皆さんこんにちは。
Well, here I am on day 234! I've been continuing to work hard learning new vocabulary, grammar, and to improve my listening skills. I've noticed that I'm starting to understand more and feel less overwhelmed when listening to music or watching videos in Japanese.
As a result of feeling less overwhelmed, I've been listening to even more music, watching more videos, and listening to audio books while reading along. It's been helping so much and I feel that I've turned a corner into where I can actually enjoy learning instead of studying being so serious all the time. I'm still doing all the serious studies, such as reviewing vocabulary cards in Anki, but now when I don't feel up for that I can at least watch or listen to something and understand what's going on without having to rely on subtitles or a lyric translation so heavily.
It's such an exciting feeling to listen to something and catch more than just a word here and there. To be able to listen to something and be able to really understand (with a little work) it has been really great.
I've been listening to a lot of music the past few weeks after I came across a song that I had known the tune previously but didn't know more than that. The song is "Ue o Muite Arukou" or sometimes known as "Sukiyaki" sung by Kyu Sakamoto. I've been a little obsessed with the song and have played it and sung it a lot.
Last week I downloaded a CD called "Planet Journey" from an artist named Ritsuka. I love all the songs and I have learned new vocabulary and grammar from listening closely. I've been really into the song "Aoi Tori" aka "Bluebird". There were a lot of words I already knew when I first listened to it so it had caught my attention, and now that I have listened a lot I've learned a good deal. I've been enjoying some other songs and artists as well, but these two songs stand out. I've been trying to find some additional music artists that fit my tastes but it's a lot of work.
I also have been watching some clips from game shows on YouTube. AKBingo is my favorite right now even though I know there is a lot of controversy and some shady things concerning AKB48, the music group that the show is built around.
Aside from diving into Japanese music and media a little more, I've been continuing to practice in more serious ways as well. I haven't done as much Rosetta Stone as I'd like to the past few weeks because I haven't been well enough (thus all the time on my hands to watch game shows and such). I have been doing some more vocabulary, and have worked my way up to about 5500 vocabulary words that I'm currently working on. Since I've been doing more reading and other things, it has felt easier to remember more words and their meanings. Sometimes just practicing a word in Anki a couple of times, and then hearing it in a song or on a program is all it takes to remember it well.
In one of my last posts I talked about taking a break from new vocabulary, and I took around a month long break (or close to that). I may take another break in the future if I feel burned out on new words, but right now I feel like my learning is similar to a snowball running down a hill that's getting bigger and bigger and I want it to keep going. It's a hard balance between doing too little and not progressing much and becoming frustrated that way, or doing too much and getting overwhelmed. This past week I've felt like being in an at-home pseudo-immersion where I just want more and more no matter how well I understand it all. I know that will likely taper off but it's been nice to feel less overwhelmed in general, even if it's a temporary thing.
I've felt myself more easily be able to make sentences, and I often think quite a few sentences (at minimum) in Japanese each day. Even though I'm by myself a lot it is a relief to be able to form a complete thought fairly quickly about something I'm watching, etc. Baby steps!
I can't wait to see how much progress I make between now and my next update! Thanks for reading!
じゃまたね。
Showing posts with label Rosetta Stone. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rosetta Stone. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 11, 2016
Monday, April 18, 2016
Day 211 Progress Update
皆さんこんばんは。
Hello everyone! Here I am on day 211, and I feel like things are going well. I've continued to review the vocabulary words I've learned so far, but I have not been learning any new words via an app. I have still learned new words the natural way here and there.
Getting off the insane vocabulary word accumulation treadmill has been so good for me. I've instead used my time building my core skills and grammar. Even though I was working on all those things before, I'm now able to spend more time on making sentences and understanding than I had been able to before. I feel a lot less stress about learning and it has become enjoyable again. I will definitely learn more words again at some point, but I can see now how I just need to go with the flow a little more and do what feels right each step of the way instead of trying to fit my studying and progress into some kind of pre-made mold.
I've been using my Genki I book and Rosetta Stone mostly these past few weeks in addition to reviewing vocabulary words/example sentences in Anki and using JapanesePod101. I've felt myself reach a higher level of understanding than where I'd been previously and it's exciting! I've been working especially hard on increasing my usage and understanding of a wider scope of verb conjugations and using more particles correctly.
Can't wait to see where I'm at on my next update! Thanks for reading!
