AnimeSuki Forums

p3psi · 2003-12-06, 07:05

the study aboard students i talked to went mostly to european countries, i guess it could be diffrent in japan.

and, i guess if you're not forced to use the japanese you've learned, either people you're talking are speaking english or you have someone around that helps interpurt , that
doesnt help.

i dont know how they did it, but it would probally help if you struggle with the language, like try to go on a train to some tourist place by yourself and see if you can survive for the day (getting around, eating, sight seeing, buying tickets, blah blah blah). If you havent been doing that already.

Blue*Dragon · 2003-12-06, 14:44

i must say. I slowly learn japanese thx to the jap sub anime's. So during waching i also learn japanese. K not for writing, but that am i learning from a other programe.

sothis · 2003-12-06, 16:22

learning the language isnt that bad.. a few years.

the problem is kanji. you need to know a LOT to be able to read anything decent... and you HAVE to practice them, all the time.. if you don't, you'll forget.

so, yea. i dont think understanding the grammar, etc, of japanese is too difficult.. but learning thousands of kanji? not so fun.

Mr. Bushido · 2003-12-06, 16:29

i learned english in 3 months. I stayed home and watched Rugrats and nick-kids all day. ANd i picked up english like that. Ive only been here 9 yrs, and im taking college english courses in high school.

the point? watch raw anime ALOT. over and over and over.

My korean got better here in america even tho my only practice is with my parents. I talk to my parents a lot more than average high school kid, but it doesnt explain why my korean went from kindergarden level to a 3rd grade in writing and 5th~7th grade reading, and up to 9th grade speaking. I have bad spelling, and vocab... thats about it. I cant read hanmun either... (korean kanji)

if you practice then its not hard to learn any language. (except french, since the teachers and books suck)

im taking japanese starting Feb at a community college.

Bluesummers · 2003-12-06, 17:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zoro

(except french, since the teachers and books suck)

...............
Lol.

Lord Raiden · 2003-12-06, 18:11

Speaking of taking Japanese classes, I'm finding it tough finding anything local to where I am. I live in Lower Michigan and I'm trying to find a couple of colleges within decent driving distance of Battle Creek in order to take the college classes I want to in order ot learn. I know I will definately want to practice my Kana at the very least and have it memorized before my first class. Especially after the class requirements I saw at U of M's site. It read that you will be proficient in Katakana, Hagi-something (forgot the spelling, gomen) and 145 Kanji. I was like "Sweet Jebbus!!"

when I read that. So I know that in the 7-8 months before class starts I'll want to be proficient in at the very least Katakana before I take the class. Should be fun though.

That may have surprised me, but I've set my mind to this and I'm going to tackle and at least decently perfect this language within 2 years one way or another.

gravitation · 2003-12-06, 18:18

Quote:

Hagi-something

lol, its Hiragana i think lol ^_^ i wish ya good luck with learning and stuff lord raiden

Ive been learning japanese since the summer term but i havent had many lessons coz my tutor works alot...i found that for memorizing hiragana etc that cards helped

i have learned hiragana and some katakana....but no kanji yet...i need to be more strict with myself!! ^_^

anyway good luck...or should i say gambatte!

Lord Raiden · 2003-12-06, 21:59

Cool, thanks. Yeah, the Hiragana was what I was thinking, but the old braincells weren't firing right so I could remember it. 0_o

Flash cards will work good for me too as I was already planning on grabbing a book from Barnes and Nobles and then making up flash cards for both of those, and eventually the Kanji, but definately the Katakana first, then the Hirigana and use it to learn those as Flash cards seem to help me a lot with learning of that type.

Blue*Dragon · 2003-12-07, 04:30

Japense lessons, nope not in my town.

In holland you can track Japense cources difficult. I know there is one in the Amsterddam only that will be 2 hours cycling or take the bus. Oh no that am i not doing, just i take the prog and the raw eps. K first raw than sub

p3psi · 2003-12-07, 05:06

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blue*Dragon

In holland you can track Japense cources difficult. I know there is one in the Amsterddam only that will be 2 hours cycling or take the bus. Oh no that am i not doing, just i take the prog and the raw eps. K first raw than sub

whaaaaaaaaaaa? I'm not trying to be mean or funny, but maybe you should concentrate more on english. English of course is going to be far more useful to you. If you're just studing japanese to watch anime and read manga, that would be a waste of time in my opinion. dont get me wrong, its good to be multilingual, but only if you can use it to get a job or something.

