What I Did On My Winter Vacation (Delenir)

Hello friends! It’s good to be back after the winter holidays! As I mentioned, I took a break from blogging to try some hardcore Japanese-ing! I wanted to make December all about action rather than theory or preparation. The best way to explain is of course with photos!

iOS

Switching entirely to iOS for my mobile platform has been very beneficial for my immersion environment. The biggest reason is that the interface (and many apps) can be set to Japanese. This is something I haven’t seen yet on any Android phone in Canada. Even the few tablets I’ve seen that can be in Japanese rarely extends this feature to the apps. I’ve found a plethora of games that can be played in Japanese, and in the case of certain ones like SquareEnix’s titles, sometimes that’s even its native language. This has been a great change for my immersion environment and ensures even more Japanese at all times!

iKnow you’ll like it!

iKnow.jp is one of the greatest things I’ve ever come across, thanks to our faithful reader Daniru. I’m sure it’s nothing new to some readers, as it’s related to the previous smart.fm website. I’ve been told by veterans of the service that it’s come a long way, and it really shows. It’s a paid service that provides a decent trial beforehand. To me, it’s worth every penny twice over. It’s available on the web, Android, and iOS and automatically syncs across devices. There’s so much I like about it, that I think it’s time to break out the bullet points:

Stats!!!

• I was immediately sold when the first thing it did was give me a placement test. The lack of this was the biggest downfall on similar services that I’ve tried. It put me into the Core 3000 which the 3rd level of the 6000 most common Japanese words. This means not having to relearn hundreds if not thousands of words you already know.
• On that note, if you do come across a word you already know, or maybe just don’t find all that useful, you can mark it off. You can actually do this en masse before starting a new section to make it that much more effective.
• As an aside, I actually like it far better on iOS rather than on the PC, to the point where I use it exclusively on my mobile devices.

iKnow on iPad iExample

• Every single word has at least one example sentence with a full audio reading by native speakers.
• You’re tested multiple ways on the same word, including meaning in both directions (J>E & E>J), kanji reading, listening, and spelling.
• What kinds of testing you get is very customizable. You can turn off certain kinds of testing if you don’t find it useful, and when it comes to typing you can either do it via full keyboard, or pick each character from a multiple choice interface (which is great on a smaller phone screen.)

コロコロ

Manga collections like CoroCoro are something I like to describe as bulk manga. These are relatively inexpensive manga collections (compared to たんこばん) that are printed on lower quality paper (still better than newspaper though) and are very thick (they can exceed 700 pages at times.) They’re for a younger audience, so there’s always ふりがな. The content can be anything from Pokémon to card game manga, and there are quite a few ads that I actually find equally entertaining, since they tend to be about stuff I like, such as video games or figures. I got a few of these types of manga from J-List including a 4-panel collection which is great for browsing. Like I say it can be a cheaper way to get some manga into your collection than buying whole series, so please enjoy!

２０１３年！

Last but not least for this post, I want to wish everyone a happy and prosperous New Year! May 2013 be the year your dreams come true!

 

Bonus post! Delenir’s 2nd-month update

On the autumn path

I’m now 2 months into my 3 month project, and I think I’m making fairly decent progress. Here are some of my highlights and milestones!

• Removed my Remembering The Kanji deck from Anki. It’s been a great ride, and I recommend the method to all learners. However I think it’s come to a point where I have to shift directions for my kanji studies and expand my knowledge in more ways.
• Started using a pre-made N3 vocab deck in Anki with the reading in the question portion. This is to supplement Read The Kanji, where the words are seen in context without readings.
• Using more Japanese-subbed material. For me, this helps with both focus and enjoyment.
• Learned what a walk-through is called in Japanese, and started referring to them.
• Exchanged messages on Lang-8. This really stretched my knowledge of using Japanese! Very useful however.
• Created a mixed music/podcast playlist for use during commuting.
• Used a Japanese proxy service for the Internet. It worked, allowing me to access certain region-locked content on Nico-Nico Douga. The downside is it turned my 70mbps connection into a 0.5mbps one, so I decided to stop using it.
• On one particular day off, I did 733 reviews between Anki and ReadTK. This included manually adding some sentences to Anki. This was the most focus I’d ever had! Imagine the progress if this could be a daily occurrence!