さようなら。
Thursday, January 21, 2016
Four Months a.k.a. 123 Days of Japanese and 65 Days of Kanji
Well, here I am on January 21, 2016 - my 123rd day of learning Japanese. It also happens to be four months from the day I started learning on September 21, 2015.
I'm very excited to say that I have completed the initial learning process of knowing at least one or more English meanings associated with all the joyo/common use kanji. Since I have been using apps that included all of the 2,136 joyo kanji along with a few other common kanji, it is safe to say that I am able to recognize all of the common use kanji now without too much difficulty. I'm still practicing!
I actually finished this past Monday the 20th, but I've taken these extra few days to study extra to make sure I really "know" them. Of course the more recent kanji I've learned aren't as solid in my mind as the ones I have been practicing for longer. I know that as I continue to review and move forward with my vocabulary now that I can more easily incorporate the kanji into my vocabulary learning process I will know them better and more fully as time moves on.
Something worth noting is that the better the "story" you can come up with for each kanji to help you remember, it doesn't matter as much how much time you spend memorizing and practicing if your story is memorable enough. I have had many kanji where the meaning and story in my mind were clear enough that it only took that first time or so to really get the particular character in my mind and not forget it. The characters that stand for things and words that I don't even use in English are the hardest for sure. Also when encountering groups of kanji where they seem very similar at first, it takes some time and memorizing to keep them each straight.
Along with reviewing and studying all of the kanji these past few weeks, I've continued to review my vocabulary here and there to keep in my mind the words I've learned so far. I haven't really expanded my vocabulary more than by a just a few words the past few weeks, but I've spent time understanding and noting the kanji that is part of the words I've learned over these past four months. So I guess you could say that I've been in a way re-learning all the words I've studied already and am now more fully incorporating the kanji so that I can recognize and know the words in more than just hiragana alone.
On my last post I talked about how I prefer Memrise for learning vocabulary. While that is still mostly true, as I've worked here and there on making some courses I can see that it might not be the right long term choice as far as making my own custom stuff. Yesterday I decided to work on some new AnkiApp decks again and I've worked out some of my issues with their system. Sometimes it just takes time to understand a system and find how to make it work for your needs. So at this point in time I'm going to start using AnkiApp some more.
The next stage of my learning will be very focused back on what I had been doing prior to studying the kanji heavily. Although before studying the kanji I had been doing a pretty good balance of different learning techniques, I am even more solid in realizing how I need to progress from here. Thanks to NihongoShark.com's Hacking Japanese Supercourse, I know how to keep myself more accountable in my studying habits and keep motivated even more than before. If you're learning Japanese I really recommend taking a look at NihongoShark.com and Niko's methods. They work. The fact that I went from thinking that it would take me years to recognize the kanji or that I might never learn them and yet now in less than 65 days I am now able to recognize them all really says something. Japanese doesn't seem as daunting now and each new word I learn doesn't seem so scary. Learning new words has actually been easier now that the kanji are all familiar to me.
I plan to use a combination of JapanesePod101 and Rosetta for listening and other practice, and Memrise and AnkiApp for my flashcard and memorization practice. I plan to use my Genki and other books more to get myself speaking Japanese out loud more frequently than I do currently. I go in spurts of time where I'm really good at speaking more, and then I go back to not being so good. I know I struggled with that back in college when learning Spanish. It can be hard when you don't have someone around all the time to practice with. I just need to talk out loud to myself more and not worry about feeling weird sometimes.
I can't wait to see where I am on my next progress update! Thanks for reading!
じゃまたね。
I'm very excited to say that I have completed the initial learning process of knowing at least one or more English meanings associated with all the joyo/common use kanji. Since I have been using apps that included all of the 2,136 joyo kanji along with a few other common kanji, it is safe to say that I am able to recognize all of the common use kanji now without too much difficulty. I'm still practicing!
I actually finished this past Monday the 20th, but I've taken these extra few days to study extra to make sure I really "know" them. Of course the more recent kanji I've learned aren't as solid in my mind as the ones I have been practicing for longer. I know that as I continue to review and move forward with my vocabulary now that I can more easily incorporate the kanji into my vocabulary learning process I will know them better and more fully as time moves on.
