マスクファッションとモバイルの勉強

みなさんこんばんは。

どんどん寒くなってきている。マスクを着けのはどうですか。外国人が日本の奇妙な風習だと感じることのひとつに、街中でマスクをしてる人がとても多いことが挙げられます。病気の予防」だけでなく、ファッション、暖かさ、さらには「他人との会話を避けるためにもマスクを着用すると紹介されていました。最近寒いから、試してみてください。

冬休み前に購入することはどうですか!

しかし、まだ我々皆忙しいですね。それでも動きながらも日本語の勉強の方法がないでしょう。

文法を勉強ためにTae Kim'sはお勧めします。

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.alexisblaze.japanese_grammar

単語と会話の練習のためには推薦してあげたいですLearn Japanese

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bravolang.japanese

下にリンクで他のアプリも参考にしてください:

http://www.fluentu.com/japanese/blog/best-apps-for-learning-japanese/

読んでくれてありがとう。

じゃあ、またね!

EAS 329（Politics of Japan）とガリガリ君の広告

みなさんこんばんわ。

If you are looking for courses (課目/かもく) for next semester (来学期/らいがっき), a course I really would like to recommend is EAS 329（Politics of Japan）. It's a small class that should give a good survey of Japanese politics, history and society. I'll be taking the course, so if you decide to take the class, see you there!

リンク:
https://registrar.princeton.edu/course-offerings/course_details.xml?courseid=010516&term=1174

In other interesting Japan news, I found a recent television ad for ガリガリ君 really funny and wanted share. ガリガリ君 is an iconic Japanese bar ice cream and the company recently made the decision to raise the price from 60 to 70 yen. The advertisement is one endearing apology. Enjoy below:

読んでくれてありがとう。

じゃあ、またね!

PE Reflection + Revised PE Plan (頑張ります!)

こんばんわ。

It has already been さんかげつ since the start of my 日本語の挑戦. 時間が本当に早いですね。Below are some reflections I have on the progress I've made on my pronunciation and speaking goals and how I hope to get even closer to achieving my goals:

Progress Made on Goals:

Accuracy of Pitch and Intonation

While I believe overall phrase-level intonations have improved, pitch is an area where I still struggle (i.e. the Prosody Listening Exercises) especially at the word-level.

Pace/Speed

Over time, based on my own reflection and on feedback from しばたせんせい, issues with awkward, wrong pauses and rushing are an area where I seem to improved significantly and the speed of my speaking is generally more natural. I still do, however, tend to miss or create pauses when speaking and not confident.

Confidence

The volume at which I speak has definitely improved, which is a good sign in terms of confidence and I believe I've been willing to be confident and stretch the use of my Japanese (i.e. use of new vocab). However, when in actual, non-guided conversation situations, my confidence in speech is still shaky. Before, even when practicing based on examples, I felt very unsure about whether I'm actually saying certain words or phrases I naturally and accurately (i.e. ございます). Now using OJAD and other resources, I don't feel that way as much.

Listening Abilities 

To become a better speaker, I need to be good at picking up on what the correct pronunciation is. I have definitely improved (reflected in my test vs. midterm listening sections) in identifying parts like voiced consonants. However, I believe I'm still to slow in processing what I've listened to.

[Revised] Activities for Improved PE:

Production Practice

• Create a weekly phrase list of じゅ for shadowing (daily listening of example and practice before bed)
• Refer to OJAD for accuracy in tandem with weekly phrase list practice
• Do Nakama-related exercises 
• 
  

Speaking Opportunities

• Practice with Japanese friends over meals (光田さんをしゅんさんありがとございます)
• Continue to attend the Japanese language table weekly
• Attend せんせえ's office hours with more of a focus on conversation and more practice.

Perception and Mimicking Practice

• Keep up with a new anime/ドラマ and re-watch favorites (i.e. 鋼の錬金術師, 人狼, 旦那が何を言っているかわからない件). Become familiar with rhythm and intonation. Choose a scene with common phrase or interesting meaning to shadow. Select for PE exercises.

• Be more committed to listening to a Japanese vocab song per day.

Japanese Vocabulary Songs Playlist

読んでくれてありがとう。

じゃあ、またね!

