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Val’s Adventures in Polyglottery | ||
Tags: Polyglottery | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Language Learning Log |  | |
| Valamphias Newbie United States Joined 5597 days ago 25 posts - 25 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Japanese | Message 1 of 15 04 August 2009 at 12:58am | IP Logged | ||
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Yeah... I tried having an original title. On a scale of 1 to 5 (1 being horrible and 5 being incredible/amazing), how would you rate it?
At the present time - roughly 6:15 PM local time on the 3rd of August, 2009 - I am only actively focused on one of the several languages I hope to learn: Japanese. While I hope to cover a wide variety of additional languages (including Spanish, Russian, Arabic and others), I really feel it best to focus on only one at a time. I'll be having enough on my plate with just Japanese, so why add more right now? This is actually my second attempt at learning the language of Japan, and while I did progress a little ways into the strange and sometimes frightening world of their writing system(s) and culture, it seems that over the course of the last year I have lost what knowledge I possessed, so most of my early studies this time around will be in reclaiming what I have lost. This includes the Kana, a few Kanji, and some basic phrases and sentences. Fortunately, as I have already been down this road once before, I already have quite a few books at my disposal (as well as a set of Kanji flashcards). The ones focused on language are: 1.) A Guide to Learning Hiragana and Katakana (Kenneth Henshall & Tetsuo Takagaki) 2.) Kanji Power (John Millen) 3.) Let's Learn Kanji (Joyce Mitamura & Yasuko Mitamura) 4.) Schaum's Outlines: Japanese Grammar 5.) Modern Japanese Vocabulary: A Guide for 21st Century Students (Hiragana/Katakana Edition) (Edward Trimnel) I also have a furigana dictionary, a couple of books focused on things like expressing emotion and intellectual discussion in Japanese (politics, the sciences, etc.), and a couple of books on certain aspects of Japanese culture. I also have, thanks to Cainntear, a cool game that will help me with my Kanji. I would post a link here, but it seems that new members aren't allowed to, as a method of combating against spammers. I am focusing on the Kana for the present time, and will move into the Kanji after I feel I have 'mastered' those. When I get into Kanji, I will also try to pick up phrases and the like again and look into the grammar. My immediate goal is to have the Kana completely finished with by Friday. I am already completely through Hiragana and into Katakana somewhat, so this shouldn't be too difficult a goal. Here's to hoping. :) Edited by Valamphias on 04 August 2009 at 1:26am 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| ExtraLean Triglot Senior Member France languagelearners.myf Joined 5996 days ago 897 posts - 880 votes  Speaks: English*, French, Spanish Studies: German | Message 2 of 15 04 August 2009 at 9:26am | IP Logged | ||
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Hey Val,
I give it a three, just because you're treating it as an adventure, like I myself do. Good luck on your Japanese, it's nice to see you're taking it seriously, but really is only doing one language at a time a real 'adventure'? :p Where's the pain? The tears? The almost insurmountable obstacles of two counterposing sets of grammar? Seriously though, good luck, and I hope to see your adventure arrive at a profitable finish for you. Oh and pm me the link, I'll edit this post and whack it in if you'd like. Thom. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Valamphias Newbie United States Joined 5597 days ago 25 posts - 25 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Japanese | Message 3 of 15 04 August 2009 at 4:57pm | IP Logged | ||
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Haha. Well, I probably won't wait too long before diving into a second language... a few months at most, probably. I'd just like to get mildly comfortable with one so that my studies don't end up being counterproductive and I start mixing up my Japanese with my Russian or my French with my Spanish. The title may be a little misleading since I'm focused on one language right now, but it won't stay that way for long. Trust me: I'm probably not patient enough. :)
Will do, and thanks for rating my title. I was hoping for something better than "average," but I prefer honest answers, so I won't complain. Edited by Valamphias on 04 August 2009 at 4:57pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Valamphias Newbie United States Joined 5597 days ago 25 posts - 25 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Japanese | Message 4 of 15 07 August 2009 at 5:00am | IP Logged | ||
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Well, as expected, I didn't quite manage my goal. I'm almost through Katakana, and I am pleased with the progress I have made, but the "get past the Kana by Friday" bit was overly ambitious. Mostly because I didn't take into account the chance of fate, the universe, God, or my own cursed life getting in the way. I'll try not to make that mistake again.