Something worth noting is that the better the "story" you can come up with for each kanji to help you remember, it doesn't matter as much how much time you spend memorizing and practicing if your story is memorable enough. I have had many kanji where the meaning and story in my mind were clear enough that it only took that first time or so to really get the particular character in my mind and not forget it. The characters that stand for things and words that I don't even use in English are the hardest for sure. Also when encountering groups of kanji where they seem very similar at first, it takes some time and memorizing to keep them each straight.
Along with reviewing and studying all of the kanji these past few weeks, I've continued to review my vocabulary here and there to keep in my mind the words I've learned so far. I haven't really expanded my vocabulary more than by a just a few words the past few weeks, but I've spent time understanding and noting the kanji that is part of the words I've learned over these past four months. So I guess you could say that I've been in a way re-learning all the words I've studied already and am now more fully incorporating the kanji so that I can recognize and know the words in more than just hiragana alone.
On my last post I talked about how I prefer Memrise for learning vocabulary. While that is still mostly true, as I've worked here and there on making some courses I can see that it might not be the right long term choice as far as making my own custom stuff. Yesterday I decided to work on some new AnkiApp decks again and I've worked out some of my issues with their system. Sometimes it just takes time to understand a system and find how to make it work for your needs. So at this point in time I'm going to start using AnkiApp some more.
The next stage of my learning will be very focused back on what I had been doing prior to studying the kanji heavily. Although before studying the kanji I had been doing a pretty good balance of different learning techniques, I am even more solid in realizing how I need to progress from here. Thanks to NihongoShark.com's Hacking Japanese Supercourse, I know how to keep myself more accountable in my studying habits and keep motivated even more than before. If you're learning Japanese I really recommend taking a look at NihongoShark.com and Niko's methods. They work. The fact that I went from thinking that it would take me years to recognize the kanji or that I might never learn them and yet now in less than 65 days I am now able to recognize them all really says something. Japanese doesn't seem as daunting now and each new word I learn doesn't seem so scary. Learning new words has actually been easier now that the kanji are all familiar to me.
I plan to use a combination of JapanesePod101 and Rosetta for listening and other practice, and Memrise and AnkiApp for my flashcard and memorization practice. I plan to use my Genki and other books more to get myself speaking Japanese out loud more frequently than I do currently. I go in spurts of time where I'm really good at speaking more, and then I go back to not being so good. I know I struggled with that back in college when learning Spanish. It can be hard when you don't have someone around all the time to practice with. I just need to talk out loud to myself more and not worry about feeling weird sometimes.
I can't wait to see where I am on my next progress update! Thanks for reading!
じゃまたね。
Wednesday, November 18, 2015
Progress Update - Day 59 - Sentences, Particles, and Verbs
Konnichiwa!
I'm happy to report that my progress is still coming along quite well. I've been working really hard to make simple sentences and understand the particles that string sentences together. I don't have them all down yet, but I've learned some of the main ones and have been practicing. The lessons I've done on Rosetta Stone make more sense now.
I've also been working on learning more verbs and how to conjugate them. When I was learning some Spanish 10 years ago I had done pretty well with verb conjugation, but hadn't found what worked for me in Japanese until the last couple of weeks. All the resources I had come across up until the last few weeks were very confusing and hadn't been very helpful. A lot of resources either focus on only one verb form, or do a mixture of all of them kind of randomly without teaching the differences. Finding the right resources that don't hold back on you (babying you) and tell you everything you need to know is invaluable! Finally I was able to find some better resources that are more comprehensive so I could understand better. It has been a relief to finally understand what the dictionary forms of the verbs are and the rules about them, and the differences between the various conjugations I had been studying. So finally I'm on the right track to learn in a similar way to how I did with Spanish with verbs, and I know I'll be able to do well with practice.
As for my vocabulary, I now know around 1200+ words which puts me still in the range of learning about 20 words a day on average. I've been watching a couple of anime shows that I've viewed in the past and have been understanding more and more words. I have been thinking of it as kind of a measuring stick for myself to test how well my vocabulary has been coming along. When I first started learning several weeks ago, I had only been able to recognize a couple of words here and there. Now I'm recognizing one or more words per sentence, plus I'm able to pick out some of the grammar and particles. To continue understanding better and practice making sentences, I've been writing in a notebook some simple sentences so I can remember the grammar and more words without relying on apps.
