日本語を聞くのと話すのはぜったい下手だ。 練習はたしかに大切だけど相手を見つけるのは難しい。 じゃあー、たぶんお尻が重い。
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「なるほど」というのは「分かりました」というのは同じではありません
今朝のクラスで先生に「なるほど！」と言った。 先生は少しびっくりしたと思う。将来に気を付けて！
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ビギナー
So I had my verbal placement test. It took two teachers to give their fair opinion that I belonged in the next level of the beginner class. I put in an intermediate writing test two weeks before, which I didn’t notice at the time. I just picked one that didn’t look too easy. So they were gentle in telling me that I wasn’t intermediate level material, but I sure did fit in as a next level beginner. Four years, and still a beginner. But isn’t that true of many of life’s endeavours? No? Frankly, and don’t tell them this, but frankly, after my verbal skills test, I was expecting to… Read More
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しゃべましょう
So Monday, I have to do a conversation with a Japanese teacher to see where I should be placed in a Japanese school. I’ve taken classes at this school before. It’s going to be embarrassing if I have to repeat a level. It will be crushing if I get put back by a level or three. Makes me want to find a language partner.
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Talking to Yourself (PG Rated)
I do love dancing to Caribbean music. There is one song that contains the lyrics If you can’t get a woman, take a manIt’s the only solutionTake a man Nothing wrong with that, but not my personal preference. But for Japanese studying, the lyrics would be If you can’t get a language partner, talk to yourselfIt’s the only solutionTalk to yourself Again, not my personal preference, but this time I am all for it. You can do language shadowing, or you can follow along with LingoDeer stories, but getting language practice this way is, well…better than nothing.
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At the Japanese-English Language Meetup
I enter the Japanese-English meetup and am assigned to a group. For the first part of the meetup, we speak in English. Then, forty to forty-five minutes later, the host tells us to switch languages. Sometimes we don’t. Sometimes we just keep speaking English. No one objects. For some, Japanese is a scary language, and for others, they appreciate getting more English practice. Sometimes we do. Then the fluency stream takes over. Either you are swimming in the stream, or swimming as hard as you can so you don’t drown. The native speakers and the people who are almost fluent dominate. Sometimes I get a word in. Sometimes I just… Read More
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Shadowing
I have an Android app I have had installed for the longest time. So long, I forgot about it. But then, you see a moment from someone you’re following on HelloTalk, and your memory gets jogged. To be honest, I forgot about it because my Japanese skill when I installed it was pretty low. But now, I think it’s improved to the point where I can get some benefit from using it regularly. It’s an app created by the International University of Japan for their students, but non-students can use it too. Called Ganbatte Shadowing, it explains all the concepts of shadowing, and then has “tasks” for you to complete.… Read More
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The Language as She is Spoke
So, I use HelloTalk, and sometimes I use it to actually talk with people. Last night I tried a conversation with a long time language partner. We were both equally clumsy in our studied languages, although I think I was a bit more clumsy. But it was interesting. I figured out something from context and responded, and some of my sentences were spoken without me thinking in English first. What I found lacking from most formal Japanese classes was speaking and listening training. Sure, you did the exercises in the book and played around with the questions and answers a bit, but it wasn’t like a normal everyday, lengthy, conversation.… Read More
Continue ReadingSpeaking Japanese outside Japan
Naturally, if you want to learn how to speak a language, you need to speak it with a native speaker of the language. Someone who isn’t afraid to correct your mistakes. But outside of Japan, how do you meet with native speakers of the language? School This is certainly one option. But the only native speakers in the room are going to be the 先生 and any アシスタント. And they’re too busy running classes to have much time to chat with you after class. Some schools offer an immersion experience. If you’re independently wealthy, you can apply to do a full immersion at a school in Japan, which solves all… Read More
Continue ReadingGanbatte Shadowing App
I was introduced to this app on HelloTalk. I haven’t had much of a chance to try it out yet, but it does have impressive credentials, developed by the International University of Japan, both for their registered students and for non-students. It has a nice reference page describing the different methods of language shadowing, and then you go to download lessons at your current level of Japanese fluency. You can have the script used open, or you can hide it and just focus on shadowing the speech you hear. It records your voice so you can compare your speech patterns to the patterns of the native speakers. This might be… Read More
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