Overall, I’d say my main method right now is using Read The Kanji as a basis to learn new vocabulary. It really does help. I’m constantly coming across new words in anime and games that I know I learned from ReadTK. Aside from that it’s all about just using Japanese. It’s very important to integrate the language into your day with things like interfaces, audio, or text, even if it’s only passively. You don’t realize how much that stuff helps until you stop using it for a day or two!

For the last phase of this 3 month project, I’d like to finish off the immersion items in my list. As you may have noticed, the list changes and evolves as the project goes on. Since it’s coming to a close, what I’d like to do is not add anymore in November but rather wrap things up and be able to start fresh next time. Until then, on to a new month!

 

Well Hello there Amazon.Co.JP. You now have kindles and ebooks?

I am a Techno Junkie. I have come to this conclusion today. I was one for a long time, but I just didn’t buy things when they first were released. As a run down: I have a Iphone 3gs, a Kindle Fire 1, a lenovo x201 Tablet laptop, and a dell Desktop PC.

I read a lot of English on all of those devices. I’ve been trying to fix that with my kindle. I’ve been downloading Japanese editions through Amazon.com and ‘reading’ them on my iphone (as Kindle fire does not support tradition Japanese text yet).

I also browse amazon.co.jp a lot to see cute things that I’d never get… or won’t I?! KINDLE was just officially released in Japan. This means, Amazon.co.jp now not only has an ebook section, but also can be surfed in English. Yes, I know, not all of us want to do that in english but I was afraid to spend my money without knowing EXACTLY what I was doing. So, the site is in English with Japanese titles.
So let me unfold my day to you for a funny haha moment.

1) I discover .co.jp has ebooks. I immediately try to buy them and realize I’m regionally locked for my kindle. I contact amazon through online chat to see If i have to buy a Japanese kindle to be able to buy Japanese ebooks.

2) Through the help of the tech support, I found out that I needed to ‘move’ my kindle address to a Japanese one (I’ll explain how to get a legitimate Japanese address in a little bit)

3) Through the help of exploring, I realized my bank allows international purchases.

4) I create a amazon.co.jp account using my english billing address, my us credit card, and purchase the cheapest book I could find. (i just wanted to test this of course).

5) Sit in my glory of now owning a Japanese Ebook that I purchased for 1.25$USD without paying for shipping (obviously) and not needed a Japanese bank account.

Steps on how to get this working for you!

-1)Have a kindle or a kindle app. (sorta duh at this moment) You don’t even need to pay for it if you have a smart phone!!!

0)Have a Japanese Amazon account (you do not need a Japanese physical address for this) You can now surf Amazon.co.jp in english. It’s at the top, “in english”. Pretty easy to see as it’s the ONLY English on the page.

1) Check your device. It may be like my kindle fire which does not yet support Japanese tradition text. It’ll show Japanese on the browser but cannot be formatted to read the way Japanese text is done. (In columns)
You can check your device on Amazon.com or Amazon.co.jp. I know the Kindle apps are all up to date and will support it. So if you have an iphone, ipad itouch, or android products, you should be good to go as long as your apps are up to date. Also, any of the Paper-whites will accept it. I’m unsure about kindle fire 1/2 and HD. I would also like to insert nerd rage right here about the lack of ability to read on my Kindle fire 1.

2a physical Kindles) If you bought your kindle in the US, go to amazon.com and click on your account>>manage kindle>>country settings. This is where you need a valid Japanese address. I know jlist doesn’t mind you using their physical address but if you want to go through the hassle of doing a mail forwarding service for when you buy real items, go ahead and use a service like Tenso. It doesn’t matter if you have access to this, because it is for your KINDLE, which is all digital anyways. Changing your kindle address does not change your physical address with Amazon.

2b amazon kindle app) Sign into your amazon.jp.co account and go to account>>manage kindle>>country settings. It will be currently unknown. Switch it to a valid Japanese Address! I personally used Tenso to get one. (Thanks to delenir for testing this out for me on his android app)

3) Make sure your bank allows international charges. My first card was declined and I received a call from them pretty quickly to make sure some hooligan didn’t steal my card to buy Japanese books! I checked with my other bank before trying to charge it and they accepted it. I later checked my bank account and saw that it was already taken out of my balance. I literally screamed for joy when I saw that I only spent $1.25USD  on a full, 200 page book. (200 real pages, not no kindle ‘locations’).