Blue*Dragon · 2003-12-07, 06:16

Quote:

Originally Posted by p3psi

whaaaaaaaaaaa? I'm not trying to be mean or funny, but maybe you should concentrate more on english. English of course is going to be far more useful to you. If you're just studing japanese to watch anime and read manga, that would be a waste of time in my opinion. dont get me wrong, its good to be multilingual, but only if you can use it to get a job or something.

:@ i have english on my school, but that is only for 2 lessons on one week :s

Search my up if you would :P
http://www.tynoss.nl/klimmuur%20verkenners/IMG_0013.JPG

Lord Raiden · 2003-12-07, 11:24

Time to start digging into your English books and reading tapes then. Trust me, when I'm stateside, my German gets really rusty and sucks bad unless I find some nice alte dame (german for "old lady") and have a chat with her in pure old country German. Of course after I go over to Germany for a couple of months and come back stateside, it takes me about a week before I can speak English straight again after having jabbered in pure German for 6-9 months. I can talk perfect German, but my english gets sloppy.

Same idea with learning any language. The more you use it, the better you get at it. The less you use it, the harder it is to speak fluently. That's what I'm planning on taking a long trip to Japan in a couple of years. Maybe crash out with The Small One for a couple of months just so I can clean up and perfect my Japanese. Of coure I'm sure The Small One wouldn't mind having a fellow Kraut with him for a couple of months. ^_^ (just kidding The Small One)

But seriously, before tackling a 3rd language, perfect your English. Here's a trick you can use. I do something similar to this when I'm going over to Germany for any period of time. Find somewhere that lots of people speak good English and often. Go hang out there and talk with them, listen to them, etc. It will do good to take the rough edges off what you know and make your english smoother. May not work for you, but I know it works for me, so it's worth a try for you.

zalas · 2003-12-07, 17:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zoro

i learned english in 3 months. I stayed home and watched Rugrats and nick-kids all day. ANd i picked up english like that. Ive only been here 9 yrs, and im taking college english courses in high school.

the point? watch raw anime ALOT. over and over and over.

My korean got better here in america even tho my only practice is with my parents. I talk to my parents a lot more than average high school kid, but it doesnt explain why my korean went from kindergarden level to a 3rd grade in writing and 5th~7th grade reading, and up to 9th grade speaking. I have bad spelling, and vocab... thats about it. I cant read hanmun either... (korean kanji)

if you practice then its not hard to learn any language. (except french, since the teachers and books suck)

im taking japanese starting Feb at a community college.

So I learned English over a summer, that doesn't mean taking a language only needs a few months. And besides, learning English for Asian people is much easier than learning Japanese for English-speaking people, and it's also much easier to pick up languages when you're young. Sure, you _can_ learn Japanese by watching a lot of raws and consulting grammar books and dictionaries, but I think you'd learn it actually much faster if you attended classes and put as much effort into the classes as you do with raw anime.

Mr. Bushido · 2003-12-07, 21:09

Quote:

Originally Posted by zalas

So I learned English over a summer, that doesn't mean taking a language only needs a few months. And besides, learning English for Asian people is much easier than learning Japanese for English-speaking people, and it's also much easier to pick up languages when you're young. Sure, you _can_ learn Japanese by watching a lot of raws and consulting grammar books and dictionaries, but I think you'd learn it actually much faster if you attended classes and put as much effort into the classes as you do with raw anime.

i never said that didnt help..... i just said raw animes help. summer is 3 months ^^

Oneesama · 2003-12-08, 04:02

There are tons and tons of Japanese classes offered where I lived. There is a private Class Session 10 blocks up and another one ~12 blocks down.... so it is very convient for me to go to Japanese classes. I am in 2nd year Japanese, amongst my friends, some are Japanese~ so when I talk to them, I spoke to them in Japanese as much as possible~ ( as learning the oral skills) and you should go to like Japanese shopping malls and resturants...... I mean just hang around and listen to other people's conversation~ that helps abit~ But I found the best way learning Japanese is watching Anime

since you have the nice subs for you to understand~ and vocal for speaking..... it's quite a effective way to learn Jap. sa~ choose one of your favorite anime~ and repeatly watch it till you almost rememorize their every single line ( almost~ ok~ you get what I mean ~ ) then repeatly doing so: I PROMISE YOU, YOU WILL ROCK in Japanese ^^ ( well, at least that's how I do it for practice ^^ )

raikage · 2003-12-08, 04:29

4th semester in college, better than many but not nearly as good as others

For a good forum, go to http://www.toriyamaworld.com/forum/f....asp?forumid=8

Quote:

