Hello. I thought I’d start one of these fancy learning log things so I can talk about all the stuff I can’t log in natively. And sometimes I just want to babble without filling up other threads with my nonsense.
A little bit about me…
Like a lot of people, I studied some Japanese in school and then promptly didn’t study it again for ages. I finally got to take my dream trip to Japan last year, but I spent the entire time being too embarrassed to speak with anyone in Japanese. However, that was enough to get me motivated to see how much online learning had come along in the [redacted] years since I graduated and here I am.
Goals…
I have two primary goals.
I want to read (more) manga and (more) books in Japanese
I want to visit Japan again and actually talk to people (and skip getting jouzu’d the whole time )
Short term goal…
Take the JLPT N4 in December
I’m learning Japanese at a leisurely pace, so meander along with me.
The first thing I’m actually logging. Had a conversation tutoring session today, but I was quite tired from work and it showed. Usually I try to brainstorm up some conversation topics ahead of time but I didn’t have time.
I keep reminding myself that I have to be bad at something before I can be good at it.
Welcome to the learning log crew! I majored in Japanese studies, couldn’t communicate at all when I graduated, gave up, and then got super motivated after my first visit to Japan. I also burnt out hard after that and stopped studying for 5 or so years before finding Natively, but let’s hope you avoid that particular deviation on my path
I skipped over all the times I tried studying Japanese between when I graduated and now. I did duolingo for a while, tried learning via anki decks, etc. Currently using a combo of bunpro + watching a boat load of anime without subs.
Some study notes…
Watched this video recently and it really made てくれる stick in my head as more than just a grammar pattern
Also, I finished up bunpro’s N4 “Let’s get polite” chapter and I’m taking a little break from learning new grammar because sonkeigo is making my brain hurt.
I’m not noticing any appreciable decrease in new vocab look ups per manga volume, but I honestly might just be reading faster than I’m learning new vocab. I need a larger sample size, clearly. Time to buy more manga.
I’m still working on reading たまごの魔法屋トワ 1 | L20 which has more plot than I was expecting. It’s an extremely easy read, the only challenge I’m really encountering is the extreme lack of kanji. If there’s a bunch of words I don’t know right in a row, I’ll sometimes resort to using google translate to help out. (I think I’ve had to do that 2-3 times at this point.)
Other than that, I’ve been able to go whole pages without looking anything up because the vocab is so simple. It’s a pretty nice feeling!
Other than that, I’m trying to wrap up the handful of stories I was reading on Satori Reader. They’re a great resource when one is starting out, but I think I’ve outgrown them. I also want to read Kona and Fujiki Consulting Services before I cancel my subscription.
What I'm Watching
Currently working my way through 安達としまむら S1 | L24 and getting pretty close to finishing. At this point, I think the writer forgot the premise of the series was supposed to be that they were skipping class together. I really should just learn to drop series if I’m not enjoying them.
On the other hand, I’m about halfway through 先輩はおとこのこ S1 | L20 and this one just keeps getting me in the feels. I want to hurry up and finish it, but I’m saving that for a treat for after I finish 安達としまむら.
And, as always, I’m watching PreCure with the current series being ふたりはプリキュア Splash Star S1 | L22. So far it feels so similar to the first series, it’s really hard not to find it a less interesting version of the original. However, I just got to the point with the dark PreCures so I think I’m about to find out why reviews tend to call this a refinement of the PreCure formula.
I wonder… does anyone else here do conversational tutoring? I feel like as soon as I start talking, all the grammar I’ve learned flies right out of my head. But it does feel really good when I manage to have even a simple conversation (like comparing the differences between Starbucks in Japan and the US ).
Some other pros, so I don’t lose hope:
if I’m having a hard time pronouncing a word, my tutor will say it and I can just repeat it, so it’s on demand shadowing
it’s fun to learn more about a different culture
even if I’m struggling during a specific session, I still feel like every tutoring session I finish gives my Japanese skills a general level up
Another conversation tutoring session, feeling better about this one! I was actually able to make a joke and I feel pretty good about it.
