Three Traditions. Three New Habits.

With the new year already here I decided to try new ways to study Japanese. Now that I have finished school I want to put Japanese at the fore front of my life. One of the things I've decided to do is to try out Textfugu.

Even though I'm lower intermediate and not beginner, I thought it'd be good review and Tofugu gives good study tips. Plus, it's an online textbook for self-taught learners that is always updated and added on. Coming up this year they'll also be adding an intermediate section.

One of the first tasks in the book is to decide on three traditions to turn into habits. I decided on

1. Reading at least one chapter of manga a day.
2. Write journal entries twice a week.
3. Intensive reading at least once a week.

For the reading I've decided to read extensively and not intensively. Reading extensively means you don't worry about looking up every word you don't know. You simply try to understand what you can from vocabulary and grammar you've already learned, and see if you can figure out through context.

The journal entries will be done by hand to practice writing kanji, vocab, and grammar. From my past experience, hand written journals really help me to cement  what I've been learning. I'll also put them up on Lang-8 to make sure I get them corrected and not risk getting into bad language habits. I also think it is good to know how to write kanji because you're not always going to have the chance to type them up! (As my experience was when I was in Japan).

This year I want to walk away from using furigana. To do this I'm going to challenge myself to read my first light novel! I'm sure it'll be a slow and painful trudge but I think I'll also grow a lot from it. Just like it was with Saiunkoku.

A part of language learning is making sure to always change and improve your study habits and I hope doing these 3 things will take me to the next level of Japanese.

Manga: Saiunkoku Experience

Right after I finished reading Hakuoki I resumed reading Saiunkoku.

Day 1.5
I read 15 pages. It was really fun to read.
 I also understood when Ran says 
"The second meaning of the flower is 'protect my flower', meaning Shurei".
This felt like a huge achievement because it is an abstract idea.
I usually can only understand when speaking about physical things. For example, she went to the store and bought coffee. 

 



Day 1.6
I broke my days streak!
Read 10 pages.
I have less than 20 pages left to read.
I feel like I'm understanding more and more, bits and pieces.
This time it was about Ryuki receiving a gift for the first time.

 


Day 1.7
Read 7 pages of Saiunkoku. 
Understanding more and more.

Day 1.8
Read 18 of Saiunkoku. 
I finished it!
I can't believe it!
I remember when I first started it. 
It was stressful and tiring. 
It was so hard to read just 2 pages. 
And I didn't fully understand. 
Now what should I read? Wah I still can't believe I finished it >\\\<

Day 1.9
New manga!
I Had a hard time choosing between Hakuoki and Saiunkoku. 
I want to read them both!
But I figured Reimeroku has less volumes but... Maybe I should read DBZ? 

薄桜鬼黎明録vol②
Read 12 pages
Quickly got into it. 
Really must start transcribing. 

Day 1.10
Read 18 pages
It's not a chore to sit down and read anymore. I want and need to read. 
Made it to 10 days!
20 more to go!

Day 1.11
Only read 2 pages. 
Really didn't want to read. 

Day 1.12
4 pages. 
Really didn't want to read.
Going to change to Saiunkoku or sailor V.

And~ here is where my streak ended for a couple of reasons. 
Firstly, I didn't feel interested anymore.
My interests was going elsewhere. To some English entertainment. (*Le Gasp* Blasphemy!) 
Secondly, school became very busy and my grades are top priority. 
I am however very proud of my progress and how long I stuck with it. Now when I return to reading it won't feel like a challenge. It will be a habit. Next time I hope to beat my 12 day streak. 

Instead of trying to compete with other learners,  I try to beat my own personal record.

My April Fun Study Materials

April was a very busy month for me because of school, so I didn't do any focus studying for Japanese. I did not have the time to sit down and study grammar, kanji, etc. I thought I wasn't doing anything Japanese, but I realized it's because I immersed so much that it feels normal. I really enjoy listening to drama CDs now and podcasts. I love having it in the background. I can understand a little more of the dialog each time. 

1. What are you watching?

One of my favorite English shows, "My Little Pony Friendship is Magic" has been dubbed into Japanese. I watch it live and raw every Monday when it airs in Japan. Since I know the plot I don't have any need for subs.    

2. What are you listening to?

I got my hands on the Saiunkoku Monogatari fan book which comes with a drama CD. I believe the book has the tracks scripts written down, but I have not looked into it. The first track is really hilarious with all the main characters. The second track is very sad and I cry each time I listen to it. I'm not entirely sure what is going on, but I am guessing a death. 

I also listen to Daily Audio Bible Japan podcast. I have mentioned it before but I will mention it again. It's definitely different time of listening material. The drama CDs are pure entertainment and voice acting, but this podcast is an audio book. It's short and sweet and I can guess which story they're reading from the Bible. 

Manga: Experience with Hakuoki

After the achievement of reading 35 pages in one sitting, I challenged myself to read everyday without breaking the streak. I wrote my thoughts down after each sitting. I thought it'd be interesting to share my experience with you. 

Day 1:
I read 14 pages. So excited to read but I had to stop.

Day 2:
Only read 5 pages.
But at least I read!
I wanted to keep going back and re-read scenes of my favorite character. (Saito Hajime)

Day 3:
I read 13 pages during my break at work.
For some reason I had difficulty pronouncing the words. 
It might have been because the characters in the scenes had a different speech pattern.