ビデオブログ エピソード１: 自己紹介

にほんのおかし

みなさんこんばんわ。

きょう、私はアジアのスーパーに行きます。 スーパーでにほんのおかしを買います。Below are some of the にほんのおかし I bought:

カステラ: A castilla can be a soft, sponge-like snack. My favorite kind are the Nagasaki castilla. However, the スーパー sold castilla are dry and overly sweet and sticky. 

点(てん): 3/5

クレヨンしんちゃんのおかし: A childhood favorite of mine. The crunchiness and chocolate cream are great. I wish they put more of it in the box though.

点(てん): 4/5

もち: Great to chew in terms of the texture and a pleasure to bite into the red bean paste core. Must I say more.

点(てん): 5/5

まっちゃのエリーゼ: The green tea wafers don't taste that must different from ordinary wafers. They are still a good snack to go with a warm drink or to be devoured by the box.

点(てん): 4/5

Pocky: Easy-eating, sweet and highly addictive. That's all I have to say.

点(てん): 5/5

ゼリー: The jellies are shaped in cute and honestly remarkable shapes of foods such as hamburgers. But they also feel really unhealthy and after a couple they can get a little tiring.

点(てん): 3/5

まっちゃのキットカット: I always make sure to buy and bring back packs of my favorite snacks from countries I visit. When visiting the Philippines, its dried mangoes. When visiting China, it's grain puffs. When visiting Japan, it's the green tea KitKat. The crunchy, but not overly heavy, delivery of chocolate and green tea is so very good.

点(てん): 5/5

まっちゃのオレオ: I have never actually come across green tea Oreos before so I had to try them. However, I've also never enjoyed Oreos too much (though the green tea cream did make it less stuffy/dry and more refreshing than usual).

点(てん): 2/5

...if you're interested in snacks like the above (but don't have the time or means to drive to Edison or Fort Lee or Palisades Park)...

...one solution is to sign up to a monthly Japanese snack box delivery service like 

https://www.skoshbox.com/ (which delivers a box of Japanese snacks to your doorstep each month for $10/month)

読んでくれてありがとう。

じゃあ、またね!

天気(てんき)ときせつ + 言の葉の庭 (anime drama film "The Garden of Words")

It's already fall and winter is actually not too far away. Personally, I feel it's been quite amazing how quickly the past year has gone by. In turn, I thought it would be an apt time to learn about the seasons and also to describe the weather (which has been relaly erratic lately, so its always worth checking and asking about these days).

In Japanese, the seasons (きせつ/季節) are...

はる/春 = Spring

なつ/夏 = Summer

あき/秋 = Fall

ふゆ/冬 = Winter

As for asking about the weather, the following are some useful phrases I've found! 

*You can add とてもinfront of the adjective if you want to say "very"

きょう の てんき よほう は なん です か 

今日 の 天気 予報 は 何 です か 

What’s the weather forecast for today?

てんき は どう ですか 

天気 は どう ですか 

How’s the weather?

きおん は なんど です か 

気温 は 何度 です か 

What’s the temperature?

...and if you want to answer...

あたたかい です 

暖かい です 

It’s warm

さむい です 

寒い です 

It's cold

かぜ が つよい です

風 が 強い です 

It's windy

あつい です 

暑い です 

It's hot

せいてん です 

晴天 です 

It's clear

むし あつい です 

蒸し 暑い です 

It's humid

...and if its raining (as it was today) or snowing...

あめ が ふって います 

雨 が 降って います 

It’s raining

ゆき が ふって います 

雪 が 降って います 

It’s snowing

Speaking of rain, and considering the weather today, an anime movie I watched recently that really matches the atmosphere and mood is 言の葉の庭 ("The Garden of Words"). The film focuses on Takao Akizuki, an aspiring 15-year-old shoemaker, and Yukari Yukino, a mysterious 27-year-old woman he keeps meeting at Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden on rainy mornings. While Takao is skipping his morning class to design shoes, Yukino is avoiding work due to personal problems in her professional life. The two continue to cross paths and they increasingly come to effect each other profoundly in different ways. Below is a trailer!

I hope you all found the above helpful and interesting!

読んでくれてありがとう。

じゃあ、またね!