PE Reflection

早くですね。もうすく終わりました！この席はとても忙しいですから、PE　のゴルは高すぎました。

Because I did gain a genuine interest and appreciation for Japanese music and shows, though, I managed to still integrate the language into my life without having to give up too much time. Instead of watching an American tv show to rest (which was very infrequent anyways), I would just try and watch a new anime. 

I am happy with the progress I made with casual conversation, much of which I think was due to contributions from many PE casual conversation sessions as well as watching Japanese shows. 

One thing that I should have worked more on, though, was the number of PE submissions I did every week. Because I never remembered to start on the PE homework early enough,  I never had the time to do more than one or two PE exercises. Anime shadowing was difficult and time-consuming, but it was very rewarding. 

大学後

ブログのトピックは何でもいいですが、アイディアがない人は下のトピックはどうですか？ 大学を卒業したら、仕事したいです。 同時に, 環境を助けたいです。そして、うちでたくさん緑木があるつもりです。いつか日本も行きたいですから、日本語を勉強しなげればなりません。便利な仕事ができるように、コンピュータ科学を勉強します。

旅行の思い出

一番行きたい所はニュージーランドです。ロード・オブ・ザ・リングを見て、映画の場所はとても綺麗たと思ています。そして、ホビトの生活は一番いいな生活。

だけど、いつもホビトの街にすんていって欲しくないです。というのはボーリングすぎたと思います。でも、りょこう行くのがのんびりです。私もホビトも食べるのが大好きですから、嬉しです。ニュージーランドていって、有名なフェルグバーガーを食べたり、クジラを見たりします。時間とお金があった時、是非ニュージーランドに行きます！

春休み

今年の春休みは楽しくて、とても疲れかったです。フリスビーチームとジョージアに
トーナメントをしに行きました。ペタソンさんもフリスビーチームのメンバーですよ。料理を作ったり、海に泳ぎたりしました。そして、今週ちゅ間試験があるから、毎日勉強しました。タンになりたいので、毎日2時間ぐらいベーチに行きました。でも、あまりタンじゃありません。初めてアメリカの南を見ました。蒸し暑いですから、アイスクリームを食べました。このしゃしんはフリスビーチームとサバンナで撮りました。みなさんは髪がいろいろ色彩に染めました。

Revised Reflection and Goal/Activity Statement

Reflection: My schedule doesn't allow me to actually go to the Japanese language table at all, so I will try to make up for that by speaking in Japanese with friends that are already at the intermediate level or above. (As well as friends from JPN 102).

Again, my focus is still on casual conversation, which I think I am actually decently well acquainted with. Watching anime is extremely helpful in this aspect, and trying not to look at subtitles until I'm confused.

I want to do more casual conversation PE practice by either trying to hold conversations with classmates, or by shadowing other resources.


Goal: (same)
This semester, I want to focus on familiarizing myself with more casual conversation. At the same time, though, I want to be able to apply the vocabulary learned in class more effortlessly. This means a lot more review than I did last semester.

Revised Activities:
Keep my textbook open on my desk so that I can pick a few random sentences to juggle in my mind every time I pass it. ( I will continue to do this)

Continue watching Japanese shows and anime. (at least one 1 hr session per week) but also take note of sentences where I understand 90% or above of the content and try to shadow in my mind.
(I am definitely going to do this)

Go to Japanese language table at least once every other week ( Instead, I will just casually start conversations in Japanese with friends)

Attempt to submit more PE assignments every time. ( This means starting PE assignments at least three days in advance!)

理想の家族

私理想の家族はちゅと変な理想です。わたしはよくクラスメートの中に一番奇妙な人ていますから、子供が欲しくないです。子供はとても怖いたと思います。理由じゃないです。いつも子供を見て、目が大きくなります.　子供は怖いたと思たけど、猫が大好きです。たくさん猫が欲しいです。そして、私高校生のたくさんともたちがお兄さんがあって、私は兄が欲しいです。

JPN102 PE Goal and Activity Statement

Goal:
This semester, I want to focus on familiarizing myself with more casual conversation. At the same time, though, I want to be able to apply the vocabulary learned in class more effortlessly. This means a lot more review than I did last semester.

Activities:
Keep my textbook open on my desk so that I can pick a few random sentences to juggle in my mind every time I pass it.

Continue watching Japanese shows and anime. (at least one 1 hr session per week) but also take note of sentences where I understand 90% or above of the content and try to shadow in my mind.

Go to Japanese language table at least once every other week

Attempt to submit more PE assignments every time.