4) read to your hearts content assuming you’ve done -1-3. I buy everything through my browser as my kindle and my iphone app’s store is still the Amazon.com version.

Now, the same can be said for those learning English with Japanese kindles. This process was actually created for them as many Japanese citizens (according to amazon) bought kindles and have been buying through amazon.com. This allowed them to merge their english libraries into their supported Japanese libraries and buy Japanese ebooks to their heart’s content. Thanks to this wonderful system, we Japanese language learners can go the other way! MAWHAHAHAHA!

Again, a lot of you may say why buy books when I can get so much free text online. Some people my friend.. just like to read books, with plots, by real published authors, in real (digital) paper. Also, I don’t mind spending 1.25$USD on a book. That’s like…. crack cocaine to my eyeballs.

 

Technical Speak and Japanese: Philosophy. （てつがく）

Philosophy in the West is very different from the East. That being said and also my level of understanding of philosophy in general, please don’t use this page as an all inclusive guide to Japanese Philosophy vocabulary. This will be a journey for the both of us and maybe introduce us all to some interesting new ideas and ideals.

Historically, it’s been a mixing pot of Shinto, Buddhism, Confucianism and Daoism. Although I did write a introduction to some of these religions, I will recap them and provide some links. It is important to note that many Asian philosophies and religions are in harmony with each other, much like the 5 elements are.   Modern Japanese philosophy (てつがく) began in the Meiji Restoration in 1868, and literally translates as wisdom and learning. Now, Japanese Philosophy does include the great thinkers of the West.
Much like the Chinese, the Japanese have a system of 5 elements that represent the harmony and dualism of the universe. Dualism 二元論 (にげんろん) is pretty much the joining of two opposites (or more), say winter and summer. One flows into the other and one isn’t stronger than the other. This may lead you to remember the Yan-Yang Symbol common in the Chinese Philosophy.

The Five elements are as follows:

地 （ち）　stone: muscle of body, literal stone, stubbornness

水 （みず）water: blood of the body, formless, growing and changing, flexibility

火　（か） fire: metabolism of the body, forceful, passionate

風　（かぜ） wind: breathing of the body, carefree attitude

空　（そら） Heaven/sky/void: pure energy, ability to think, the highest of all elements, gives you spontaneity once you master it.

Shinto 神道 (しんと）：

Historically native to Japan, which origins stretch back to 500 BCE.

There are two forms of Shinto, the Sectarian Shinto and the State Shinto Religions. Translated, Shinto means “Way of the Gods” and “is not a set of verbal theories or concepts.” It is about being pure, honoring the dead and elders, and respecting all forms of life, including the sun. The origins of Japan’s Flag is a symbol of the sun due from the principal Shinto’s Sun goddess, 天照 (あまてらす). Japan also calls itself 日本 “Origins of the Sun”

To read more about Shinto in Japanese, please read Shinto.

Buddhism 禪 (specifically Zen Buddhism/silent meditation)(しずか） :

Officially introduced to Japan in 538 CE.

Originated in  Indian: The branch of Buddhism in Japan is called the Mahayana, “Greater Vehicle,” where everyone can and is a Buddha (仏陀) (ぶっだ). ぶっだ are beings ( not always humans) who are wise and can understand to blissfully accept life as is. To end the ignorance of wanting no problems, you end the desire, then you end the suffering. The Mahayana branch of Buddhism has split into several sects, as to be expected.

To read more about Japanese Buddhism and how it affects every day life, please check out Japanese Buddism

Confucianism 儒学 (じゅがく)

Thought to arrive in Japan around 650~ CE. Introduced very closely with Buddhism.

Originated in China: Just as Buddhism was introduced and integrated into Japan, so too was Confucianism. Confucianism is based on the principals  of “humanness” (じん）. Much like Christianity, there is a Golden Rule, stating to not treat others how you don’t wish to be treated (the negative form of the Christian Golden Rule). Another important ideal is that princehood 君子 is created through virtue and knowledge. It is not noble birth that entitles people to be princes. Lead by moral example and your people shall be moral! All of these ideas come from the book Analects (ろんご）. Unlike Buddhism and Shinto, Confucianism does not dwell in the metaphysical and spiritual. Although Confucius did start a trend of Philosophy in China which opened the door for Daoism and Legalism.

