Siamey Posted October 8, 2008 Share Posted October 8, 2008 Hey guys, Im really struggling in first year Japanese class. I've really stepped up my studying, and I'm ok at memorizing vocab, but there are no tutors available here, and really no one from my class is interested in forming a study group. I really don't want to fail this class, infact I really want to do well enough that the teacher will give me the thumbs up for continuing next semester. Is there anyone here who knows japanese, or at least more japanese than I do, who could help me out. I really just need someone to converse with (about simple things) over msn or skype or something. I have so many questions, and I'm really lacking experience speaking. If this sounds super tedious then I totally understand, but to me it sounds really fun, plus I really need/want to get awesome at the things we are doing in class. We just started on katakana, and we are mostly doing small conversations about our majors and where we are from etc. Lately we got into how to negate adjectives and also how to describe things and their location and stuff like that. I'm not completely lost in class yet, but I really need to nail down these concepts, cause right now they are fluttering in the wind at the edge of my memory and comprehension, and the only way I can see that happening is if I have some good talks with someone who knows the ropes. Im also going to try to meet with my teachers as much as possible during office hours, Ive heard thats a good way to get more experience. If anyone can help at all, I would really appreciate it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kitty Posted October 8, 2008 Share Posted October 8, 2008 I'm doing first year Japanese myself. Pretty much in the same place you are as far as class progress goes. I would offer to help out but I'm hardly ever at the computer anymore. Have you asked your teacher about getting help from native speakers? At my school (and many others) there are places where you can just sit down and a native Japanese speaker will come and converse with you to help you with your Japanese. In exchange you speak English to them to help them with their English. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MisterBiggler Posted October 8, 2008 Share Posted October 8, 2008 Convo classes and offices hours are a good bet, but if you do wanna converse, let me know via pm or something. Hardest thing about Japanese for me was conversation, so I can relate a bit. BTW, what book are you using for class? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kitty Posted October 8, 2008 Share Posted October 8, 2008 I bet he's using Yookoso!. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zephyr Posted October 8, 2008 Share Posted October 8, 2008 I used to be picking up a little japanese in my spare time, but as you can guess, since it wasn't a class I didn't last too long, I had almost all of the hiragana characters memorized and was working on some simple words and phrases. I really like their sentence structure and particles and what not. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Legendary Zoltan Posted October 8, 2008 Share Posted October 8, 2008 I don't know if it will be possible for us to chat in real time except with MSN or IRC. However, I know all the Japanese that you'll ever need for your class, so I'll be willing to give you a lesson by text about whatever you want yo. Ask me whatever yo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drack Posted October 8, 2008 Share Posted October 8, 2008 I'm on my third semester of Japanese. PM me if you want to work something out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teslacrashed Posted October 8, 2008 Share Posted October 8, 2008 I can't really dedicate time to help you out, I've got a full plate this semester, but I will recommend. Practice writing same-sound hiragana and katakana together. This way you associate them similarly. ex: あ and ア, い and イ, etc. if you don't have a conversation partner I really recommend practicing writing and reading a lot. remove yourself from romaji as soon as possible, if you haven't already. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tensei Posted October 8, 2008 Share Posted October 8, 2008 Well I'm doing a Japanese Major, and I'm getting by pretty well, so I think I should be able to offer some advice on different areas: - If you have trouble with remembering either type of Kana, put some time into this site (and similar ones, with flash cards and the like). If you do this for like 30 minutes a day you should be able to have both types of kana down in a few weeks. http://www.fluxxx.org/Flash/Kanadrawer/kanaDrawer.htm - When it comes to grammar and conversation, particles are your friend. It really helps to just sit down and learn all the different possible functions of the more important particles (が, に, で, etc.) - If you can't find anyone to converse with, watch a lot of anime or japanese television in general. Granted, anime characters usually address each other informally, but you should be able to pick up the pronunciation of certain words, which is always a good thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Siamey Posted October 9, 2008 Author Share Posted October 9, 2008 Thanks guys, I really appreciate the response! Thanks for the tips tesla! I'll definitely give some of you guys a shout, and also try to check out the idea about native speakers Our class is using Nakama 1, but they said its the last year that they will use that text book, so who knows whats next. I've been watching some japanese news channels on the campus cable, and I think its definitely helpful, and will be more helpful once I can keep up with their speed. I also watched some japanese tv channels online, and one of them was really hyper and 80s as hell, which was cool and unexpected. Amazon shipped those 3 books today, so I'll be getting those soon, hopefully they will help out In case anyone wants to know, they were: 1 "All About Particles: A Handbook of Japanese Function Words (Power Japanese Series) (Kodansha's Children's Classics)" Naoko Chino; Paperback; $10.88 1 "Making Sense of Japanese: What the Textbooks Don't Tell You (Power Japanese Series) (Kodansha's Children's Classics)" Jay Rubin; Paperback; $10.88 1 "Japanese in Mangaland: Basic Japanese Course Using Manga" Marc Bernabe; Turtleback; $16.32 The idea bout getting rid of romaji sounds good. Right now during tests I end up using it to write stuff quick before I translate it into hiragana, but I fear that if I don't get over that soon it'll bite me in the ass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MisterBiggler Posted October 9, 2008 Share Posted October 9, 2008 Our class is using Nakama 1, but they said its the last year that they will use that text book, so who knows whats next. Ahh, I have that book. A friend gave it to me, but my teachers switched to "Genki" the year I started taking Japanese. It's a cool book if you ever come by it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salluz Posted October 9, 2008 Share Posted October 9, 2008 I don't know much japanese, but I do know that the three sections of writing Katakana, Hiragana and Kanji. Kanji is the most complex of the three. Hiragana, I believe, has a few more characters for particular sounds than Katakana. if I am wrong about the previous sentence, then it is vice versa. