冬休みがチャレンジ: Progress ３

Today I had an 8 hour shift and so I came home pretty tired and zoned out.
I didn't want to miss out on studying so I told myself to squeeze some in before I passed out.
First I went over my friends corrections again and write them down in my journal.
Writing them down correctly should drill it into my brain.
Then I wrote new vocabulary I learned through this exercise into my memo.
I then wrote about my day and sent it to her.
I feel I wrote even more today.
I'm really enjoying it. It doesn't feel like work.

I haven't been speaking though. I'm gonna focus on actually talking next week.
I'll also put in my vocab/phrases into Anki then too.

One thing I'm happy about is that
I exchange emails regularly with my 先生, but I always write to her in English.
With my last 先生 I did a mix of English and Japanese.
Again, this stems from my shyness using my Japanese.
Today I wrote a quick email to her all in Japanese.
I didn't hesitate. I wanted to.
I hope that when I see her I will also not hesitate to speak.

This entry is short because I am over exhausted and I should have been sleeping hours ago.

お休み。

冬休みがチャレンジ: Progress 2

Day 2:

I worked many hours this holiday weekend, and so I didn't celebrate Christmas
with my family this year. :( I also didn't have time for Japanese.

Since I know I work many hours I wondered how I could fit in my Japanese studies.
I bought a little memo book and have written my vocabulary in it.
Being a cashier, I can have the memo at the register and study during slow periods.
I also have to rip signs during slow hours so it's great time to repeat the vocabulary to myself.

When Monday rolled in though I had no problem making myself sit down and study. It's slowly forming into a habit! I was so focused and in a study trance. I also did something that is hard to do, but something you have to do if you want to get anywhere with your studies. My brother is visiting from UK and my siblings had a sibling-night out, but I declined. I was "in the zone as it where". I knew I would be out all day on Tuesday with my friend. Where would studying fit in between all the fun? It's a choice I have to get used to doing.

My friend has been correcting my grammar, and I'm happily surprised how well I'm doing!
I thought my Japanese has gotten worse, but it has improved. ♪
It has boosted my confidence and I'm trying to express things I would usually avoid.
I also noticed that some things I didn't have to think about. I was quite sure of them, and
felt natural.

My friend has told me to try to avoid using katakana words and use Japanese words instead.
Even though these words exist they're not usually spoken, and mostly used for advertisements.
It's kinda difficult to know when not to use these words because they're so many.

Another thing I learned is that with older siblings you should always add 兄さん or 姉さん after their name.
Just saying their first name is not common, but with younger siblings you just say their names.
I also learned not to say お母ちゃん and お兄ちゃん at my age. It's perceived as childish and not lady like. :3

I asked her how do I end a vlog or a journal entry of I have nothing else to say? She taught me the phrase "今日はこのへんで” or ”今日はこのへんにします”. It means "That's all for today." This phrase is going to become very useful. Because it was the holidays I took the chance to practice conjugation of give and receive. I think I have it down now.  


I need to work on my deck but I haven't had time. Hopefully I can muster energy for it after work tomorrow. I'm gonna have to do a YT vlog soon too. Been so long.

How are you doing with your self challenge?

今日はこのへんにします。

冬休みがチャレンジ：Progress

Day 1:

It was quite hard for me to muster the energy to start my first day of my challenge.
With droopy eyes I forced myself to plow through and I did all three tasks.
First I just wrote down about my day.
I couldn't fully express a few things so it sounded like statements.
Hopefully as my challenge progresses I'll be able to put in more feeling.
I also noted that I really need to go back and review chapters that I have studied.
I emailed my friend and hopefully she can fix my grammar.

When I clicked record I froze up when I saw the red light.
I haven't vlogged in so long that I feel I'm back to square one.
I didn't want to speak.
When I recorded myself I noted I hardly put any emotion in my words.
I blame my exhaustion.
I always stop at particles cause I have to think about it,
and if I don't my tongue gets tied.
I hope this will become a thing of the past.

I do think it's my tiredness, because when I do vlog on YouTube
I do it when I have the most energy and motivated.

I wrote down two new words I learned doing this exercise.
The best grammar learned is grammar you crave/search to use.
I think it sticks better in your brain.

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

冬休みがチャレンジ

Winter vacation is finally here!

I couldn't wait for it to start. 
I have so many things I want to do this vacation.
One of them is Japanese of course.
I was so stressed out with my classes and piled up with
work that I'm behind on my Japanese studies. ><

I like vacation because it's a good time to really dive
deep into my Japanese studies. My friend, レイチェルちゃん
has started her own self challenge and it has inspired me to do the same.

The point of these self challenges is to get into routine, make it a habit, gain confidence, and improve your level of Japanese.  I thought it be good for this winter challenge to 
focus on what you most struggle with. 


The biggest thing I struggle with is speaking. 
I have  no confidence and feel very nervous.
I won't even speak in Japanese to my new Japanese teacher!
So that is what I'm going to focus on.


What I plan to do:

First, I'm going to vlog  everyday, but these will be private vlogs.
I hesitate too much when I have to upload a jvlog. I feel
I will quickly quit if I do so. 
This will help me get used to having to speak in Japanese.
I will upload one vlog a week on my YouTube channel.
This will help me to get feed back on my progress and get comfortable speaking to an audience. 