To read more about Confucianism and Confucianism in Japan, please check out Japanese Confucianism

Daoism/Taoism 道教(どうきょう)

Originated in China: Brought into Japan on the Chinese scholars in the Edo Period ( 1600~ CE) The first forms of Daoism were acupuncture, forms of medicine and pharmacology. Daoism also focuses on spontaneity, humility, compassion, and moderation.  In General, Daoism is “The Way” and is believed to be the inspiration to many spiritual ideas in Japan.

Christianity 基教 (ききょう)

Introduced to Japan in the 16th century by Spanish Roman Catholic Missionaries. However, the new religion and ideals threatened the government, along with Western Imperialism, and was banned. Missionaries did not give up and in the mid 1850′s, the religion again rooted itself into Japanese Culture. Protestant and Catholic make up the majority of the modern Christian community in Japan.

All of the Philosophical ways mentioned are apart of daily life in Japan. Some culture clues which may seem random to outsiders are actually from ancient philosophical schools of thought.

Here’s a list of some vocabulary and some more links of awesome linkage! One of the links has the motherload of vocabulary dealing with Philosophy.

Acupuncture- 鍼治(しんじ)

Analects -(ろんご)

Ancient Greece- 古代ギリシア

Buddha- 仏陀 (ぶっだ)

Buddhism- 禪 (しずか)

Christianity 基教 (ききょう)

Confucianism 儒学 (じゅがく)

Daoism/Taoism 道教 (どうきょう)

Dualism- 二元論 (にげんろん)

Ethics: 倫理学 (りんりがく)

Humanism- ヒューマニズム

Idealism: 観念論 (かんねんろん)

Phenomenology: 現象学 (げんしょうがく)
Philosophy 哲学 (てつがく)

• Of life: 人生哲学 (じんせいてつがく)
• Master’s Degree in Philosophy: 哲学の修士号 (てつがくのしゅうしごう)
• Philosopher: 哲学者 (てつがくしゃ)
• Doctor of Philosophy (PhD): 哲学博士 (てつがくはかせ)
• Philosophical Anthropology: 哲学的人間学 (てつがくてきにんげんがく)
• Philosophy Book: 哲学書 (てつがくしょ)<
• Principal Shinto’s Sun goddess, 天照 (あまてらす)

Materialism: 唯物論 (ゆいぶつろん)

Metaphysical Science/philosophy: 形而上学 (けいじじょうがく)

Modern Times: 近代 (きんだい)

Ontology: 存在論 (そんざいろん)

Shinto- 神道 (しんと）

Principal Shinto’s Sun goddess, 天照 (あまてらす)

The West: 西洋 (せいよう)

Theory of Knowledge (epistemology): 認識論 (にんしきろん)

Links of Linkage:

For the absolute mother lode of terminology used in philosophy I’d recommend checking out the following pages.

http://plaza.umin.ac.jp/~kodama/ethics/wordbook/

http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%93%B2%E5%AD%A6

Need some people to look to?

http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%80%9D%E6%83%B3%E5%AE%B6%E4%B8%80%E8%A6%A7

Ethic Topics:

http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%80%AB%E7%90%86%E5%AD%A6%E3%81%AE%E3%83%88%E3%83%94%E3%83%83%E3%82%AF%E4%B8%80%E8%A6%A7

IRIZ (Zen Buddhism)

http://iriz.hanazono.ac.jp/

 

Technical Speak Introdution

Thank you for everyone who voted on which words they’d like to hear most. You can expect each posts to have vocabulary (with kanji included), explanations, and usages in sentences.

Surprisingly we had the following results:

Philosophy 18%

The following are 12%ers.

Computer Science

Computer Engineering

Mathematics

Archaeology

And that my friends is the main results of the polls. So while I don’t think between the three of us authors actually are into Philosophy, we will do our best to bring you some great technical speak thereof.

The rest will of course be touched on as well, following a few posts on Philosophy. Is there any particular part of Philosophy you want to hear about? Please comment below.

 

Panda’s Music Melodies!

As Mikoto and Delenir have been suggesting dramas, programs, and the like, I decided to jump on the bandwagon for music as that is my main source of Japanese at any given time during the day.

How to find new music:

I watch anime and j-dramas to get new artists and songs. I also just randomly follow suggested videos on youtube. Another great way is to listen to online radios that include artist/song title. Sometimes, I have found my favorite Japanese artists on the USA version of Itunes. So just be sure to reach out and get dirty!
Note Worthy Artists:

Besides the ones that I’ve already mentioned my undying love for (Sakanaction, Perfume), here are some newer artists to enrich your library with!

