Hi all! I’m new here, I just started this week. I’m going crazy because there’s not a lot to do this first week and all I want to do is study! So - I figured I’d introduce myself to the community.
I’ve been studying Japanese off and on for a few years now. I’m studying because I love Japanese culture, games, books, and food. I someday want to live in Japan, preferably in a rural setting. Right now I’m playing Stardew Valley in Japanese, and it’s very slow going. My kanji reading is very weak, which is why I’m so happy I found WaniKani. I’m excited to see my reading speed go up.
It’s nice to meet you all, and I can’t wait to get to know you.
@plantron , Yes! I also can read about 100-200 kanji now, but I’m very interested in the meaning behind them. And I want to know 2000! How long have you been studying on WK?
@MissMisc , Nice to meet you. I’ve done similar things before with Anki, so I understand the method a bit. No reason to complain, I just am excited to learn. How goes your studying?
It’s going well! I hit a plateau at some point several months ago and was away from WK for a bit, but now that I’m back in the groove of things I found that I can read/understand significantly better, so I’m finally over that stubborn plateau!
On top of finally being able to read things like articles & simple manga, I started using a free and very useful app for speaking, it’s called “HelloTalk” – I totally recommend it once you get comfortable with Japanese! I don’t know if you’ve heard of it before, but the premise is for language learning and it’s like a social media platform that connects you with natives of the language you’re learning, so it would connect your posts with Japanese people who can correct your sentences and you can help them with their English. Immersion is invaluable, so by seeing and speaking Japanese every day through this method my conversational Japanese has greatly improved ^^
Have you always self-studied or have you ever taken a formal class?
Oh, and since you’re familiar with SRS, I also recommend bunpro for learning grammar! www.bunpro.jp
My Japanese history has been very strange! I took 3 years of it in college, but did not have a lot of energy to devote to it. I even had a concentration in Japanese (which is a level below a Minor). But even after 3 years, I couldn’t hold a conversation without being stressed or stumbling. Then I dropped it entirely, because life got in the way.
So last year, I had more free time and I wanted to learn a language. I signed up for a local university’s “After Hours” class, which turned out to be incredibly useful. Over the course of 3 classes (2 semesters), we went all the way through all of the grammar points. There was a strong focus on being able to talk, not just study. And now, I can have conversations with people (although I definitely make mistakes). I also meet up twice a week to chat in Japanese with other students. So far our conversations are very beginner (“Hi - what’d you yesterday?” “I did this thing” “Oh, do you want to do this other thing?” “I don’t have a lot of time, tonight I’m going to this other thing”, etc.) but it’s better than nothing. We focus on a grammar point and practice it.
Bunpo.jp looks amazing! I’ve learned all of the grammar, but I have not solidified some of the more advanced grammar points. I have a hard time recalling how to use them. Thank you for the recommendation I will definitely check it out.
I tried HelloTalk once, but I didn’t get very far with it. I was paired with someone who was learning Japanese, but just wanted to talk in English. Do you have a lot of text or voice conversations with native speakers? How do those go?
Haha very interesting learning history! That’s so cool though, actually having conversations makes such a difference! ^^
Yeah that can happen xD I type in both Japanese and then English within the same message consistently, people tend to follow along after a couple messages so that it becomes beneficial to both parties so far I’ve been sticking to text conversations, but I’d like to get close enough to someone to have weekly verbal conversations someday ^~^
I noticed that you said you’d like to live in rural Japan some day – do you have a plan/timeline for that? So cool!
My current timeline is to move to Japan in 5 years and live in a smaller city or village. I may or may not work during this time, but I imagine if I do work, it’d be either teaching English, working in a sake distillery, or remotely translating. I’m a woman, so the second option is not likely, but I know of a couple distilleries that are run by women in Japan, and I have a connection in that field. These are just dreams, though. The plan is to move out there and discover what would work!
As for me, I’m married and settled down in the States, so Japan is not a realistic option for me heh ^^ however, hubby is very supportive of my Japanese studies and we’re planning a trip sometime within the next 2-3 years I’ve never been! Have you?
I used to watch lots of anime, Super Sentai, and Metal Hero series. Although I didn’t understand the theme songs, some of them stuck with me even to this day (especially Ultraman Taro, Choudenshi Bioman, Voltes V).
As I grew older, I stopped watching these series but gradually came to appreciate Japanese cinema. So I started gravitating towards Kenji Mizoguchi, Yasujiro Ozu, Akira Kurosawa, and other Japanese directors.
The fact that I love Japanese food also doesn’t hurt at all xD
Any suggestions for Japanese movies to try out? I’ve only watched some Japanese horror films and all of the Miyazakis, but I’d really love to watch more films while training my ear. I love all sorts of movies, but my favorite types are dramas, whimsical films, slice of life, and comedies.
Also I love Japanese food! Sooo good. Not just sushi, but all types! I’ve recently gotten into sake as well! I never liked it, but a local shop has been teaching me about it and getting me to break out of my shell there.
Have you checked out Terrace House (japanese reality tv show)?
I actually don’t like reality tv shows, but this one got me hocked! And you really learn/practice a lot.
Currently on Netflix. Turn on the japanese subs and give it a try!
How goes your studying?
that’d be so cool, がんばってね！
I’ve recently gotten into sake as well! I never liked it, but a local shop has been teaching me about it and getting me to break out of my shell there.