AlanP
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Posts: 31
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Post by AlanP on Jul 20, 2014 10:03:36 GMT
I guess that's a kick up the backside I needed Seriously,I think I have to adjust my learning to incorporate more time speaking. At the moment I'm probably doing about 10% speech practice which is why I wanted something to help practice. I realise it's a long long journey, as you say years. I've bookmarked the two links Chocopie gave me (thanks Chocopie) and also found out JPOd101 have audio books on itunes so have downloaded the beginner series which should help and give me an idea if jpod is the way I want to go. If it is I'll probably get a subscription. It's the part of "giving your vocal cords a workout" which you mentioned I want. I do like that idea of a video journal also, will just have to workout how to do it. Thanks for both your posts.
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Post by Jembru on Jul 20, 2014 23:25:57 GMT
^^ It wasn't quite meant as a kick, but if it's inspired you, that can't be bad. I have made just about every mistake possible with my learning and there is so much I wish I'd done differently because I know I could have developed faster if I had used better methods from the start. So when I see similar patterns in others I do get a bit preachy. While I wish I'd used different study methods in the early days, my biggest regret is telling myself, 12 months into my latest attempt to master Japanese, that I'm just not good at languages. I had attempted to make a video to show the restults of my 12 months of intensive study (and it honest was intensive), and to my horror realised I hadn't actually learnt to speak. My over-ambitious expectations and the fact I'd all but ignored speaking practice besides drilling the exercises from my textbook with my language exchange buddy, had set me up for failure. That failure shook my confidence so badly that even to this day, despite consciously working on my confidence, I still don't trust myself 100% to be able to speak Japanese. This doubt in my mind whenever I'm in a situation where I can speak, makes it so much harder. It depends on several factors, but I can have days where I join in and speak quite a lot with my friends and days when I give short answers and use English to say anything complicated.
I know I'm not stupid and I'm not bad at learning languages. I just took a few wrong turns early on and have suffered as a consequence. If there is anything I can do to prevent others from being in my position 3 years down the line, then I'll do it!
Due to the demands of adult life I've had to step back from article writing for the time being, although I am slowly chipping away at a series based on matching study methods to your learning style. I had also thought about writing an article on how I keep my video journal because it has gradually evolved over the past year and a half (I started it in January 2012 and have made around 80 or so in this time, which isn't nearly enough!). If that's something you'd be interested in hearing about, I could maybe start a thread about it instead?
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AlanP
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Posts: 31
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Post by AlanP on Jul 21, 2014 7:48:35 GMT
Thanks Jembru, I know it wasn't meant as a kick, more of a sense of realism. The first paragraph above described my learning completely to a tee with the exception of a language partner. So as you noticed I was clearly heading that way. I want to learn enough so I can skype exchange with a native speaker then develop from there. I would be interested in a thread about vlogs. I'm checking I have all the equipment and software.
Thanks again.
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Post by Jembru on Jul 21, 2014 8:50:50 GMT
Well, don't forget that it's never too early to speak with a native speaker. One of the worst things we can do is keep telling ourselves we'll do it 'just as soon as I can...' because trust me, that day never comes! Benny Lewis, the polyglot from 'Fluent in 3 Months' is currently my messiah and probably puts this best; With languages I find that people who know tons are usually “almost ready” to use it. They’ll be stuck in that “some day” feedback loop forever. The “best” language learners, who can quote all the research papers, have access to all the course material and can tell you words for the most obscure vocabulary, tend to be the worst speakers when compared to more active users of a language. They keep second guessing themselves or thinking too much. He's describing me perfectly in this article. Not just me, but plenty of people I've spoken to who have reported pretty much the same negative feedback loop. You want to know who I think is the best learner here at Gaiwa? It's actually none of the staff, or those who passed various JLPT exams.. they're obviously successful learners of course, but the person who has the best attitude to studying in my opinion is demonhead. He has a function-based approach to learning. He doesn't confine himself to any specific order in which to learn, but simply USES the language by playing video games that force him to actively engage with the text or dialogue in order to get from A-B. He even makes lets plays in Japanese RIGHT NOW. He isn't waiting until he's learnt x amount of words or passed such-and-such an exam. He just uses what he knows, has a go and if he makes a mistake, so what? No one is harmed in the process. I think that is an attitude we should all aspire to! Okay, I'll start the thread when I get some time. For now I had better hit the hay! ^^
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AlanP
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Posts: 31
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Post by AlanP on Jul 25, 2014 16:26:02 GMT
Minor update, the audiobooks JPOD101 have on itunes are useful and when I'm finished I'm going to subscribe to JPOD101.
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Post by Jembru on Jul 31, 2014 1:55:58 GMT
Minor update, the audiobooks JPOD101 have on itunes are useful and when I'm finished I'm going to subscribe to JPOD101. I love Japanese pod too. I've been using it since November 2012 although I've actually taken a break from it. It wasn't deliberate. I forgot to update paypal when my debit card expired so my subscription didn't update. It just happened to be at a time when I was focusing on other study methods, so I thought I'd give myself a month or two off before I start paying again. A lot of people subscribe, download as much content as they can and then cancel their subscription before they have to start paying. I couldn't do this. I like the site so wouldn't want to rip them off, but more importantly, I like to be able to access the PDF files without having to have them all saved to my PC. I also like being able to see all the courses I've completed, and I often use the search function to look up specific grammar points I want to practice. Most of all, my entire study method relies on jpod.. well, I have a variety if 'lesson plans' these days, that make use of various study materials, but jpod is still the backbone of my study. Actually, the lesson plan I follow is still on the old forum. I don't know if it would interest you or not, but you can find it here. Everything jpod gives me I could get in other ways, but it's just really convenient to have everything in one place like that, and a course that grows with me, rather than stopping at upper-intermediate like so many others do.
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AlanP
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Posts: 31
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Post by AlanP on Jul 31, 2014 18:38:38 GMT
Wow Jemma, that lesson plan is quite detailed. You must have took ages typing that one out. I understand what you mean, everything could be found for free if you looked for it, but as you say why bother when it's all tied up neatly in a bow in one place. I do like that idea where you can see where you are up to, one reason I prefer memrise over Anki.
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Post by Jembru on Jul 31, 2014 19:48:43 GMT
It wasn't too much to write because I already had the main body of it on my laptop. I just had to add the details so it made sense to people besides me! I noticed last night when I added the link that I'd accidentally left some jargon in though.
I just should have mentioned that for beginners, they'd describe the story in English during the warm up and probably just make example sentences during the free practice. It was more designed to encourage speaking practice when I study.
My next challenge (from Monday next week!) is to study written Japanese and learn as much kanji as I can by Jan next year. I need to work out how I can use jpod for that. Hope I can come up with something so I have an excuse to re-subscribe!
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Post by Jembru on Aug 1, 2014 1:16:00 GMT
I need to work out how I can use jpod for that. Hope I can come up with something so I have an excuse to re-subscribe! I have worked it out and it's perfect... The PDFs have kana and romaji versions of the dialogue. I'm going to use these as prompts and attempt to transcribe into kana and kanji. I can then quickly check the kanji I write against the kanji version in the PDF! I'll use only lessons I've studied before for this. It will be good revision that way. So I'll be signing up again over the weekend!
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