Since my last post, some of the vocabulary topics I've learned are:
-More verbs
-Entertainment
-Emotions
-Computers
-Holidays
-More foods and occupations
-Pharmacy and health words
-Sports
-Money
-Post Office and Banking
I've been practicing reading more, using some different books I have, and also visiting the NHK Easy News site for practice. I'm not able to understand a whole lot yet but to be able to recognize what country an article is about and what the topic is can be pretty cool after only a couple months of study. Again it's like a measuring stick to see how I'm doing. As the days and weeks pass, I know I'll be able to understand more and I have to celebrate each baby step.
I have been working hard to recognize kanji better, learn some of the readings, and how to write them. I've been studying around 50+ kanji as a start using some apps to help me recognize them better and remember their meanings. I have a few down pretty good on knowing what they stand for and some of the more common readings of them. I can't wait to know more so that I can read more material without having to rely on hiragana translations of kanji.
I'm looking forward to learning more verbs and the proper conjugations in the coming days, and also getting the particle usage down so I can make more and better sentences. I also hope to do better on knowing more kanji by sight and the most common readings.
Until next time! Thanks for reading!
Sayounara!
I'm happy to report that my progress is still coming along quite well. I've been working really hard to make simple sentences and understand the particles that string sentences together. I don't have them all down yet, but I've learned some of the main ones and have been practicing. The lessons I've done on Rosetta Stone make more sense now.
I've also been working on learning more verbs and how to conjugate them. When I was learning some Spanish 10 years ago I had done pretty well with verb conjugation, but hadn't found what worked for me in Japanese until the last couple of weeks. All the resources I had come across up until the last few weeks were very confusing and hadn't been very helpful. A lot of resources either focus on only one verb form, or do a mixture of all of them kind of randomly without teaching the differences. Finding the right resources that don't hold back on you (babying you) and tell you everything you need to know is invaluable! Finally I was able to find some better resources that are more comprehensive so I could understand better. It has been a relief to finally understand what the dictionary forms of the verbs are and the rules about them, and the differences between the various conjugations I had been studying. So finally I'm on the right track to learn in a similar way to how I did with Spanish with verbs, and I know I'll be able to do well with practice.
As for my vocabulary, I now know around 1200+ words which puts me still in the range of learning about 20 words a day on average. I've been watching a couple of anime shows that I've viewed in the past and have been understanding more and more words. I have been thinking of it as kind of a measuring stick for myself to test how well my vocabulary has been coming along. When I first started learning several weeks ago, I had only been able to recognize a couple of words here and there. Now I'm recognizing one or more words per sentence, plus I'm able to pick out some of the grammar and particles. To continue understanding better and practice making sentences, I've been writing in a notebook some simple sentences so I can remember the grammar and more words without relying on apps.
Since my last post, some of the vocabulary topics I've learned are:
-More verbs
-Entertainment
-Emotions
-Computers
-Holidays
-More foods and occupations
-Pharmacy and health words
-Sports
-Money
-Post Office and Banking
I've been practicing reading more, using some different books I have, and also visiting the NHK Easy News site for practice. I'm not able to understand a whole lot yet but to be able to recognize what country an article is about and what the topic is can be pretty cool after only a couple months of study. Again it's like a measuring stick to see how I'm doing. As the days and weeks pass, I know I'll be able to understand more and I have to celebrate each baby step.
I have been working hard to recognize kanji better, learn some of the readings, and how to write them. I've been studying around 50+ kanji as a start using some apps to help me recognize them better and remember their meanings. I have a few down pretty good on knowing what they stand for and some of the more common readings of them. I can't wait to know more so that I can read more material without having to rely on hiragana translations of kanji.
I'm looking forward to learning more verbs and the proper conjugations in the coming days, and also getting the particle usage down so I can make more and better sentences. I also hope to do better on knowing more kanji by sight and the most common readings.
Until next time! Thanks for reading!
Sayounara!
Monday, November 2, 2015
Progress Update - Day 43
Konnichiwa everyone!
My vocabulary has still been coming along nicely. I'm up above 800 words now, which is right in line with how I've been doing so far learning between 15-20 words per day on average.
Since my last post I've learned:
- Adjectives (fast, slow, tall, small, etc.)
- Airport terms
- Vacation terms (beach, sand, sunglasses, etc.)
- Japanese foods
- Weather
- School
- Baking and Sweets
I've also been working on making sentences more accurately by learning the connecting words like ka, ga, wo, to, etc. I'm still learning that of course but its been making more sense and I've been trying to practice saying sentences less like a one year old child would.
