Here is a rundown of useful sites and some content that is on them.
Wakan - I used it for a class when I had to type some journals in Japanese. I never tried to learn words from it's dictionary like some of my friends did, but it is useful if you want to know how to say like for a sentence such as: I like Strawberries - わたしはいちごがすきです。
Tofugu - Good site for Japanese language and culture. Teaches you how to be polite and rude, and he recently talked about some Free Japanese Courses.
Gimmeabreakman - Great guy to go to for lots of Japanese language and culture videos. He's the first person I started watching on YouTube who was actually helpful with learning Japanese and about Japan in general. I highly suggest you take notes if you're serious about learning Japanese. Also check out his website Gimmeabreakman.com.
Oborogin - He's really useful for people learning Japanese. I have to agree that you should learn the verbs before anything else. He's awesome for beginners who know nothing about Japanese. He's also really good for review if you haven't studied Japanese in a while.
Katexgg - She reviews what she learned in class and teaches it to us. Since she's learning with you, it's easy to follow along.
Hikosaemon - An amazing vlogger. Definitely someone to check out if you're interested in Japan at all. He posts videos weekly, which is pretty amazing if you ask me, because I have issues posting videos monthly. Maybe one day I'll learn his secret.
Cruxay - I watch his videos when he posts them. He's lazy, like me, and doesn't post videos too often. But when he does, they're really good.
ElevenColors - Cool vlogger. He does everything from showing you how to use Japanese salad dressing to Japanese tongue twisters. He's pretty big on Japanese bands too.
Also, a good way to practice your listening and getting used to picking out words is by watching TV Shows and listening to music. I don't advise you to learn Japanese that way, but to each their own. Though, you should note that it will sound weird to a Japanese person if you talk like an anime character. As Tofugu pointed out once, we wouldn't want them learning English from Goofy.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Q&A
This is to answer some commonly questions.
-_-_-_-_-
Q: Why are you going to Japan?
A: Study Abroad.
Q: What are you going to Study?
A: Japanese.
Q: How long are you planning on being there?
A: 16 months.
Q: Why do you want to learn Japanese?
A: I have a large number of reasons, one of them being so that I can study about Japan without needing documents from Japan translated for me. I have a couple others, but with nothing set in stone, I would rather keep those to myself.
Q: Why do you want to learn about Japan?
A: Because it's the Asian country we have the most contact with, and yet we (the schools I went to) barely studied Asia at all, especially compared to Africa, Europe, and America.
Q: If you love Japan so much, why do you have so many issues with Anime?
A: Because they're all so similar and people who watch them can be very annoying about it (if you're offended by that, then you're probably one of those people). That is to say, it's fine to like anime, just like it's fine to like SpongeBob, but the second you start wearing Naruto headbands, you've gone too far.
Q: Do you think Japanese people will comment on your height?
A: Probably not to my face.
Q: Don't they eat dogs and cats in Japan?
A: No, but some Asian countries do.
Q: Have you ever been to Japan?
A: Yes, last May, for 2 weeks.
Q: What do you like best about Japan?
A: The food. Specifically: Hiroshima Okonomiyaki.
Q: What do you hate about Japan?
A: Nihonjinron.
Q: Do you believe in Ninjas?
A: To a degree. If you're only interested in Japan for this reason, I recommend SKH Quest. Click the "Schools" tab check out their locations.
-_-_-_-_-
If anyone has any questions that I didn't answer (regardless of whether you think they're silly or not), email them to PrinceAriketh(at)gmail.com. I'll answer them in my next post.
-_-_-_-_-
Q: Why are you going to Japan?
A: Study Abroad.
Q: What are you going to Study?
A: Japanese.
Q: How long are you planning on being there?
A: 16 months.
Q: Why do you want to learn Japanese?
A: I have a large number of reasons, one of them being so that I can study about Japan without needing documents from Japan translated for me. I have a couple others, but with nothing set in stone, I would rather keep those to myself.
Q: Why do you want to learn about Japan?
A: Because it's the Asian country we have the most contact with, and yet we (the schools I went to) barely studied Asia at all, especially compared to Africa, Europe, and America.
Q: If you love Japan so much, why do you have so many issues with Anime?
A: Because they're all so similar and people who watch them can be very annoying about it (if you're offended by that, then you're probably one of those people). That is to say, it's fine to like anime, just like it's fine to like SpongeBob, but the second you start wearing Naruto headbands, you've gone too far.
Q: Do you think Japanese people will comment on your height?
A: Probably not to my face.
Q: Don't they eat dogs and cats in Japan?
A: No, but some Asian countries do.
Q: Have you ever been to Japan?
A: Yes, last May, for 2 weeks.
Q: What do you like best about Japan?
A: The food. Specifically: Hiroshima Okonomiyaki.
Q: What do you hate about Japan?
A: Nihonjinron.
Q: Do you believe in Ninjas?
A: To a degree. If you're only interested in Japan for this reason, I recommend SKH Quest. Click the "Schools" tab check out their locations.