Second, I will write in my Japanese journal everyday.
It will help me to put my thoughts and feelings into words. 
My teacher or friend will check the grammar so that I learn to speak
correctly. 
I will build a phrase deck of sentences I always want to use,
but never remember how to say them. 

My goal will be to be able to record one minute of vlogging without cutting,
speak comfortably in front of my teacher and friends.


I will post regularly of my progress.
Want to join in the challenge?
Commest or leave a link to your self challenge.
It doesn't have to be speaking. It can be reading, writing, anything!
Let's make progress this winter break!

Key Preparations for Studying 1: Sleeping?! Part 1

We've all heard that sleeping is important for our health, but Japanese?
Lack of a restful nights sleep can be a great hindrance to studying. 


One thing that happens is that you're just too tired to study.
Tired physically and mentally.
You have no energy. Lack of energy means lack of motivation.
Lack of motivation means no action. 


Another is that you might not "feel" tired,
but you're a lot more distracted. Constantly daydreaming, hazy, spacey, in a daze, etc.
Things take your attention away much easier,
and that means less likely to be able to focus on Japanese study.


Another problem is what I'd like to call "slothing". 
You might feel fine but it takes you a lot longer to do anything.
Which means time being wasted. 


You'll also have a harder time remembering what you've studied. 


I know work schedule might be a reason or school work,
those are understandable. (unless you were procrastinating)
But how many times did you stay up late watching YouTube or TV?
Or just five more minutes of that video game?
Be honest with yourself.


Some "think" they're night owls, but I know many
that can't function the next day and need energy drinks or coffee to get through the day.
Many have a hard time getting out of bed. Those drinks can't replace the rest of sleep.


Some have no problem and function great! That's fine, but those are the very few.
I'm not saying become an early bird. I'm saying get enough rest.
Maybe only 5 hours is enough for you. Maybe 9 is enough for you. 
As long as you get that rest.


Getting enough rest means having more energy and motivation to study.
It also means you'll feel positive and not pessimistic. 
Many become pessimistic when they're tired.
You'll also feel and look great. 
Your brain needs its beauty sleep too.
You'll feel encouraged. 
You'll think more clearly.
You'll be focused.


Most importantly,


you'll remember and retain the Japanese you've been studying a lot easier.


I will write my experience with this in Part 2.
Look forward to it.
Please share you thoughts in the comments!

Reading Challange: Day 2 week 2

What a week!
I´m currently in Brazil visiting my family after 14 years.

I thought that I´d have plenty of time here to sit back and read.

I brought all of my Hiragana Times magazines.
I thought wrong.
I´m used to a quiet home but here it´s full of life, (not to mention noise).

My family wants my attention every second of the day.
And when their not I´m taking a nap.

I love that here everyone takes naps.

Of course I´m putting my family first.
I´m enjoying spending time with each of them,
but I alo realize that 2 weeks without ANY Japanese will hurt my progress greatly.

My family loves to watch novelas.
So I take the chance to read.
There was some topics I read about in the magazine.

Sign Language
There is a musical playing Tokyo that is using Japanese sign language.
I thought it really cool that they´re making more entertainment for a different demograph.

Exhibitions, babysitting, kimono book, baseball

I read it for practice but I wasnt interested in it.

Little Star

There was an article about a growing star named Ashida Mana.

It was interesting because she seems mature for her age.

I want to watch the shows she´s been in now.

Joshikai

I really dont understand this phenomenon.

Its basically women hanging out, eating, shopping, and chatting without men around.

Its a boom these days and women seem to be happy without the company of men.

Um... women have always hung out together. So why do they act like it´s something new...

Someone please explain it to me.ta

I think it´s just companies trying make something up to make more money.

i.e valentine´s day

I sadly don´t have a dictionary with me, so I can´t look up the words I´m reading.

I can´t have the interent on all day either. I think i´m missing out alot because of this.

I´ve been taking my time reading each sentence.

Pausing at particles, because I tend to fly through without much thought.

Now I´m paying attention to each part I read.

I´ve also noted sentences that end with a noun. A grammar point I´ve been studying in

my lessons.

I´ve also payed attention to easy phrases made more complicated.

I read 9 pages, but one was too short so I will count it as 0.1.

9=4.1pts. 3+4.1=7.1 pts in total.

 

Reading Challenge: Day 1 report

Day 1 (Monday, 8th):
This was the start of a very busy week.
I went to work with my mom, so since she was driving I took the chance
and read in the car. I will admit I was not in the mood to start my day reading Japanese.
Usually I rather listen to my music while I daze off during the car ride.
But it hit me. So many advice blogs about learning Japanese always mention studying when you have idle time.
There's not many times I have the chance to be the passenger.

I picked up a children's book my teacher gave me before she moved away.
「さるかにばなし」"The monkey and the crab".
I knew the story before. This book is bilingual so I enjoyed knowing what I was reading.
I also found interesting how phrases were translated.
When you've come know a phrase to the point of being natural it feels kinda weird to see how it would
be translated. I think that's a good sign when you're learning a language. It means you don't need things
to be translated word for word.

Since each page was half English and half Japanese I counted two pages as one.
So out of 12 pages I read 6. So my total points is 3. ^^

Packing up my luggage today is making me wonder what should I take to read on my trip.
I'm definitively taking my Hiragana Times magazines.
But I'm not sure how many I should take. ^^;;
I'm worried about packing too little or too much.

Have you entered the challenge?
Share your progress!
Don't know what I'm talking about?
Click here