Hey everyone, looking for advice and tips and tricks for taking the grammar points that I have learned and incorporating them into casual conversations. I live in Japan and take Japanese classes at my local international center. I’ve recently finished Minna No Nihongo level 2. I’m able to understand a decent amount of grammar (especially when written, and I have time to think), but I really struggle to use them in conversations, and I know that actually being able to use them is the best way to remember. Thanks!
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My tried and tested method:
- struggle to teach yourself grammar
- talk to natives like a toddler that has been dropped on their head repeatedly
- go home and hate yourself
- have the painful memories seer grammar rules into your mind
- repeat until you sound like a toddler that has been dropped slightly less
- ???
- profit!
It’s… not a great method, I must say.
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You may already do something like this - plan ahead by stocking up your “mind palace” with sentences that you are likely to want to use in common situations so that you can rattle them off at will without having to struggle to formulate them on the spot.
What are your hobbies? Have preloaded sentences for that, with grammar points sprinkled through your rehearsed answers.
What do you do for work?
Why did you come to Japan (and from where)?
Why did you want to learn to speak Japanese?
What other things are you likely to want to say that you can practice in advance?
etc.
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