Originally Posted by oneesama

But I found the best way learning Japanese is watching Anime since you have the nice subs for you to understand~ and vocal for speaking..... it's quite a effective way to learn Jap. sa~ choose one of your favorite anime~ and repeatly watch it till you almost rememorize their every single line ( almost~ ok~ you get what I mean ~ ) then repeatly doing so: I PROMISE YOU, YOU WILL ROCK in Japanese ^^ ( well, at least that's how I do it for practice ^^ )

oh god...sorry, but...
you will NOT rock in Japanese...

You'll get bad habits from watching anime - your speech style will adapt to whomever it is you watch.

Ranma - 15 year old brat
Naruto - 13 year old cocky punk kid
Belldandy - goddess ditz
Himura Kenshin - retired, peaceful samurai
Chii - Chii
Chiyo-chan - super-smart 5th grader in high school

none of which sound like appealing choices to me...

It's gonna be a LOOOOOONG time before you can understand raw anime - I can understand maybe about half of what's going on at the point that I'm at (maybe others have better teachers/programs) and I've been here for 2 years.

luckme10 · 2003-12-08, 05:42

when i go to japan i think i'll speak nothing but japanese and if people start talking to me in english i'll respond with something like no hablo ingles or something

BTW
"Himura Kenshin - retired, peaceful samuraiHimura Kenshin - retired, peaceful samurai"

NOW THAT WOULD BE COOL TO SPEAK LIKE THAT

Orooo!?

Elin · 2003-12-08, 06:05

*laughs* I've been learning for maybe 3 months... Don't know much yet, but my will to learn is carrying me fairly far through it

Mad Cat · 2003-12-08, 08:50

Id say its up to the person.
It took my less then 6 months for me to talk good english when i was learning it

Wandering A.I. · 2003-12-08, 10:58

Hmm, I've been learning for 3 years (but only ~5 semesters of classes, 1 class per since it's not my major and skipped one) and am still terrible at it. My sole accomplishment is I can usually understand what my roommates (who are Japanese) are saying (like "toire kami ga nai no?" and what not, lol) and can understand most anime with a dictionary at hand.

When it comes down to saying something myself (picking a verb/conjugating it and using it in one of the grammar patterns like hazu/tsumori desu or a sentence or whatever) I'm terrible. Actually I have all the conjugations of common verbs pretty much memorized, but if it's something I haven't encountered frequently it takes my mind way too long to figure it out and say it. Anyway I suppose this is why most of the time in class is spent broken up in groups and drilling each other - so you get experience saying things.

Anyway, my advice is that if you go with classes then when such a speaking occasion comes up, you shouldn't say the simplest thing that comes to mind. Try to say something vaguely complex, especially if it's your turn with the professor checking you/providing corrections. It will help a lot down the road to get used to saying weighty things, even if it means making more mistakes in class (where they don't count and are even beneficial when corrected anyway ^^).

Oh and re. kanji, don't even get me started. Start memorizing now because you'll never finish! Flash cards do nothing for me. If you're the same I suggest trying to use them in sentences/context whenever possible and on your own for practice, also you should read a lot. I could look at/drill a kanji on a flash card and say it's readings to myself 100 times and I still won't remember it as well as a kanji that I've used in my homework once or twice and read in context on occasion.

2003-12-06, 07:05	Link #101
p3psi Oscar winning black actor Join Date: Nov 2003	the study aboard students i talked to went mostly to european countries, i guess it could be diffrent in japan. and, i guess if you're not forced to use the japanese you've learned, either people you're talking are speaking english or you have someone around that helps interpurt , that doesnt help. i dont know how they did it, but it would probally help if you struggle with the language, like try to go on a train to some tourist place by yourself and see if you can survive for the day (getting around, eating, sight seeing, buying tickets, blah blah blah). If you havent been doing that already.

2003-12-06, 14:44	Link #102
Blue*Dragon Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: holland Age: 35	i must say. I slowly learn japanese thx to the jap sub anime's. So during waching i also learn japanese. K not for writing, but that am i learning from a other programe.

