
Even if they don't really realize it.
I know that  defined will just because I'll be timid.
As of now though there is no style I'm interested in.
I don't really get Japanese style yet.
Except I do like lolita style but that's not something I can wear everyday.
But I know it will happen because I've seen many fobs change their dress as they get used to their new lives.


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12/7/10

Christmas song

This will be my last post till after the 15th. 
I need to cram for school and every minute counts.
Since I'm busy with school I have little time to write this.
I just wanted to post this video since Christmas is coming up.
I love getting music in multiple languages,
and I found this a couple of years ago.

Last Christmas by Exile.
I didn't grow up with this song.
So I thought it was a cheerful song.
Till an acquaintance of mine told me the meaning.
Still, it puts me in a romantic Christmas cheer.


12/6/10

JLPT

First I want to apologize for no new posts nor new YouTube Vids.
I will only say that this semester a lot of very life changing things came up,
and I had to step back from everything. I mean everything.
Even Japanese.

Things seem to be returning to a pace that I can return to mundane life.
I hopefully will become more frequent after the holidays.
I have so much to share from my good experiences this semester.
For now I will talking of most recent.

This whole semester I was studying for the JLPT.
(Japanese Language Proficiency Test)
For those that do not know what that is it's a standardized test with 5 levels.
(5 being the beginner and 1 most difficult).

There are many reasons why people take this test.
The person might just want to see how they're doing.(like me)
Practice for when it really counts. (like me)
Needed as proof of ability for work in Japan.
Or to enter college in Japan. 
(Though many colleges now in Japan use EJU)
Note: If study entering in a study abroad program than it's most likely JLPT)
It is a multiple choice test with 3 parts.
Vocab, grammar/reading, and listening.
I'm thankful there's no writing or oral section involved.
Just like any standardized test it has it's pros and cons.
For me it was good because I'm mostly self-taught.
I don't get any tests, nothing.
(With a friend as my tutor to guide me).
So I don't know where I am in my level of Japanese.

The bad? 
Well my friend, whom I met at the test, sums it up well.
(http://isitpossible.posterous.com/what-does-the-jlpt-prove)

Studying for the exam is pretty difficult.
I only had books on how to take the exam and practice chapters.
I noticed there was a lot I needed to review.
Some things my Genki I textbook never even mentioned!

I don't know how I did.
But I can say I was pretty excited, and nervous, to take the test.
(So much I wanted to cry in joy.... I know weird.)
(That's a whole other "my road to fluency" story)
For the vocab I think I passed.
That's an area I focus a lot on.
The grammar.... I'm not sure.
I want to buy a book just on particles now cause of that test!
The listening... I had to hold in giggles.

Waiting till February to find out is horrid. 
I'm hoping that I passed so next year I can take N4.
That way when I go to study in Japan I can take N3.
I want to make every penny worth it when I pay to go there,
so it's better to aim for higher level so I can take higher level classes right?

I was glad to see what I needed to review.
There are things that I just skipped over cause I don't like them.
(days of the month, counters, direction words, etc.)
It also showed me how much more I need to immerse my day.
I need to watch in Japanese and read more in Japanese.
And I need to return to writing in my Japanese journal.

Oh, and can I say how blown away I was from meeting the other test takers?
I'm used to being the only gaijin that speaks Japanese.
I knew everyone else there would know Japanese but...
I've never been surrounded by so many Japanese speaking gaijin!
They spoke so easily to each other and so many kinds of people.
It's awesome to see how a language, a country can unify so many different kind of people.

I was so shy to say anything in Japanese.
Which showed me I really need to get over that and just do it.
Some day I could be at there level.

Did you take the JLPT?
What did you think?

Here are some links to info:
JLPT wiki
EJU
JLPT website
EJU website



10/12/10

By Time not Years

This blog is for me to see my progress, 
fix mistakes in my study,
and anything related to Japan/Japanese.

So I've been studying Japanese for a very long time.
A month ago I would have said about 8 years.
But my Japanese is still very much of a beginner.
I wondered why.

I read a blog on the idea that we can't measure by years but by time.
So in my case, I haven't been studying Japanese the whole time.
Not eating, sleeping, working, etc for 8 years while I studied.
Otherwise ya, I'd be fluent by now.

So measuring how much I've studied by time 
I'm not sure now.
So I feel like taking a step back.
I've gone back to 0.

I started this set of mind this month.
So in total I've only studied 1:19.
My idea right now is to out do myself every month.
So I still have the rest of the month to see how much I'll do.

I've started to write down how long and what I've been studying.
This way of thinking has helped me grasp so much better
on how long I really am putting my energy into learning Japanese.
I get excited to sit down and study.


I don't sit down and study endlessly hours upon hours.
Otherwise I'll never sit down in the first place.
I do it by 15min intervals for now.
Today I did this three times.

I'm still learning what is the best method of learning for me.
Everyone learns a different way.
Right now I need to learn to manage my time
between school, work, Japanese, and everything else.


One thing I always keep in mind,
"Suck less today than you sucked yesterday"
                                                      -AJATT