48 posts tagged “43things”
It's been trapped up inside my head trying to find it's way out for such a long time, I wondered if it would ever make sense enough for me to write about it. I've been getting into the habit of keeping a journal on paper and that has helped with regularity and avoiding all kinds of self censorship. It's peculiar even when I write for myself I am held back by a sense of what might be appropriate to write, and what I should be allowed to think about something.
It really does help to get things down on paper, but for me it is it is a means to an end. The aim is to live more creatively than I have in the past. By that, I mean not just taking more photographs, or writing poetry, but through creating opportunities for myself and my family. Lately, I feel as though I've been able to do that in a way that I haven't done since I left University and started working in multimedia.
Work has been a bit tough, there have been interpersonal rivalries and some corporate casualties. I'm glad I have toughed it out however, because it has now given me the more scope to seek autonomy and creative self expression. I'm hoping that work provides a stable platform from which to move forward in my career.
The hours at my day job have been flexible enough for me to be able to take a second job two nights a week teaching English at a language school just around the corner. The second income gets taxed at the maximum rate, but it's good to know that with the support of family I am able to hold it down. That confidence in myself, and in the team at home, is going to come in handy when I decide to go back to study hopefully next year.
It could be I'm just feeling confident after reading too many self help/life hack/productivity blogs, but things are moving in the right direction.
It's kind of rare that I get the time these days to sit down and write a full blooded blog post, and when I do I'm usually posting pictures of our latest trip to the park for friends and family. That's not something that I think is terribly interesting for most people. Most often I've been connecting with people online via my mobile phone and Nintendo DS with Opera mini.
I read some where recently that people love reading short blog posts with lists of links so I've decided to send you a five of my favourite blogging tools on the web. This is where you will find me spending most of my down time, while I'm on my way to work and in my breaks.
- Tumblr - A tumblelog, fast and light, very visual and a bit like scrap-booking.
http://rainbowhill.tumblr.com/ and in Japanese http://jrfiction.tumblr.com/ - Twitter - microblogging tool for those with an attention deficit, also a very good way to share news, and keep your ear to the ground. I'm posting here only in Japanese.
http://twitter.com/jrfiction - Jaiku - The choice for me between Jaiku and Twitter is simple, the former is in English and the latter is in Japanese. I must admit that I have connected with more people on Twitter, perhaps because I put more effort in.
http://jrfiction.jaiku.com/ - Flickr - I've only just rediscovered Flickr, they have some new upload tools and it's simple to upload via email also. I repurpose my feed here for Tumblr and Jaiku. My photosets are also available through other sites like vox and facebook.
http://www.flickr.com/people/rainbowhill/
I was going to mention 43things and Facebook because they seem to absorb a lot of my time, but that's only when I am in front of the PC, which is like I said earlier a lot rarer these days.
realising upon
the setting suns dying rays,
these aren't my last days.
as they fade to nought
ne'er is there the slightest thought,
not to rise again.
now in fine twilight
I prepare my soul for flight,
dawn lies over there.
and if dreams come true
can they be the products of,
imaginations?
On my way to Komaki Aikidokai to train with the Kansai regions best Aikido students, then get drunk.
A short while ago, Jonathon got in touch with me about studying for the Japanese Language Proficiency Test. He stumbled across a 43 Things post of mine and thought there might something I could share that might help him in preparation for this years level 2 test. Hopefully I can share a few things here that might also help others studying for the test.
First, just a little background on me and why I study for the test. I came to Japan in April of 2003 to study Japanese and practice Aikido, at the outset I gave myself anywhere between 2 and 5 years, but no more. For the first six months or so I didn't do any any study, except daily writing practice of the kana, and a 6 lesson course in survival Japanese. I was really too busy at that stage with adjusting to my new lifestyle and working environment.
