|
Post by Princess on Jan 4, 2015 19:17:49 GMT
Haha oh gosh, I know what you mean. I haven't looked on forums for learning Japanese too much just cuz I don't feel like I've utilized my own books enough to go into the depths of internet for help. Also, I'm still very much a beginner! BUT OH GOSH I WANT TO SPEAK IT SO BADLY! I was just watching some jvlogs, and they always inspire me sooo much! It's funny, studying Japanese actually gets me very excited usually! Like I get something and am doing well at flash cards and it's just soo fun! I like school so that helps but oh I feel like such a dork hehe.
Gaiwa definitely gives off that feel and I hope as it grows it stays that way too! A suggestion I'd give would be to make sure there's always an appropriate number of forum moderators so they can keep Gaiwa safe and friendly. Not to stifle freedom but there's a fine line between positive criticism and downright negativity and bullying xO
JBP is my local college's textbook and I've gone to the teacher a few times for information on taking the class (for some reason I always ended missing deadlines, the beginning 1 is only in fall and beginning 2 is only in spring---but I finally tested into beginning 2!) She's been so patient with me and OMG IS SHE THE CUTEST TEACHER EVER! (and so good at charades!)
There was a point where my family did have enough money that would've made this whole thing easier but my mom was pretty against me leaving the country (or the state for that matter) cuz she just plain didn't want me to live too far away from her and my siblings. I was pretty mad but in the end it's felt good to get this all done through my own hands. Although I would've been okay with it being easier >.> oh wells haha.
YES JUST BE PASSIONATE! yay passion!
|
|
|
Post by Jembru on Jan 7, 2015 7:52:54 GMT
Also, I'm still very much a beginner! BUT OH GOSH I WANT TO SPEAK IT SO BADLY! I was just watching some jvlogs, and they always inspire me sooo much! Sorry to self-promote, and go off-topic, but have you seen the thread I started on Keeping a Video Journal. I think this process could really help you to improve your spoken Japanese to a level where you could make video blogs in Japanese faster than just learning Japanese and waiting for it to happen (for some learners it does 'just happen', but for most of us we don't learn to speak Japanese automatically by studying grammar, kanji and vocabulary). I never made these videos as often as I should have, and I found them a little lacking in that they didn't improve other conversation skills such as listening, using conversational expressions (aizuchi.. no one ever knows how to say this in English ^^) and inferring meaning from the gist. Still, none of these skills matter for making a vlog, so video journalling would probably be specifically useful for you because of your youtube channel. Besides, you can pick up the other skills once you get to Japan, or practice conversations with your partner in the meantime.
|
|
|
Post by Princess on Jan 29, 2015 23:16:01 GMT
Also, I'm still very much a beginner! BUT OH GOSH I WANT TO SPEAK IT SO BADLY! I was just watching some jvlogs, and they always inspire me sooo much! Sorry to self-promote, and go off-topic, but have you seen the thread I started on Keeping a Video Journal. I think this process could really help you to improve your spoken Japanese to a level where you could make video blogs in Japanese faster than just learning Japanese and waiting for it to happen (for some learners it does 'just happen', but for most of us we don't learn to speak Japanese automatically by studying grammar, kanji and vocabulary). I never made these videos as often as I should have, and I found them a little lacking in that they didn't improve other conversation skills such as listening, using conversational expressions (aizuchi.. no one ever knows how to say this in English ^^) and inferring meaning from the gist. Still, none of these skills matter for making a vlog, so video journalling would probably be specifically useful for you because of your youtube channel. Besides, you can pick up the other skills once you get to Japan, or practice conversations with your partner in the meantime. Oh I didn't even see your post til now! That's a really great idea but I might wait a bit considering I can't even write many sentences. But I did actually do good on a recent conversation test in my Japanese class and I'm super proud of myself ^^ I was sure I was going to bomb it! My husband has finally started studying himself too so we attempted to have a study session....and that's where things went wrong! LOL! It's hard to self study when you just straight up don't know if something's right or wrong or if you really just don't understand concepts but I can really say I didn't start to understand grammar and markers until I started trying to make sentences and ASK QUESTIONS IN CLASS! I know it seems silly, obviously you'd ask questions, but I realized I was kind of just breezing through the homework cuz it's basically just "copy and paste" for the Japanese for Busy People textbook and I wasn't really utilizing it. Also, there's this new girl in my class who just got back from Japan for 6 months (and she's going back in September) and she can speak it beautifully! She's sooo adorable and is the only one in the class that can actually speak it. I'd really like to ask her if we can have a study session sometime (especially since we're both moving to Tokyo!) but I'd feel like such a burden hardly being able to say anything. (Wow, why does that sound so Japanese? hahahha!) I barely tested into this class so I'm trying to catch up on the vocab from the previous semester and get speaking practice. She said she wants to speak as much as possible though, cuz she doesn't get any other chance to being in America now. Also, even if I can't speak much, I do understand most of what she's saying!! D:
|
|
|
Post by Princess on Jan 29, 2015 23:20:08 GMT
Actually you know, that's not my problem. My problem is I'm not actually sure WHAT I KNOW. Like things have really clicked in the last couple class sessions and I think tonight I'm going to watch some anime without subtitles to see if I understand more (before this, I've been able to understand the gist of what's going and many phrases).
Also as a side note, I'm at 36 posts! I will be promoted from a New Member to whatevers next soon enough!! xD I'm scared to enter the study section of this site, is my Japanese good enough? xO I WANNA COMMUNICATE!
|
|
|
Post by Jembru on Jan 30, 2015 0:22:12 GMT
Just go ahead and start trying. The worst that can happen is you make a mistake. And that's also the best that could happen! As you've discovered, it's only when you start noticing details of the language that it sticks. I discovered that far too late and it was hard to get used to taking correction by that point, and having never been corrected I had developed many bad habits that could have been nipped in the bud had I just asked for correction sooner. I'm still constantly frustrated by the lack of accuracy of my Japanese. I got sloppy because I didn't learn the 'right' way to use grammar, and you can get away with a lot more when speaking. When I come to write, I try to write as I'd speak.. and it's an ugly, ugly mess. But I'm encouraged by the notion that every mistake I make today, is one less mistake I'll make tomorrow! My advice will always be the same.. if you keep waiting until you 'know enough' you'll be waiting forever. The longer you leave it, the harder it is to start, and the more frustrating it is that you know so much and can do so little with that knowledge. So start using what you know, however little, right away. I know I wish I had.
I just wish I had more time. I'd love to be able to write something every day, but these 10 hour night shifts just eat free time...
|
|