1) きゃり- Popular for PonPonWeiWei
2) Yum!Yum!Orange- Japanese Ska band
3)Orange Range-available on USA itunes.
4) Bonnie Pink-Also available on USA Itunes
5) 石川智晶-Often used in Anime Openings and endings.

 

Drama Mamas up in Here!

Hello everyone! If you’ve never embraced your inner drama mama, then I highly recommend you do. Nothing says fun learning like watching people do vicious things to innocent people! One of the coolest things about dramas is you get to see a sorta exploded view, a more dramatic view of everyday life in Japan. Now, that said I want you to close your eyes and remember ‘Days of Our Lives’. Does that reflect American’s daily lives? No, not at all, however, its just an exploded view of how Americans tend to act. And of course, a lot more drama involved that a normal person wouldn’t have gone through. So, that said, I’m not saying dramas will tell you about everyday Japan life, but I’m telling you, you get to see scenery, mannerly actions, phrases like hi, what’s up and so on. Obviously people acting different than everyone else, who eventually win over everyone isn’t exactly normal either. But the closer you get to documentary type dramas, the closer you get to everyday actions. At its core, the way people hold their chopsticks for instance, doesn’t change in dramas.

Anyhow, that aside, lets get to the gritty.

No SUBTITLES!  (in English of course!)

Yeah, in the end, its just like watching anything else, if you are replacing English in your head while watching it, it doesn’t do you much good to listen to the Japanese.

If you can find good subs of Japanese however, you’ve hit the jackpot of jackpots! And while I’m on the subject, if you just LOVE Korean dramas, or Taiwan dramas and want to keep at it, then, disable sound, with Japanese subs going. You’ll just be reading a bunch, but its better than nothing!

Now, the ultimate question, where? Where do you get to see the goodness? Here is a list of stuff I recommend you go through, with at the top being a freaking awesome app I just found!

Viki

This app is awesome. Wide variety of shows, including dramas from Japan. If you watch other countries dramas, you can set the language subs into Japanese. I love this app myself, and it is available on android and apple markets!

DramaCrazy

This website, though you’re forced to have subs on the bottom have the time, is awesome. Another way to get some good variety of streams in your diet. I personally hide the subs with an envelop propped at my monitor. Every one and a while you get broken streams, but for the most part not. There are several ways to go about getting drama, and all the newest dramas are available!

My Soju

While perhaps not my favorite place to go, they do have the occasional drama stream that works where others are broken. Same as DramaCrazy though, the subs tend to be stuck on there so you gotta hide them.

Crunchyroll

While I’d say I’m far from impressed with their Japanese Drama section, I must admit that here lately they’re adding more and more. That is a good improvement, and as with their anime, when you subscribe to their drama portion you can remove the subs!

Now that you’ve found something you like? You should really support them by buying their dvds! So here are some spots to get em!

YesAsia  :  Amazon.jp  :  and other much less unmentionables, questionable sources

Not really sure what to look for? There are tons of really good sites for information

Jdorama

A great listing of dramas that you can search not only by name but when it aired!

Drama Wiki

This site has lots of synopsis plus information about actors. Like an actor, you can easily find out what other shows they’ve played in.

And there is even a place to get the Japanese for what you’re hearing to read along manually or to pull phrases from to learn.

Drama Note

Excellent site however is in Japanese. You just needed that extra push though didn’t you?

I’m sure there are lots of resources out there, some legal and some well, not so legal. I personally think viewing a stream, then if you like it, buying it is the best way to go. Streams are unreliable at times and hey, watching on your tv can make the experience way more fun!

So touch that inner drama mama and get to learning!

 

Monthly Lolita: Casual Lolita!

As stated in the original overview, Casual Lolita reflexes the sub-lolita in a simplified way.

This style is perfect for those who are trying to get their feet wet in the fashion scene but don’t want to go all of the way. It’s important the stay within the color scheme and the overall style of the category but the clothing can be much more simple. It’s also important to do your hair, but again, you don’t have to go all out.