After about one year, I had picked up a few useful phrases, but I was no where near approaching real fluency, I hadn't even begun to study kanji. Then I joined a small class run by volunteers at my local international centre, bought Japanese for busy people and started studying in earnest. My aim at that stage was to pass the level 3 JLPT, I felt confident that had already done enough to pass level 4.
In the summer of 2004 I met my wife to be and we were married in August of 2005, we have a son who is now just over one year old. I would be normally be satisfied with a mere conversational level of Japanese, if it weren't for my family. I study because I want to communicate with my wife in a way that expresses my true feelings in a way that she understands. My wife doesn't speak English. I study because I can't imagine asking my son to do his Japanese homework if I haven't done mine. We plan to move to Australia early next year, where his exposure to his mother tongue will be minimal, outside of the home environment.
The JLPT provides a good measure of competence in reading and understanding what choices are necessary when writing, but it doesn't directly measure your writing or comunicative ability through conversation. These things aside, it is a reason to study. Having sufficient motivation for learning to read, write and speak Japanese is absolutely essential. Every year I study like I am expecting to fail and each time I am pleasantly surprised by my results.
So assuming you have the necessary motivation, and you have the time set aside to study, here are a few small things that might help you when planning your course of study.
First of all, understanding the format and the kinds of questions you are likely to face, is most important. If you have the done the test before you will also have some idea of where your weak points are.
Early on it is essential to build your knowledge of kanji, as it will help you study other parts of the test and improve your vocabulary. If your reading speed is high you can cover a greater number of texts. Because learning kanji is time consuming I put this first on my list of priorities. I also never stop learning kanji, I just adjust the amount of time I spend on it based on other priorities.
Do a few practice tests, under test conditions to establish some baselines, that way you can focus your attention on your weaknesses when you study. If you can find out where you are having trouble then you can focus on those areas a little more strongly. If you need to, buy books that will improve your skills in these areas. I remember an old adage from my days as a competitive cyclist, train your weaknesses and race your strengths.
The test is broken down into three sections, you need to understand these well and also how best to train your abilities in each area.
- Kanji and Vocabulary - Kanji cards are invaluable, for the first 2 years I was never without 30 or so cards in my pocket. More recently I've been using KankenDS on NintendoDS and the studying written kanji with the help of the same books that Japanese students of Kanji use. Almost every morning I write between 6 and 8 characters 15 times each in a kanji notebook.
- Listening Comprehension - this is the section I usually do best in, partly because I am constantly exposed to real Japanese at home. Closer to the test I do some specific training using the audio and scripts from the past test and other texts that I have. If you don't have the opportunity to listen to Japanese on a daily basis you will need to get access to some good podcasts, from sites like JapanesePod101 or from the past tests.
- Reading Comprehension and Grammar - This is my biggest weakness, memorizing archaic forms of grammar isn't fun, and usually I don't get much of a chance to practice them in real situations. It is also the most demanding part of the test, the volume of text covered and the time allotted always leave me scratching for answers as the last minutes of the test wind down. Get a good book, and make a habit of using past exams as much as possible for this section.
I hope I haven't overwhelmed you with too much too soon Jonathon, I'd like to know more about you and your motivation for attempting the test. For anyone else who is studying for the test I'd like to hear from you, what works best for you?
I am writing this in response to Bart's post on learning languages, Polish and English. When writing my comment on the original post it soon became apparent there was a lot more I wanted to say on languages.
Thanks for the post, Bart. I agree with you in saying that the Internet is cheaper than almost any other method of learning a language. Except, perhaps, if you happen to live and work in a language community that is not your own. If you happen to have both, like me, then you are very lucky indeed.
I am also with Steve in saying that sources of good content are needed, but not necessarily more websites. You can find content in your desired language almost any where you look, in the street, in the library, on TV and of course on the Internet. Perhaps what we need as language learners, is to learn how to get this content working for us.
What do I mean "working for us"? Well, please let me explain. If we decide one day that we want to learn a language, we have a much better chance of doing that if our goal is to understand what people are saying in that language, moreover, to communicate with them in their native tongue. Language is about communication after all.