It isn't all bad, though: part of why I didn't quite manage it was my lurking around this forum and learning. I have learned about the NHK lessons that I've already begun going through to learn phrases. I have learned about AJATT (All Japanese All The Time) and the magnificent tips to be had there for making learning the Japanese language fun. Yes, you read that correctly: I said fun. I'm not entirely convinced the promise made on that site is kept (seriously, fun?), but I'll be looking at the suggestions there and following any and all that I am capable of (and that seem useful to me). Then there are all the tips and 'tricks' regarding language learning and what has worked for people, and the other logs that are proving more interesting than I thought they'd be - that's a compliment... I think. I'm pretty sure I can finish up the Katakana by Sunday. In case you haven't guessed, at this point I'm trying to do something daily, and each day varies as to how much time I spend concentrating on my studies. Sometimes it's only a few minutes, but occasionally I'm able to spend well over an hour working on it. That's it for now, I think. I can't promise a regular update schedule here: it'll be (or at least seem) sporadic at best, with intervals of constant updates and near silence (with everything in between). Sorry if that bugs any of you reading this (by the way, thanks for reading!), but that's just how it's going to be. :) Edit: One thing I forgot to mention: in a couple of weeks I should be able to spend more time learning the language daily. Things are just a bit busy for me at the moment. I'm hoping everything will calm down and return to normal by the time I choose to really dive into Kanji. Addresses of interest: AJATT: http://www.alljapaneseallthetime.com - making Japanese fun? NHK: http://www.nhk.or.jp/lesson/ - Short, interesting lessons that are available in a variety of languages, in case English isn't your native or favorite language to listen to. Project LRNJ: http://lrnj.com/ - That Kanji game I mentioned in my last post. I can't provide clickable links, but I can drop the addresses for you to copy and paste. Enjoy. :) Edited by Valamphias on 07 August 2009 at 5:31am 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| ExtraLean Triglot Senior Member France languagelearners.myf Joined 5996 days ago 897 posts - 880 votes Speaks: English*, French, Spanish Studies: German | Message 5 of 15 07 August 2009 at 9:18am | IP Logged | ||
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Better late than never:
AJATT NHK Project LRNJ Sorry, I kinda forgot about it, and was asking myself 'why do I want this link'....:p 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| bluejay390 Senior Member United StatesRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 6280 days ago 227 posts - 259 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish, Mandarin, Japanese, Malay, Italian | Message 6 of 15 07 August 2009 at 9:42am | IP Logged | ||
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Slime Forest!
There is also Knuckles in China Land: http://www.kicl.info/ 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Pyx Diglot Senior Member China Joined 5737 days ago 670 posts - 892 votes Speaks: German*, English Studies: Mandarin | Message 7 of 15 07 August 2009 at 10:23am | IP Logged | ||
Which, when I first saw it, got my hopes high, only to crush them afterwards. The author of that program should really be slapped repeatedly, to call something about JAPANESE "IN CHINALAND"! 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Valamphias Newbie United States Joined 5597 days ago 25 posts - 25 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Japanese | Message 8 of 15 07 August 2009 at 5:34pm | IP Logged | ||
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Haha - that would irk me immensely. At first I wondered why was he posting something about Chinese here, but then I find it may be pretty useful. I'm confused as to why a single program would have Japanese AND German vocabulary in it (let alone a game having both), but if I ever decide to learn German (which is likely to happen eventually) this will become useful. :)
Oh, and: that post was a day early. For some strange reason, I was thinking that yesterday was Friday. I may end up succeeding anyway, despite that post. We'll see. 1 person has voted this message useful |
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