Progress Update - Day 30 (Week 4)

Konbanwa!

I have practiced a lot this week and have learned so much! It is nice to be able to walk around the house and name more things!

This week I learned:

- Types of transportation
- Directions and locations
- Rooms and items around the house
- Countries and continents
- More phrases including dating phrases

My vocabulary is around 640 words now, which equates to about 21 words per day. That's more than meeting my initial 10 words per day goal I had when I started.

I've also been practicing writing all the kana more. I've been working on writing smaller.

I haven't been working on writing kanji as much even though I need to start. I can see why people get so overwhelmed by kanji. I haven't found what works best for me yet, but I've downloaded some new apps to try and help me get started along with using my two kanji books I purchased.

I downloaded a couple of flash card apps last night similar to the Anki system. I started using them today along with Memrise and Mindsnacks Japanese to help with my vocabulary, grammar, and kanji.

I am still having so much fun expanding my vocabulary and I can't wait to learn even more this next week!

Sayounara!

Progress Update - Day 22 (Week 3)

Konbanwa!

I'm excited to say my hiragana writing has been coming along well! I've been working on writing katakana as well, but I've been continuing to practice the hiragana more first. To save on paper I've been using a white board for most of my practicing. Here is a sample of some of my hiragana writing:

Obviously my writing isn't perfect, but I'm very happy with it so far. I'm also pleased that my vocabulary has been coming along well. I know a little over 400 words now. Since my last update, I've learned names of different types of buildings and businesses. I've spent most of my time reviewing all the words I've learned previously. 

My goal when I started was to learn about 10 words a day, and as of today my average is about 20 words a day. I spend several hours a day (broken up throughout the day) working on new words and reviewing. My husband is averaging a good 7-8 words per day. Since he spends about an hour or so a day studying, that's really good. 

It's been fun to progress well in vocabulary, reading, and writing. Can't wait to see where I'm at next week!

Sayounara!

Progress Update - Day 19 - Writing Hiragana and Vocabulary

I have exciting news! I can write all of the main hiragana characters now! I had been practicing a little using an app, but it isn't the same as writing the characters by hand. On an app you trace the characters, so it always turns out right. Writing by hand is harder since it's all on you. Plus there is getting the stroke order correct. With a few exceptions, most of the characters follow the same formula, so it isn't too hard once you have the rules down.

I'm so excited to be able to write by hand now! You better believe I'm going to practice tons. I will be writing on everything! Good thing I have a white board so I don't go through too much paper. 

Also, I have done really well expanding my vocabulary and now know about 300+ words. I go around my house and the store naming things so I don't forget what I've learned. 

Since my last post I've learned:

-Basic animals
-Professions
-Counting round and flat items
-More numbers

I'm excited to see how I continue to progress!

Ja mata!

Progress Update - Day 15

I'm excited to report that as of the end of today, which is day 15 of learning Japanese, I know a little over 200 words. That means that so far I am surpassing my goal of 10 words per day pretty good. I'm happy with my progress so far. I'm able to read hiragana characters accurately most of the time and my katakana recognition is coming along well. It's nice to be able to sound words out! 

This week I've been working more on:

- Reviewing the words I learned previously
- Food and Meal terms
- Greetings
- Questions
- Pronouns
- Days, Weeks, Years
- Kana Recognition

My husband's progress is coming along well too. He hadn't been able to practice as much as me this past week but will have more time this week so we'll probably know a lot of the same stuff as each other by the end of the week and have an easier time practicing together. 

We used Rosetta Stone last week a little bit but had a busy weekend and weren't able to do any lessons. Using Rosetta and a combination of apps has been working well for us so far though. 

I'm excited to see how we will have progressed by next week!

Ja mata!

Progress Update - Day 12

As of early today, I know a bit over 200 words, which feels awesome! My goal is to learn and remember 10 words per day, so I'm doing pretty good so far. I have to review all I've learned a lot so I can remember everything. There are a few greeting phrases I am still working to remember well. Simpler things like food, clothes, numbers, etc. I don't have much problem remembering so far.

I was struggling the last few days on some greetings and I don't have them all down perfect or anything, but I pushed through today and practiced a lot and improved quite a bit. I've found that if I just practice by ear and don't say all the words out loud, I don't remember or learn things as well. So today I worked to say all the words out loud and not just listen and read them. Makes sense I guess!

I have my headset coming in the mail later, which means hopefully I'll be using Rosetta Stone by later today. I'm excited to see how I can progress once I start with that too!

I've been using the Mindsnacks app and Memrise a lot. At first I didn't really like Memrise, but I've stuck with it and am liking it more now. It's helped me learn more than just the Mindsnacks alone.

The Dr Moku apps have helped me remember the hiragana characters that I've struggled to remember. So most of the hiragana I have down pretty well now which is great. I've been progressing along on the katakana as well, but I haven't worked on it as much.

I'll update with how the Rosetta Stone goes! I did the free level 1 trial app last week and had liked it. Can't wait to keep going!

Ja mata!