I’m not officially participating in the listening challenge, since I have too much going on this month to try to track my listening hours (also, too lazy), but I’m trying to get more non-anime listening in this month. This has mostly been listening to youtube videos, some of them for language learners and some of them for native speakers. One channel I’ve been enjoying is the Listening Practice vlogs from Speak Japanese Naturally. She speaks slowly and clearly and her voice is calming. It’s a nice break from all the N3+ podcasts on youtube.
I do! I’m very off and on about it though. (Lately since I’ve been working more hours I haven’t had the energy.)
I can totally relate to forgetting all grammar as soon as you start talking. Sometimes I feel like I’m just spitting out a bunch of word salad and my tutor magically understands how it fits together into what I was trying to say.
If you’re having trouble staying motivated I would say keep trying different tutors until you meet one who you really click with or who always puts you in a good mood. The one tutor I keep seeing always makes me laugh, and usually makes me feel better than before I talked with her, so it’s always an easy decision to sign up for another lesson.
I am also on an off with conversational tutors. I had a lesson last night and literally forgot the word より. So yeah I agree everything you know just files out of your brain as soon as you have to speak.
No, but I speak in Japanese in lessons, and know exactly what you mean. I have been thinking of asking to switch to doing conversation, bc unlike reading is largely something I can’t work on on my own. Writing can help to a degree, but it’s still different than on the spot conversation
Why not just drop the current stories and start those then? Seems like a better use of time, if you’re aiming to cancel your subscription soon. I really loved both of them, especially Fujiki
Life is too short to watch things you don’t enjoy (without a good reason). Tho thankfully anime episodes are short too - so it’s not the biggest loss.
I’m glad I’m not the only one. As for stupid mistakes, in my last session, I said 靴 instead of 椅子 so I said I had a quilt on my bed, my sofa and my shoe. I wish I had a way to practice conversational speaking on my own, but it is a very different experience walking around talking to yourself (as I see often recommended) vs actually trying to talk to another person.
I sometimes do this (usually in the shower) but not with any regularity (it usually kinda spills out of my thoughts and then I’m talking to myself ). It is completely different. I’m always able to say what I want to say and rarely trip on words and am just way so much less sweaty when I’m talking to myself although I guess it’s hard to be sweaty in the shower
I like this video from Yuyu about how to talk more like a native speaker and it made me realize I’m really overthinking it. I just need to remember any grammar at all when I’m talking and I’m half way there.
Ooh, that’s a great find! I love the way he breaks down Japanese conversation style.
て- form is my grammar of choice for this. It’s a great way to buy yourself time, and nine times out of ten my conversation partner saves me from having to figure out how to end a sentence by jumping in with aizuchi or a question that lets me start a new sentence!
んだけど is one that wasn’t on my radar so I’ll have to start paying attention to how it’s used. さ feels kinda masculine maybe? Maybe young? But I’ll also keep watch (listen?) for it out in the wild too. I feel like sometimes I’m a bad judge for what is and isn’t teenager speak because of the media I consume. Ah, to be able to read books for adults with the fluency that I can read books for teens
You’re probably a teenager in Japanese-language-learning-years at least! I do agree with you that heavy use of さ feels kind of masculine, though. Next time I have a lesson maybe I’ll ask.
His whole speech style (mannerisms, intonation, etc) is very “guy hanging out with his buds” in this video. I’m listening to it like “this is good advice, but なんか違う…” (in the sense that it’s really different than my speech style or a style I personally want to emulate)
I think his main points are what’s useful, rather than the specific filler grammar he uses:
decide what you want to say
break it down into chunks, by using “respond to [implicit] question” method
create openings for aizuchi
Actually wait, was that his 3rd point? I forgot already
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I did duolingo for a while, tried learning via anki decks, etc. Currently using a combo of bunpro + watching a boat load of anime without subs.
(I think I’ve had to do that 2-3 times at this point.)
I really should just learn to drop series if I’m not enjoying them.
