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 Language Learning Forum : Language Learning Log |  | |
| kujichagulia Senior Member Japan Joined 4644 days ago 1031 posts - 1571 votes  Speaks: English* Studies: Japanese, Portuguese | Message 33 of 76 19 July 2012 at 2:52pm | IP Logged | |||||
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Watched an episode of an NHK drama called "Hatsukoi." Lasted about 45 minutes. The main character was having an affair with a doctor who was brain damaged in a recent accident, to the detriment of her husband and son. Drove me crazy. Why did she have to break up her family like that? I found that I understand a bit more than last year, when I watched another, funny drama with my wife.
Nice start to the Half Super Challenge! Keep it up! 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| rewire Groupie United States learninglane.tumblr.Registered users can see my Skype Name Joined 4344 days ago 82 posts - 90 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Japanese, Mandarin | Message 34 of 76 19 July 2012 at 8:54pm | IP Logged | |||||
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So, I don't know how well it'd fit into your schedule, given I know I wouldn't really be comfortable talking out loud on the train/in public,
but Pimsleur's been helping me a lot with output practice, since I don't have to think about "What do I want to say" as much-- just say what it asks me to. It's far too basic to be something I can do by itself especially since so much of it is really review for me, but to occupy my brain while driving it works great for me, and I've noticed a lot of improvement in being able to just say things instead of having to think about what words I need to use/how to properly conjugate verbs/adjectives. Outside of that, and it's also kind of a problem if you don't have a lot of free time, but maybe look into conversation groups through your city/prefecture? One summer when I stayed with my grandmother, my family found out that there were local-government-sponsored conversation programs for ex-pats who were trying to learn Japanese that you could join for cheap (free? I can't remember, but I know if it cost anything it was rather minimal compared to other options) nearby her that were basically group tutoring sessions for people in your situation. Even if you could only attend occasionally it could help? Sorry if none of this is useful at all, but good luck with your challenge! :) I'd be curious to know how the reader you picked up is once you get it, too. 2 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| ZombieKing Bilingual Diglot Senior Member Canada Joined 4324 days ago 247 posts - 324 votes Speaks: English*, Mandarin* | Message 35 of 76 19 July 2012 at 9:02pm | IP Logged | |||||
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Good luck on the half super challenge! I was considering it myself, but I don't think I will haha :P
I hadn't read the Harry Potter books myself either until I started doing L & R with it. When I first tried reading it many years ago, I was so bored and couldn't get past the first two pages. But I find that combining it with listening to the audio in German (which is beautiful to listen to) makes it enjoyable for me. Maybe it'll be the same for you :) When you watch dramas with your wife, do you have English subtitles on? 2 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| montmorency Diglot Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 4625 days ago 2371 posts - 3676 votes Speaks: English*, German Studies: Danish, Welsh | Message 36 of 76 20 July 2012 at 1:02am | IP Logged | |||||
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One thought: You might learn to like the sound of the language when you become a bit
better at it. I had this experience in German. I had learned some Dutch as a young man, in a rather erratic way admittedly, and really loved the sound of it, especially the Flemish variety. When I came to learn German quite a bit later, I didn't really like the sound of it, far preferred Dutch, and used to pronounce my German with a bit of a Dutch accent. Wind forward quite a lot, and now I prefer the sound of German to Dutch (although I still think the sound of Dutch is kind of cute), and I'd probably pronounce my Dutch in a German accent :-) So basically, don't give up. 2 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| kujichagulia Senior Member Japan Joined 4644 days ago 1031 posts - 1571 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Japanese, Portuguese | Message 37 of 76 20 July 2012 at 2:00am | IP Logged | |||||
rewire, thank you for your input. Any suggestions are useful and most welcome! Using Pimsleur in that way is a good idea. Of course, it's hard to speak out loud when there are people standing just a few inches from your face. However, I could just move my lips. :) I've been doing something like that with the JapanesePod101 podcasts. Unfortunately, Pimsleur is a budget-buster for me, unless I can get a used version on the cheap.
When I first came to Japan, I actually went to one of these for a year here in my city! It was free and run by retired volunteers. They helped me to go from just こんにちは and ありがとう to basic questions and answers. They taught a lot about Japanese culture as well. Unfortunately they meet on Tuesday mornings, and when I started working in public high schools, continuing to go to the program was (and still is) out of the question. I'll be sure to post about the reader once it arrives. Amazon.co.jp still hasn't shipped it yet; ironically, they have to get it from overseas. :s 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| kujichagulia Senior Member Japan Joined 4644 days ago 1031 posts - 1571 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Japanese, Portuguese | Message 38 of 76 20 July 2012 at 2:03am | IP Logged | |||||
They don't have English subtitles available for Japanese dramas here in Japan. We watch them with Japanese subtitles (more specifically, closed captioning), which helps me catch words that I might not catch solely by listening. 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| kujichagulia Senior Member Japan Joined 4644 days ago 1031 posts - 1571 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Japanese, Portuguese | Message 39 of 76 20 July 2012 at 2:06am | IP Logged | |||||
Thank you very much, montmorency. Actually, I like the sound of Dutch as well! I went to the Netherlands and Belgium in January and learned a few phrases in preparation. Dutch sounds very cool, and it took a lot of strength for me to stop myself from studying it. :) Yeah, I think that once I become used to using Japanese, the sound of it will grow on me. I'll press forward. Certainly, the encouragement from you and all the others will make it difficult for me to give up. Again, thank you all! 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| ZombieKing Bilingual Diglot Senior Member Canada Joined 4324 days ago 247 posts - 324 votes Speaks: English*, Mandarin* | Message 40 of 76 20 July 2012 at 4:17am | IP Logged | |||||
Are you familiar with Subs2srs? 1 person has voted this message useful |
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