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kizyr Posted October 9, 2008 Share Posted October 9, 2008 I've studied Japanese for somewhere around 8 years. That includes the first two years of self-study, four years of college courses, and about half a year or so of studying abroad. Unfortunately, I don't have time to dedicate to help you out specifically, but I can recommend a few things based on my own experience. "All About Particles: A Handbook of Japanese Function Words (Power Japanese Series) (Kodansha's Children's Classics)"Naoko Chino; Paperback; $10.88 "Making Sense of Japanese: What the Textbooks Don't Tell You (Power Japanese Series) (Kodansha's Children's Classics)" Jay Rubin; Paperback; $10.88 "Japanese in Mangaland: Basic Japanese Course Using Manga" Marc Bernabe; Turtleback; $16.32 Interestingly enough, the first thing I was going to recommend was to purchase a few of the small handbooks under the Power Japanese series. I have the second book you mentioned there, and there are a lot of others that are pretty good at "filling in the gaps" if you're finding something tough to understand. Another thing is the Power Japanese CD-ROM by Transparent Language (not affiliated with the book series--the name is coincidental). You can order it from Amazon.com; but, it works funny on newer systems (I used it back when it was designed for Win95 and 3.11). It's especially good at teaching basic sentence structure and hiragana/katakana. I would not recommend Japanese news. It's something that I still have difficulty following. It would be more worth your while to watch variety shows (the most common kind of program on Japanese television): the dialogue is a lot closer to daily conversation, and there're frequent captions emphasizing what people are saying. Dramas also work to an extent. Lastly, there's Mixi (http://mixi.jp/), a social networking site that a lot of folks I know studying Japanese use to converse with others. It's not the same as spoken conversation, of course, and it might be difficult to navigate if you're still at a beginning level. But you might find it useful. Otherwise, try to find other resources at your school. Maybe there's a language lab, or some other resources the Japanese department has to connect you with more senior students or native speakers. KF Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gollgagh Posted October 9, 2008 Share Posted October 9, 2008 I think trying to watch newscasts in any language you're trying to learn would be difficult. I've tried watching Spanish and Italian newscasts (both languages I'm interested in) and have trouble even picking out single words. they just talk so damned fast Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Siamey Posted October 9, 2008 Author Share Posted October 9, 2008 yea they do talk really fast thanks for the tips and links guys! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wintermute Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 Our class used the GENKI textbooks, which proved to be surprisingly good when coupled with the in-class exercises. I am by no means an expert, and it has been a few years since I took the class, but I still have my textbooks and if you have any questions or whatever feel free to PM me. I love to teach. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Siamey Posted November 4, 2008 Author Share Posted November 4, 2008 Hey does anyone have a mixi account? It requires an invite apparently. It sounds like a cool place, id love to try it out and practice japanese there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calpis Posted November 4, 2008 Share Posted November 4, 2008 As far as I know, you also need a japanese email address to complete the registration as well. In order for my wife, a native japanese, to sign up, she had to use her Mom's cell phone email address, as we both live in the US. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vega12 Posted November 5, 2008 Share Posted November 5, 2008 Really? I thought all you needed was someone on Mixi to invite you on. I got on using I think using my gmail address. That said, I don't really use it much, but if someone needs an invite let me know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calpis Posted November 5, 2008 Share Posted November 5, 2008 That's weird. When my wife tried using her hotmail address it told her that wasn't allowed and it had to be a japanese address. It was a pain to get the account activated because her Mom knows nothing about computers and had to get her son to help. We didn't try a gmail account though so maybe that's the key... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vega12 Posted November 5, 2008 Share Posted November 5, 2008 Huh, maybe it was more relaxed previously. In fact, looking at the wiki page I found this: http://www.tofugu.com/2008/04/22/mixijp-hates-foreigners-now-requiring So yeah, maybe it is tougher now.... . That kind of sucks. A lot. Sorry for doubting you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calpis Posted November 5, 2008 Share Posted November 5, 2008 Naw man, don't worry about it. I didn't even know that they changed it like that. I guess I can understand why they did that though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OverCoat Posted November 5, 2008 Share Posted November 5, 2008 I bet he's using Yookoso!. haha I got one of those books in my store. Thought about buying it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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