I got my Genki books and I've cracked them open but haven't spent much time doing lessons yet. Personal life things get in the way of learning sometimes! I hope to use the books more and be better at learning kanji soon. In good news for today I did some Rosetta Stone and it made more sense than the last time I did a lesson so that was neat.
I also have been trying very hard to retain all the words I've learned - 800+ words in 6 weeks is a lot to remember and hold on to! I don't want to forget anything so I try to review frequently. It can be hard to balance learning new words with holding on to the ones I've already learned.
Can't wait to see where I'm at in my progress the next time I post!
Sayounara!
My vocabulary has still been coming along nicely. I'm up above 800 words now, which is right in line with how I've been doing so far learning between 15-20 words per day on average.
Since my last post I've learned:
- Adjectives (fast, slow, tall, small, etc.)
- Airport terms
- Vacation terms (beach, sand, sunglasses, etc.)
- Japanese foods
- Weather
- School
- Baking and Sweets
I've also been working on making sentences more accurately by learning the connecting words like ka, ga, wo, to, etc. I'm still learning that of course but its been making more sense and I've been trying to practice saying sentences less like a one year old child would.
I got my Genki books and I've cracked them open but haven't spent much time doing lessons yet. Personal life things get in the way of learning sometimes! I hope to use the books more and be better at learning kanji soon. In good news for today I did some Rosetta Stone and it made more sense than the last time I did a lesson so that was neat.
I also have been trying very hard to retain all the words I've learned - 800+ words in 6 weeks is a lot to remember and hold on to! I don't want to forget anything so I try to review frequently. It can be hard to balance learning new words with holding on to the ones I've already learned.
Can't wait to see where I'm at in my progress the next time I post!
Sayounara!
Monday, October 5, 2015
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!
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!
Friday, October 2, 2015
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!
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!
Wednesday, September 30, 2015
Progress Update - Improving Reading Skills and a Rosetta Headphone Headache
Today I was excited to finish setting up my Rosetta Stone software only to find that the headset that came with the program isn't compatible with my computer! What a bummer. After trying everything support suggested I went ahead and ordered a headset and will have it on Friday. I sure hope it works properly!
Since my attempt to use Rosetta Stone didn't end up working out today, I continued to practice using all my other resources. I've been trying really hard to read and recognize all the kana and have noticed small improvements each day. It's exciting to be able to sound out words. I don't think I've been this excited about sounding things out since I was four years old! I was looking at some tablet wallpaper photos on an app today, and there were several that I had seen previously but hadn't noticed the hiragana characters on them before. It was fun to sound out each character even if I ultimately didn't know what the word was yet. I can't wait to know more words and form better sentences than the equivalent of "My socks" or "My cat".
I've been practicing writing the kana and kanji as well, but so far have been using apps to do so. Tracing a character on a tablet for sure isn't the same as writing with pen and paper. I found some free worksheets online Monday that I printed out but haven't utilized yet.
Today I continued to practice some greetings and reviewed all the other words I've learned so far. I'm excited to see how my vocabulary expands and character recognition improves in the coming days.
I have some kanji books coming in the mail and I can't wait to see what I'll be learning next! I'll have another update soon!
Until then, sayonara!
Since my attempt to use Rosetta Stone didn't end up working out today, I continued to practice using all my other resources. I've been trying really hard to read and recognize all the kana and have noticed small improvements each day. It's exciting to be able to sound out words. I don't think I've been this excited about sounding things out since I was four years old! I was looking at some tablet wallpaper photos on an app today, and there were several that I had seen previously but hadn't noticed the hiragana characters on them before. It was fun to sound out each character even if I ultimately didn't know what the word was yet. I can't wait to know more words and form better sentences than the equivalent of "My socks" or "My cat".
I've been practicing writing the kana and kanji as well, but so far have been using apps to do so. Tracing a character on a tablet for sure isn't the same as writing with pen and paper. I found some free worksheets online Monday that I printed out but haven't utilized yet.
Today I continued to practice some greetings and reviewed all the other words I've learned so far. I'm excited to see how my vocabulary expands and character recognition improves in the coming days.
I have some kanji books coming in the mail and I can't wait to see what I'll be learning next! I'll have another update soon!
Until then, sayonara!
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