-_-_-_-_-
If anyone has any questions that I didn't answer (regardless of whether you think they're silly or not), email them to PrinceAriketh(at)gmail.com. I'll answer them in my next post.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Getting Ready For Japan
Studying Abroad can be a lot of work, totally overwhelming, and scary, so I thought I'd give you a rundown of what I've done thus far to get ready for it. I am in no way saying you have to do any of this, but I am documenting my experience so maybe you can learn from it.
Fall of 2007 (First semester of college)
- Talked to the head of the Study Abroad department about going to Asia, namely Japan.
- Began to attend "Japanese Table," which was made to help reinforce what we learned in class. I guess you could say it was kind of like a "Japanese Club."
- Started making plans to go on the summer trip to Japan.
- To help prepare me, I took Japanese I, Chinese I (Kanji), and Japanese Pop Culture.
Spring of 2008 (Second semester of college)
- Continued my talks with Study Abroad.
- Continued attending Japanese Table.
- Continued with my summer trip meetings.
- Continuing my preparation, I took Japanese II, Eastern Religious Traditions, Chinese Culture (give me a wider view of Asia as a whole), and an independent study on Shinto.
Summer of 2008
- Traveled to Japan with my Sensei, the Study Abroad adviser, and 27 other students. It was my first airplane ride, first time out of the country, and first time going to Japan. It what helped me decide that I really wanted to do this.
Fall of 2008 (Third semester of college)
- Continued my talks with Study Abroad, filled out A TON of paperwork, and had it all sent over to Japan. It wasn't until around this time that I finally decided on which university I wanted to go to.
- Attended a couple of meetings designed for Study Abroad students, met another student who was planning on going to the same university, and got some advice from my Sensei and a student who went to the university the previous semester.
- Through the student who went there previously, I got in contact with a student (who is fluent in English) from the university and have gotten lots of advice and help from him, especially with a couple of forms that were in Japanese.
- Continued Japanese Table.
- I took Japanese III and the minimum amount of hours (12) so that I could focus on spending more time with Japanese.
Spring of 2009 (Fourth semester of college)
Well, that would be now. I've been listening to my Sensei's podcasts and YouTubers like Gimmeabreakman, Hikosaemon, and tokyojosh. Since all I'm doing is waiting around for my acceptance letter so I can get my visa, now is an awesome time to study.
I won't lie, I get distracted, and things do come up on occasion, but I still manage to find time. I'm also ordering Genki I, Genki II, Minna no Nihongo I, Minna no Nihongo II, Minna No Nihongo: Kanji I, and Minna no Nihongo: Kanji II. "How are you going to use all of those?!" Well, I'm glad I pretended you asked.
My main goal is to get down a lot of vocab, so I'll make a bunch of flashcards using the dictionaries. My second goal is to run through verb conjugation, which will be assisted by my Sensei's podcasts. I also want to learn as much kanji as I can, at least for recognition.
Fall of 2007 (First semester of college)
- Talked to the head of the Study Abroad department about going to Asia, namely Japan.
- Began to attend "Japanese Table," which was made to help reinforce what we learned in class. I guess you could say it was kind of like a "Japanese Club."
- Started making plans to go on the summer trip to Japan.
- To help prepare me, I took Japanese I, Chinese I (Kanji), and Japanese Pop Culture.
Spring of 2008 (Second semester of college)
- Continued my talks with Study Abroad.
- Continued attending Japanese Table.
- Continued with my summer trip meetings.
- Continuing my preparation, I took Japanese II, Eastern Religious Traditions, Chinese Culture (give me a wider view of Asia as a whole), and an independent study on Shinto.
Summer of 2008
- Traveled to Japan with my Sensei, the Study Abroad adviser, and 27 other students. It was my first airplane ride, first time out of the country, and first time going to Japan. It what helped me decide that I really wanted to do this.
Fall of 2008 (Third semester of college)
- Continued my talks with Study Abroad, filled out A TON of paperwork, and had it all sent over to Japan. It wasn't until around this time that I finally decided on which university I wanted to go to.
- Attended a couple of meetings designed for Study Abroad students, met another student who was planning on going to the same university, and got some advice from my Sensei and a student who went to the university the previous semester.
- Through the student who went there previously, I got in contact with a student (who is fluent in English) from the university and have gotten lots of advice and help from him, especially with a couple of forms that were in Japanese.
- Continued Japanese Table.
- I took Japanese III and the minimum amount of hours (12) so that I could focus on spending more time with Japanese.
Spring of 2009 (Fourth semester of college)
Well, that would be now. I've been listening to my Sensei's podcasts and YouTubers like Gimmeabreakman, Hikosaemon, and tokyojosh. Since all I'm doing is waiting around for my acceptance letter so I can get my visa, now is an awesome time to study.
I won't lie, I get distracted, and things do come up on occasion, but I still manage to find time. I'm also ordering Genki I, Genki II, Minna no Nihongo I, Minna no Nihongo II, Minna No Nihongo: Kanji I, and Minna no Nihongo: Kanji II. "How are you going to use all of those?!" Well, I'm glad I pretended you asked.
My main goal is to get down a lot of vocab, so I'll make a bunch of flashcards using the dictionaries. My second goal is to run through verb conjugation, which will be assisted by my Sensei's podcasts. I also want to learn as much kanji as I can, at least for recognition.
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