Although die hard Lolita fashion lovers will only buy brand’s dedicated to Lolita, or even make their own clothes, causal allows wearers to include off brand pieces to complete the look. Tops can include turtle necks, cardigans, plain blouses, blouses with some frill, and some print blouses (Lolita friendly).  Skirts are still at knee length but a pannier isn’t required to hold the skirt’s shape. Accessories such as bags and shoes tend to be solid colors and plain, with maybe a ribbon.

Panda’s casual:

I actually chose to do it entirely out of a clothes from a store that I love.

Mikoto’s choice:

 

What to do after neglecting your studies! Panda’s step back into Japanese

Quick little insert about why it’s good to learn a foreign language, apparently (if you’re a native English speaker and you’re flexible with causality.)

“The Japanese eat very little fat and suffer fewer
heart attacks than the British or Americans.

The French eat a lot of fat and also suffer fewer
heart attacks than the British or Americans.

The Japanese drink very little red wine and suffer fewer
heart attacks than the British or Americans.

The Italians drink excessive amounts of red wine and also suffer fewer
heart attacks than the British or Americans.

The Germans drink a lot of beer and eat lots of sausages and fats
and suffer fewer heart attacks than the British or Americans.

CONCLUSION:
Eat and drink what you like. Speaking English is apparently what kills you.”

Had to share that nugget of wit before starting on topic!

Mikoto’s gently nudging me to get back into my studying by making me write this for our audience. . I started in Japanese a very long time ago and I go into  sprints and then quit for a short while. This is how I tend to be with ALL things, however. I don’t get a toe wet, I get my entire house wet and then some when jumping into new and exciting things. After so long, I get a little burnt out and quit. I do this with games, cleaning hardcore, excerising  and so on. If you’re like me and like to sprint, or am getting burnt out on Japanese learning, please follow along for some tips.

Say you’re completely stopped at your Japanese. You’re not even passively immersing!

1)Start slowly and try to put Japanese back into your life. Even if for the first month back into your studies, you do nothing but passively immerse (listening to things in the background without really shadowing or trying to understand it. Sometimes I call watching shows with subtitles passive. I know a lot of learners out there would have my head for suggesting such a thing but hey.. That’s still more japanese in your life than you had the day before.)

2) If you’re on the Kanji stage-

• Get caught back up to where you were when you quit. What I mean is, for example in Anki, it’ll tell you how many you have due. I’m not saying review all 500 you have, just review what’s due. Anki will take care of the other 400~ (depending on how long you quit and what number you’re on of course)
• Get caught up by doing 3 minute sections every day. You can do more, but you want to at least do kanji once a day. I’m saying go slow to prevent you from being burnt out. If you’re like me, and love sprinting through review, Sprint away. Just make sure you’re taking breaks, at least an hour, between sessions.

Run, Kanji, Run!あああああああああ

• Once you’ve gotten caught back up, THEN add more. Go however you did in the past, 0-15 cards a day.
• Be sure to do something fun with the kanji you know. We have kanji games on site, but there’s a ton of things you can do. I like to add pictures to my anki using google! It’s sometimes really fun to see what can visually represent kanji.

3) If you’re in the  Kana stage

• This really depends on how well you knew your kana before. If you were like me and quit after you got to __ it probably wouldn’t hurt to just act like you didn’t learn anything at all (which my retention was practically null, so that worked well for me). I started over with my hiragana and used a mix of Real Kana and Read the Kanji to review.　Plus a　little forced reading with Japanese Baby 1 and mikoto.
• I had to personally drill the kana into my head. The trick is to do it in short bursts. We’re not a long distance runner, we’re Japanese Sprinter Babies! Sprinting means we get to do fun stuff like watch Japanese movies, animes, Iron chef (which the original is a GREAT FUN way to learn some crazy Japanese dishes)
• As a fellow Japanese baby suggested, the trick is once you get a good grasp kana, put it into practice! Read children books, convert websites into kana, listen/read lyrics. You want this to be FUN!!!! This will keep you coming back for more.