私の好きなレストラン

わたしはミールプランがあるので、あまりレストランに食べに行きません。そして、ナッソーのレストランはやさしくないです。でも、特別な日レストランでごはんを食べます。一番好きなレストランはテレサのカフェです。イタリア料理です。全部なスパゲッティは美味しです。チョコケーキはもても美味しいです。いいなバレンタイン・デーを祝うの場所ですよ！

http://www.teresacaffe.com/

End of Semester Reflection

I feel that I kept up with my goals during the first half of the semester better, but as the work from other classes started to pile up, I failed to spend as much time as I would have liked in Japanese.

I did not watch 1 hour of Japanese cartoons every week consistently, but I would occasionally watch a few hours at once.

I did manage to listen to Japanese music, especially because it has become more of a habit and part of my music taste.

I am happy to say that I did go to more office hours the second half of the semester.

I went to almost every language table for the last few weeks as well, and had many great conversations with Makino sensei.

Overall, I think that although it would have been ideal to spend more time memorizing and studying, I definitely kept learning Japanese in mind throughout the semester given the amount of time I had for the class.

私の好きな食べ物

わたしは食べ物が大好きです。食べ物の中に、野菜と魚は一番好きです。肉はあまり好きじゃありません。最近、たくさんデサトを食べましたから、いつも糖を食べたい。悪いです。

これは手紙です。

サンクスギビング休み

今年のサンクスギビング休みはとても楽しかった。わたしはカリフォルニアからきましたから、やすみにかえりませんでした。でも、ともたちのうちにいって、サンクスギビングのばんごはんをたべました。ともたちのかぞくはおきいくて、パーテーはにぎやかでした。ともたちはインド人ですから、たくさん美味しいなインドたべものがありました。
今年のサンクスギビング休みはよかった。

Revised Goals for this Year

It is very natural for people to be overly optimistic with their goals for their future. This is what happens in New Year’s resolutions, in children’s visions of their future selves, even in our perceptions of tomorrow. What I guess I mean to say was that I although I did not consciously write unrealistic goals, I guess I subconsciously expected some sort of shortcoming on my part.
In terms of goals, I still want to reach for the same results, but the 6 things that I want to do to reach these goals should be revised into something that I can manage to accomplish, no matter how busy my week is.

いち Watch children's Japanese cartoons at least 1 hour each week. Because I love watching cartoons anyways, I have been keeping up with this and plan to do so for the rest of the year.
に Listen to a Japanese song once every two days. Again, because I actually enjoy music and searching for new artists, I have been keeping up with this goal as well.
さん Go to a せんせい office hour, at least once every other week, for at least 30 minutes in order to keep track of my progress and figure out any other places that I might need to work on. Although I did not go to office hours enough during the first half of this semester, I believe that I can accomplish this if I prioritize enough.
ご The original goal to find someone to converse with makes less sense since I really do not have enough vocabulary to effectively hone my skills. Instead, I will just focus on going to office hours.
ろくGo to a language table once every 3 weeks for at least 30 minutes! My schedule STILL clashes awfully with the Japanese language table, but maybe if I try to keep ahead of my work, I will be able to find time to do this.

Upon retrospect, the year went by relatively well so far. I finished the whole series of Deathnote, which definitely helped me better grasp intonation and pronunciation of the Japanese language.  One thing that I felt was especially useful was that I would move towards speaking Japanese to teachers and fellow JPN 101 classmates whenever it was possible for me to do so.  In this way, I feel one of my greatest achievements thus far was in confidence in speaking the language.  柴田先生 suggested that I could try speaking to native Japanese speakers among my friends, and if I manage to do that by the end of this semester, I feel like my confidence levels will have progressed very well. 

Goals for this Year

おはようございます、みなさん！

Here are my goals for the year in terms of learning Japanese.

いち Speed - I hope to be able to speak at a speed that is only slightly slower than that of a native speaker.  Right now, because of my reading speed and my clumsy foreign tongue, it is difficult to keep up over long periods of time.  Speed would signify a success in learning the language overall.
に Intonation - My intonations are not natural enough, because I put too much thought in it.  I want to be able to have the right intonations without the need for extra effort.
さん Pronounciation - My "n" sound and "sei" sound are very awkward, and I hope to correct this.
よん Grammar - This is something of utmost concern to me.  I am set on knowing how to use every particle properly and how to creatively latch together longer sentences beyond the simple subject/verb/object system.  Without this ability, I might be able to understand decently well, but I will never be able to speak it in more than broken short stumpy sentences.
ご Confidence - Although this is not directly related to learning Japanese, I am always very reluctant to approach a native speaker in a language that I am not completely comfortable with ( aka anything other than English, unfortunately).  This is not a good attitude for learning, and I must grow a thick skin and be able to boldly make mistakes in front of strangers.


