tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32650776.post284264982437772722..comments2024-03-28T18:18:01.176+09:00Comments on Japanmanship: Japanese as she is spokeUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32650776.post-79997940940666103192006-11-17T10:46:00.000+09:002006-11-17T10:46:00.000+09:00I'm following the dirt-cheap lessons from the ward...I'm following the dirt-cheap lessons from the ward office, and they're not bad. You can't complain at 300Yen for every 6 hours worth! One time, my regular teacher was on holiday, and I ended up with a different teacher -- which turned out to be much better. =/videogamesartisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15492706684921514303noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32650776.post-13205878569983561042006-11-16T19:54:00.000+09:002006-11-16T19:54:00.000+09:00It doesn't have to be in Mosburger, but although m...It doesn't have to be in Mosburger, but although my teacher works at a school, she doesn't teach her private lessons on the school premises, so we just meet somewhere. Mos Burger just happens to be convenient for both of us, and my lesson is on saturday morning at 9:30, so it's not busy or noisy.<br /><br />That bit about being surprised also works the other way. I tend to think in English when I am working, so if someone sneaks up behind me and asks me to export something or clean the bathroom (yes, we have that at our company too) then I often don't understand what they were saying because a. I wasn't listening and b. because I was thinking in English. Often I will pull a puzzled face and they start trying to speak in English when most of the time just repeating it in Japanese will do.<br /><br />I do have low confidence in my Japanese ability though, and it certainly doesn't help :( When I'm pissed, what do I care if I use the wrong tense or don't bother using the passive etc?<br /><br />YMLLAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32650776.post-88154079485134127982006-11-16T13:49:00.000+09:002006-11-16T13:49:00.000+09:00Karaoke and alcohol (and cigarettes) are a great w...Karaoke and alcohol (and cigarettes) are a great way to *practise* Japanese, rather than study it. My biggest problem was my confidence. Because most people (often rightfully) expect you to not speak Japanese, when you do they are surprised and fail to hear what you said. Then they ask you to repeat and you think "damn, what did I say? Did I say something stupid?" I still get nervous sweat when talking to shopclerks occasionally.<br />Alcohol is definitely good to combat that. Most people, including myself, believe my Japanese ability increases tenfold when i'm thick. <br /><br />3000 Yen for a two hour private lessons indeed sounds like a very good bargain, apart from the Mosburger part. How did you find that deal?JC Barnetthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00122980021264683075noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32650776.post-43051806115500402722006-11-16T10:05:00.000+09:002006-11-16T10:05:00.000+09:00You could become a JET and get paid to study at wo...You could become a JET and get paid to study at work and pull the gf/karaoke/drinking card at night!<br />*shifty eyes*Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15526469880250859734noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32650776.post-6142877330778360472006-11-16T08:49:00.000+09:002006-11-16T08:49:00.000+09:00Totally agree with trs about drinking and karaoke ...Totally agree with trs about drinking and karaoke - you need to go out and talk to people in Japanese to be able to really get anywhere when it comes to speaking.<br /><br />I have a professional and pretty good Japanese teacher who teaches me privately (in Mosburger though, not a classroom) for 3000 yen for a two hour lesson. I think that's pretty good value, and perhaps it is possible to find similar deals in Tokyo.<br /><br />Not sure if I would be better off in a class environment with others to compete with or not - I think I would just get frustrated that I had to actually do some study during the week to keep up rather than just going at my own pace.<br /><br />My girlfriend speaks English way better than I speak Japanese, so although she is a great help when I push myself to study and speak Japanese, she isn't when I get lazy and just speak English.<br /><br />So, er, I agree with your post almost 100% :)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32650776.post-277223109679936792006-11-16T06:49:00.000+09:002006-11-16T06:49:00.000+09:00Bang on, from my experience. Specifically, though ...Bang on, from my experience. Specifically, though I didn't get a Japanese gf with language learning in mind, that synopsis of the pitfalls is very accurate. The other bits definitely line up with my showdowns with the language too.<br /><br />Drinking and karaoke are also good ways to supplement the learning (though they don't work well, when used in isolation). Drinking, to reduce Japanese culturally-ingrained shyness (or your own), while Karaoke can help when you want to learn kanji as it's more interactive than reading or studying on your own.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com