Day 4:
Only read 4 pages.
To be honest I didn't really feel like reading. I was getting bored.

Day 5:
I read 8 pages in the car. Slightly more interesting then the day before, but not as excited. 
Not sure why.

I broke my streak on the 6th day. I wasn't interested anymore, and became busy with school work. Felt a tad disappointed that I didn't last even a week. Every time I picked up the manga I couldn't get myself to resume reading. 

Sometimes you have to give yourself a break if it stops being fun. 

After a while I resumed.

Day 1.1:
Read 14 pages. 
I stuttered a lot. I figured it was because it had been awhile since I read, 
but again, it might have been the character's speech pattern.

Day 1.2
I suddenly felt like reading Saiunkoku instead. (I was re-watching the show)
I read 12 pages. 
I aimed to finish the chapter, but started to fall asleep. 
That's the negative of reading in bed. 
I did understand some stuff though.

Day 1.3
I read 7 pages of Saiunkoku to finish the chapter.
Then I read the same chapter in English to compare how well I understood it.
(I can't do this with Hakuoki)
I understood the plot about 80%, but the other 20% I was WAY off!

Day 1.4
I returned to Hakuoki.
I was running errands and waiting.
It was a new challenge because there was a lot of distractions.
There was the TV with American programs on, people on the phone, etc.
I've never had to read in a loud English environment before,
and focus on Japanese.
I usually read in seclusion. It was hard to focus and understand the manga.
I read 33 pages!
I finished it!
My second manga!

Now I will resume Saiunkoku and finish it.
I need to finish transcribing DBZ before I can do that for Hakuoki. 

What's your experience like trying to read Japanese?

Searching for a Tutor

It can be hard learning on your own. 
I'm not a fan of language classes, but I do find a tutor to be very helpful.
It's 1-on-1, your pace, your needs.
It's nice to have someone to ask for help.
Not everyone has a Japanese-speaking friend.

I thought I'd just quickly share a website that I used to find my new Japanese teacher.

I hope it can help some of you. 

My experience has been very good so far. I get to shape the lesson on what I really want to focus on. I've told my teacher that I want to focus on reading and Genki II. So that is what we base our lessons on. She brings out her own materials she has prepared to help me. The nice thing too is that my teacher makes sure to stay on track, and not waste any minute. We also are able to schedule around our busy lives. I go once a month.

I was very lucky to find a tutor near me. She has passion for teaching, and experience in teaching all kinds of different students with different needs. She makes sure I understand the vocab and the readings. She doesn't rush through. 

I feel I really benefit from these sessions. It helps to make sure I don't fall into bad habits that are hard to unlearn afterward. It also gives me speaking practice and someone to correct my pronunciation.

It has also given me a new friend I would have not met otherwise. We clicked the moment we met, and she makes me very excited for our lessons. 

My February Fun Study Materials

On JALUP's website there is a series where you share what materials you've been using during the past month. I thought it was a fun idea, and wanted to answer them here:

1.What are you watching?

 I'm still watching しろくまカフェ and アムネシア, but I also began watching マギ. It's a fantasy adventure story with some fun characters. (and a strong kick-ass female character!) The main character kinda reminds me of Goku. Sweet personality and great power.This is a show I would definitively not understand without subtitles. If you like shows that let you explore the world and interesting character I would recommend it.

I also started watching たまこまーけっと. It's a cute slice-of-life anime with a talking bird, mochi, and a friendly market. If you liked K-On, you'll like this. 

2.What are you listening to?

I got another drama CD of one of my favorite 乙女games: Pirates in Love. It's hilarious with some very funny phrases. ⌐_⌐ Some of the CV include Morikubo Shoutaro and Kousuke Toriumi♪

What fun stuff have you been using?

Manga: Improving Little by Little

In my previous posts I have mentioned that I've started reading manga and have moved from children's books. While I still like using kid books, I felt it was time to try something harder.

I hesitated for a very long time to graduate to manga.
I still am not able to understand sentence by sentence in a children's book, and so I figured I wouldn't understand whats going on in a graphic novel. I would get tired at first after reading a few pages. (I try to read aloud to exercise my mouth muscles) After sometime, I was able to finish a children's book in a few minutes. So I felt it was time to take a step forward.

At first I began reading Saiunkoku. One aspect of reading that I had to get over is to stop worrying about what each word meant. Looking things up would make the progress slow and boring, and take me out of the story. And then I'd never want to read!It felt frustrating and taking the time to read felt painful. But after a few weeks I could I could understand the gist and even some jokes! Instead of feeling frustrated, reading made me feel relaxed. But the story felt a bit overwhelming. So I stopped half-way. 

I finished my first manga, DBZ, and it boosted my confidence. It's an easy read since it's mostly action. After reading it, I went over and started transcribing all the words I didn't know and making an Anki deck. Once the words become familiar, I hope to go back and re-read and see how much I'll comprehend.

Since January I've been reading Hakuouki. I feel very excited to read. Usually I can only read a few pages every sitting.

I reached another accomplishment: I was able to read 32 pages in one sitting! I can see myself slowly progressing. Even if I still don't understand everything I am improving. Slowly but surely.