In name of achieving the five goals above, I will aim to complete the following:

いち Watch children's Japanese cartoons at least 1 hour each week.  This is because it is a powerful tool to learn a language the same way native speakers would as a child. They speak slower, clearer, and I will be able to understand much more than if I watched anything aimed at an older audience. If possible, I will also borrow Japanese children's books to read to myself before bed. This will help with reviewing the words and grammar I have learned
に Listen to a Japanese song once every two days.  If I immerse myself in the culture and hear it more often, I hope that the grammar and speed will come more naturally to me, especially if the particular song is good and ends up getting stuck in my head.
さん Go to a せんせい office hour, at least once every other week, for at least 30 minutes in order to keep track of my progress and figure out any other places that I might need to work on.
ご This might be a stretch, but I have signed up for a few language exchange programs, where they match you up with someone you can teach your language and learn a language from.  If I end up with a partner, then I can practice speaking online with someone on a daily basis, therefore overcoming the confidence barrier I have built around myself.
ろくGo to a language table once every other week for at least 30 minutes! My schedule clashes awfully with the Japanese language table, but I do need to eat anyways and I might as well do it while practicing the language.


Ideally, the future me looking back on this post will be able to laugh at how silly they might sound because I have successfully surpassed that point without even noticing.  That's how languages are, impossible to fathom when newly approaching them, but then suddenly familiar as your boyfriend jeans without your realization.

日本語のはじまり

はじめましで。

わだしのなまえはたんです、でもとうどいいますもいい。

たいわんじんです。

Cupertino　の California からきましだ。

いまは日本語のいちねんせいです。

趣味は絵がかきます、Dali の絵がだいすきです。

どぞよろしく、おねがいします　〜〜

Ichi Qyu Hachi Yon

Since we have already went through all of the 平仮名characters, I guess it is time for me to attempt to piece together a post with broken fragments of Japanese and English.  

日本語の grammar がとても難しね。今日の class was おもしろいです、because しばた先生 shared with us her love of アニメ and JーPop in between the teaching material.  She showed us the show 進撃の巨人 as a pronunciation exercise、which I had heard of before, but the language they spoke was too dramatic and fast-paced for me to attempt to catch up with.  It struck me that my neighbours may think that I have gone a bit crazy and have begun talking to myself.

Apart from class, I realized that the Murakami book I was reading had a title that was a sort of word play in Japanese.  一Q八四is pronounced the same way as　一"きゅ”八四   ( the George Orwell book alluded to in his book).  Japanese is a language with many capabilities for word play and riddles, which has always been something I enjoyed.  I remember the reality TV show 出ろ、 where contestants would try and solve puzzles before they got immersed in water, dropped into a hole, or mummified (for comedic purposes).  

I have a vague sense that this class will ultimately draw me into the bottomless trench that is Japanese anime.  If the world as I know it does come to such an end, I will blame it completely on しばた先生。

Tug-of-War

I chose to study 日本語 because it sounded like a very beautiful language. In the neighboring Asian countries, being able to speak Japanese is a huge plus in both business and casual settings.  Although I was never the type to read manga or watch anime, which is what often introduces people into the Japanese culture, the virtues that the country valued attracted me.  I remember watching a show featuring a group of elementary school students who were part of the school tug-of-war team. They practiced for hours on end until their hands were blistered and near bleeding.  When they failed to win the championship, they gritted their teeth as tears ran down their young faces. Their wholehearted determination in something as seemingly trivial as tug-of-war expressed an attitude that touched me deeply. If I could bring myself to face every challenge in life with such a conviction, I am certain that I could travel far.

This class has been a blast so far, and I am so excited to be able to make many new 友たち while studying the language.  It will be fun to gradually widen my vocabulary and be able to practice conversation with everyone as a group.  

Japanese is not completely new to me, but because my grammar was awful, I wanted to focus on establishing a strong foundation so that I can speak and write it in a more professional manner. As with most people who know traditional Chinese characters, I could understand the general topic and direction of an article just from the nouns/adjectives/verbs that are in Kanji, but I have a hard time writing them out on my own. 

I’ve been reading a book by 春樹村上 translated to English.  The prose is beautiful in and of itself, but it is evident that the dialogue lost much of its meaning through the translation.  My ultimate goal would be to be able to read an entire Murakami book in Japanese by the end of college. 

But until then, I’m stuck with English and occasional italicized Japanese words with explanations following closely behind.