4) Shadowing- We all know that I don’t really like shadowing. If you didn’t know that, you know now! I say this because I feel I sound utterly stupid. So, what I try to do to make light of the situation is to mimic the tones and gender of those speaking. It may just make my gibberish sound more feminine or masculine, but it’s fun. Also, if you want to make yourself feel better, record yourself shadowing your native language and listen to it. You’ll notice you stumble over a lot of it and some of it, your mind guesses and may be close. This is because our brain is hardwired in this language and can think faster than your mouth moves. For example:

• “Oh thank _______”
• Your brain will most likely put one of three words in there, God (if you have a habit of saying that), You, (if you’re polite), My stars! (If you’re just.. unique)

I do this all the time singing. Especially if I don’t know the words, our brain makes a conscious decision to try to ‘fix’ and finish the sentence. You may have a rhyming word, a word that could finish the sentence, or the correct word.You’re probably saying, ok Panda, who cares. My point is: Once you reach a certain point of Japanese, your brain will switch into Japanese and try to be 3 steps ahead of the speaker. So, keep with it young one!

5) After a ～month of getting your feet wet back into Japanese, try to get back into a routine that matches how much free time you have. If you can only devote 5 minutes a day, well damn, that’s 5 minutes more than a non learner is learning! I’d like to quote my Professor from my freshmen year (note, this applies to more then just engineering of course).

• You’re doing Engineering. Do you realize how hard that is? Do you realize you’re actually doing it! It may take you 2 years to finish this degree, it may take you 14. You may be fresh out of high school, you may be 80. It doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter how long or how old. You’re doing it, and once you finish, no one can take it from you.

Another professor during my sophomore year

• (Panda), despite your disability, you can do this. It doesn’t matter the road you take, as long as you work hard and you’re honest with yourself. You are doing this, remember that.

My Advisor during my junior year

• I  have a lot of 40 year old’s who come in and say that the road is tough and long but no one can take it way from them. It’s pride that you knocked something out of the park. It may have taken you 50 swings to finally get it over that fence, but it’s now way beyond the boundaries.

Hopefully you have someone spouting off wonderful, delicious support to you! If not, you need new friends (jk!!!) You have to remember, every day is more than the day before. Build on it and succeed.

KEEPING on track

• ok, So, we’re back into Japanese Happy Land, yey. Let’s celebrate with fun games and knowledge! Ok! We can only party straight for 12 hours for so long!　Be sure to balance your life with Japanese fun. Don’t go too hardcore unless you’re living in Japan of course, haha (you can handle hardcore all the time!). Listen all the time, however, because passive learning takes no effort and can help sink sounds into your brain.
• For things that need active learning, (shadowing, kana/kanji reps) set reasonable time constraints. You work, go to school, have babies? Devote a % to nothing but Japanese. You can do this all at once for the day, or break it up into small portions through the day. Just be sure to say, for the next __minutes, I WILL do nothing but Japanese! You can timebox for the entire day, if you know the exact times you’re taking care of classes and work, or when the baby naps. Make Japanese be your b**** to your schedule, not the other way around. You decide! You Conquer! You learn Japanese! Find that balance that your schedule will allow, that you want, and without getting burnt out.
• Force Japanese to be in your life. Have your phone/browser/computer/whatever be in Japanese. Anything you can turn into Japanese, keep it in Japanese. This will force you to ALWAYS be touching Japanese in some form. Only have Japanese music on your mp3 player.
• Set real and concise goals. Don’t say I want to improve my immersion. Say I want to listen to a minimum of 1 hour a day of Japanese!
• Write a blog or connect to other learns. Share what you find that works for you and what works for others. Share the wealth of knowledge.
• Celebrate the little things! You just learned your kana? Treat yourself to a Japanese children book and Sushi. At least, that’s how I like to treat myself. Food goes a lot way for me. I’m like Pavlov’s Dog, books and food make my mouth water!
• Keep it fun!

 

Kana Game of the Month: Pandachan’s Creation

Hey everyone, I was trying to find a game that my friend and I could play with our limited Kana knowledge (though she’s whooping me bad now and is far ahead of me! Good Job!).

I came up with a concept similar to hang man. However, because we can’t spell full Japanese words, we’re spelling English words with Kana. This may handicap us, but it’s really a game to improve not only recognizing kana, but writing them properly as well.

So, lets begin with the explanation of how you play.

The black is filled in by the person who created the word. The orange is what is guessed by the partner. You can start of using just the vowels, as this example uses, or you can use the more advanced groupings. The creator needs to check that 1) it’s the correct kana, and 2) it’s drawn correctly. If they draw it incorrectly or used the wrong kana, the hangman’s head is drawn, and so forth. When in doubt, (as the creator) look up the correct stroke order.

Take turns being the creator and the one guessing!

Let me know how you enjoy it and any suggestions to improve the game!