Haven’t posted in a while. That’s because I’ve been very lazy, but also because my listening lately has been pretty all over the place and I can’t track it well now after many days have passed. Today I was thinking about the whole comprehensible input thing and thought I would listen to something that is comfortable but also that could have some random unknown vocabulary. I thought, perhaps knowing the vast majority of what I listen to would make spotting and acquiring the unknown words much, much easier and faster. Sometimes I think I overexert myself and I try to listen or read things quite above my level. Maybe I should stop doing that as much or, better put, should listen to easier things much more often. Hopefully that also ends up being a bit more effective overall. Balance I guess!
I finished the first episode of Silent finally, it was pretty good but the plot is a bit…hm. I don’t really know how deafness is viewed in Japan, but cutting off your entire social circle because an illness made you lose your hearing seems extreme. So is the friend acting like the guy died when he finds out. The trouble with dramas is it’s hard to tell how much something is exaggerated from real life. It’s clear part of the motivation behind this show is to normalize deafness and showcase people with hearing loss as normal, fully human characters which I dig - but it feels heavy handed.
Learning some great words though! 手話 and 聴障者 (short for 聴覚障害者) are both new to me.
Seeing Japanese sign language is also cool
If anyone is interested I found this neat chart for the Japanese alphabet:
As I mentioned in the reading challenge thread, I went with Satori Reader today so I could focus on my translation homework (tldr: I needed it).
That’s awesome! I recognize some of the symbols from ASL. Seeing signing used is one of the reasons my partner and I kept watching Ranking of Kings (the main character is both deaf and mute). They drop the signing in later episodes by saying he can read lips, though. (I’m still enjoying the show, but that was a bit of a letdown). We also picked up a sign language book, though the only thing we confidently know at this point is “I love you.” Should probably get back on that…
Got another Pimsleurs done. Level 2 Lesson 8. Moving right along. looks at calendar Seems I need to pick up the pace slightly if I want to finish the 30 lesson level during the challenge.
My Tango N5 anki deck ran out of new cards yesterday. Didn’t have time to set up Tango N4 but I will be continuing those on a daily basis asap.
Yet another episode of Haunting of HIll House. They were speaking fast in this one, and it got extra scary at some points , so I didn’t follow the audio as well as the previous days, but it was still quite good listening practice overall.
In Migaku I beat my high score and reached 17/20 before failing the test. I consistently got a better score than the previous time, then after a short break I was back to failing miserably. How is pitch so elusive? I wish there was an objective and tangible way to describe it, a way to see it in the sound waves, something.
reviewed the first section of JEES1 listening practice.
did the second section but haven’t reviewed, think I did okay with a bit more guesswork than I’d like
reviewed some Genki II back of the book dialogs and did a couple of new ones, quite tough.
oh and I did a couple of the JapanesePod 101 800 deck videos whilst I’m still on my free trial. Had a poke around the site, not sure I’ll subscribe as I have a habit of seeing what other people use, get FOMO and take on too many different Japanese learning commitments.
Thank to @pocketcat I ended up watching a few videos about Japanese Sign Language and can now (…very slowly) sign “Hello, My name is Lucy”.
I am fighting the urge to fall down a rabbit hole and learn more
I also listened to an episode of Nihongo con Teppei for Beginners. It was about the best methods of studying.
Watched episode two of Silent. Ahhh why must this be broadcasting now. This show would be so bingeable. It’s really sweet, nice editing, and with the promise of temptation to cheat! Love it. Also seeing all the 手話 is just a delight even if it is a bit tricky to watch and read the JP subs of what is being said at the same time.
Also, I was poking around Audible (US) and saw this:
I personally never found bilingual stories to be helpful in learning, but some people swear by them so thought I’d drop it in here. I recommend listening to the sample first though as the audio quality leaves a bit to be desired.
Just Satori Reader again for today. Like I mentioned in the reading challenge thread, I think all the energy I put into my assignment burned me out a little. I’ll do some more of my extra listening tomorrow, maybe start that second cult video or listen to a little nihongo SWITCH.
Another day with Nihongo con Teppei. #30 エアコンは付けますか? and #31 ご飯を食べたばかりです。 Ears and brain refused to work together during 31. Gave that another listen after checking my understanding of ばかり. Mostly better.
Added, configured, and started theMoeWay Tango N4 anki deck. Spent way too much time deciding how many new cards per day. Picked 22. I remember that being significant for some reason.
So, I finished Haunting of HIll House, and I was in the mood for …nothing. Looking through Netflix, nothing. Youtube, nothing. Audiobook, nah. Supernative, I get a server error. I was about to give up, then opened Netflix again for one last look. And…
Has Netflix been spying on me? Not that I mind. There on the front page, as the first suggestion, was splashed the word ONI, an assortment of 妖怪 behind it. Hadn’t I been looking for exactly this kind of content for ages? Between that and the upcoming Junji Ito series, I feel like I’m getting a suspiciously personalized service.
So I watched an episode of Oni. It’s for kids, and it’s more cute than scary, but I’m not complaining. There’s Tengu, a (ridiculously cute and unthreatening chick-like) Kappa, a Tanuki, a Daruma, a Kasa-obake, and more. And the scenery is just beautiful.
Well, I listened to the second one before, but I have to somewhat remember the content to count. Relistening is never out of equation.
HUNTER x HUNTER is continued by (at least) 1 episode daily, as usual. Yesterday too.
I tried listening to several things on YouTube [1]; however, I feel I don’t catch enough to count.
At current time, I feel I need an accompanying transcript to look at quickly (but not necessarily need to be used every time). Hukumusume collection is a yet another option.
Today I listened to Episode 72 of Nihongo con Teppei for Beginners. I’ve been following episodes much morre easily recently, and its fun to feel the daily practise paying off since starting the Summer challenge.
I also had 2 car journeys today totalling about 3.5 hours, and spent the whole time listening to Japanese music.
Nihongo con Teppei again today. Just episode 32 オススメの勉強方法について
Some random bits, Japanese game trailers on Nintendo Switch
Went for a walk with my roommate. I carried nothing, they carried their phone with them, but didn’t use it. During that walk I talked about a random oldish movie. The next time I used Netflix, you might think that random movie and related titles were my favorite thing. Then I thought, oh, third party data
That’s the one Edited out this whole thing in my last post about how I have the physical book on the shelf closest to me where I study. How I accumulate markers in there until I give a section a thorough read through. That I had previously marked ばかり, read it, and cleared it. That I still had to go back to it. But I’m making an effort to go quantity over quality with update posts
10月20日
softlyraining’s leaf pile listens 
, so I didn’t follow the audio as well as the previous days, but it was still quite good listening practice overall.
Edited out this whole thing in my last post about how I have the physical book on the shelf closest to me where I study. How I accumulate markers in there until I give a section a thorough read through. That I had previously marked ばかり, read it, and cleared it. That I still had to go back to it. But I’m making an effort to go quantity over quality with update posts
We’ll see how this weekend goes.