Now, communication happens between people, and those people share a common bond called community. Moving in with my wife's family in Japan has made me part of their family and the wider community. Most of us don't have the luxury of being able to move to another country, yet we all need community to achieve our language goals.
The people I teach English to do this by joining an expensive conversation school, where we simulate to a large degree natural conversation. In a sense I feel this interaction is artificial. After all, they are paying for a service and they have certain expectations, there are not the same bonds that normally hold communities together. I don't spend any money on language learning apart from the occasional text book or dictionary, I certainly don't pay for conversation. I don't think any should have to pay to find someone to talk to.
What the Internet has made possible for me, is to allow me access to wider communities of Japanese speakers. Within those communities I am exposed to a greater variety of communications styles, and hence vocabularies and expressions, than I would find at home. I naturally gravitate to communities where there is a large degree of activity, which exposes me to a greater number of opportunities to find people to talk to and things to talk about.
There are many tools that have become available recently that enable us to join communities and manage our involvement in them. Social networking has become the new media buzzword, everyone has facebook or myspace account, people are getting connected on a wider scale than ever before. What I am really interested in is how we can use these new tools and technologies to enhance our experience of this world as individuals, and secondly, as language learners how we can adapt them to suit our own language learning needs.
To see examples of where I am active in virtual communities of people who speaking or wanting to speak Japanese, look no further than this list (warning: shameless self promotion) .
- My YouTube Profile - Here I post a vlog in Japanese, my subscribers are mostly Japanese and non-Japanese who speak Japanese. Every time someone comments on my vlog I get constructive feedback on my Japanese, and in Japanese. Just recently we started a smaller community of non-Japanese who speak Japanese on YouTube groups for more support and encouragement.
- My Twitter Profile - I'm just new at this one, but it forces me to be attentive to my language production and comprehension skills during the day. I work in an English speaking environment, so I need to direct my attention towards communicating in Japanese more regularly than in the mornings and evenings at home.
- My 43 Things - Mostly posts in English but my involvement in things such as the goal Learn Japanese gives me access to other learners which can help me find good sources of content.
- My Vox Groups - Vox is of course both a social networking tool and a blogging site, having all of these rich media services also helps when pulling together a community. I still have a lot more connections that I want to build here, and Japanese speaking friends I want to make. It is also very handy to be able to put all your productive output in one place.
Well this post is starting to drag on just a bit, but I thought you might these things interesting. I'd like to know if and how everyone here is using social networking tools to improve their language ability. I'd love to share some more ideas with you all.
Brett F.
パッちってする
鼻から頬っぺた
静電気
あさ毛虫
ご飯を探し
大変だ
Fuzzy wuzzy bug
it looks like hard work
searching for breakfast
暇な時
公園のいす
固くなる
When I have free time
this lonely bench in the park
gets boring quickly.
Golden week families
going somewhere far today
heavy bags sore feet
家族旅
どこか遠くへ
足偉い
Portable game boy
oblivious to danger
walks blind to nature
ゲーマーが
夢中しながら
注意せず
虫歯かな
湿度が高い
口が張る
ムシバカナ
シツドガタカイ
クチガハル
cavity maybe
when the weather gets humid
my gob swells in pain
ガンガンーあっ！
電車に乗れば
走りなきゃ
ガンガンーアァ！
デンシャニノレバ
ハシリナキャ
Uh-oh here's the train!
if I want to catch this one
I'll have to be quick.
鳥一つ
夜中泣き声
寝坊スケ
トリヒトツ
ヨナカナキゴエ
ネボウスケ
A lone noisy bird
cries out in the deep of night
I like to sleep in.
どうしても
僕は悪い子
ひなたぼっこ
Doushitemo
bokuwawaruiko
hinatabokko
Whatever I do
this mischevious child in me
plays in the hot sun