2003-12-06, 16:22	Link #103
sothis Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2003	learning the language isnt that bad.. a few years. the problem is kanji. you need to know a LOT to be able to read anything decent... and you HAVE to practice them, all the time.. if you don't, you'll forget. so, yea. i dont think understanding the grammar, etc, of japanese is too difficult.. but learning thousands of kanji? not so fun.

2003-12-06, 16:29	Link #104
Mr. Bushido Zoro Join Date: Nov 2003	i learned english in 3 months. I stayed home and watched Rugrats and nick-kids all day. ANd i picked up english like that. Ive only been here 9 yrs, and im taking college english courses in high school. the point? watch raw anime ALOT. over and over and over. My korean got better here in america even tho my only practice is with my parents. I talk to my parents a lot more than average high school kid, but it doesnt explain why my korean went from kindergarden level to a 3rd grade in writing and 5th~7th grade reading, and up to 9th grade speaking. I have bad spelling, and vocab... thats about it. I cant read hanmun either... (korean kanji) if you practice then its not hard to learn any language. (except french, since the teachers and books suck) im taking japanese starting Feb at a community college.

2003-12-06, 18:11	Link #106
Lord Raiden Uber Coffee for da win! Join Date: May 2003 Location: Middle of insanity	Speaking of taking Japanese classes, I'm finding it tough finding anything local to where I am. I live in Lower Michigan and I'm trying to find a couple of colleges within decent driving distance of Battle Creek in order to take the college classes I want to in order ot learn. I know I will definately want to practice my Kana at the very least and have it memorized before my first class. Especially after the class requirements I saw at U of M's site. It read that you will be proficient in Katakana, Hagi-something (forgot the spelling, gomen) and 145 Kanji. I was like "Sweet Jebbus!!" when I read that. So I know that in the 7-8 months before class starts I'll want to be proficient in at the very least Katakana before I take the class. Should be fun though. That may have surprised me, but I've set my mind to this and I'm going to tackle and at least decently perfect this language within 2 years one way or another.

2003-12-06, 21:59	Link #108
Lord Raiden Uber Coffee for da win! Join Date: May 2003 Location: Middle of insanity	Cool, thanks. Yeah, the Hiragana was what I was thinking, but the old braincells weren't firing right so I could remember it. 0_o Flash cards will work good for me too as I was already planning on grabbing a book from Barnes and Nobles and then making up flash cards for both of those, and eventually the Kanji, but definately the Katakana first, then the Hirigana and use it to learn those as Flash cards seem to help me a lot with learning of that type.

2003-12-07, 04:30	Link #109
Blue*Dragon Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: holland Age: 35	Japense lessons, nope not in my town. In holland you can track Japense cources difficult. I know there is one in the Amsterddam only that will be 2 hours cycling or take the bus. Oh no that am i not doing, just i take the prog and the raw eps. K first raw than sub

2003-12-07, 11:24	Link #112
Lord Raiden Uber Coffee for da win! Join Date: May 2003 Location: Middle of insanity	Time to start digging into your English books and reading tapes then. Trust me, when I'm stateside, my German gets really rusty and sucks bad unless I find some nice alte dame (german for "old lady") and have a chat with her in pure old country German. Of course after I go over to Germany for a couple of months and come back stateside, it takes me about a week before I can speak English straight again after having jabbered in pure German for 6-9 months. I can talk perfect German, but my english gets sloppy. Same idea with learning any language. The more you use it, the better you get at it. The less you use it, the harder it is to speak fluently. That's what I'm planning on taking a long trip to Japan in a couple of years. Maybe crash out with The Small One for a couple of months just so I can clean up and perfect my Japanese. Of coure I'm sure The Small One wouldn't mind having a fellow Kraut with him for a couple of months. ^_^ (just kidding The Small One) But seriously, before tackling a 3rd language, perfect your English. Here's a trick you can use. I do something similar to this when I'm going over to Germany for any period of time. Find somewhere that lots of people speak good English and often. Go hang out there and talk with them, listen to them, etc. It will do good to take the rough edges off what you know and make your english smoother. May not work for you, but I know it works for me, so it's worth a try for you.

2003-12-08, 04:02	Link #115
Oneesama 本當に愛してるなら, "鰻食べる？”ってきかないで Join Date: Nov 2003	There are tons and tons of Japanese classes offered where I lived. There is a private Class Session 10 blocks up and another one ~12 blocks down.... so it is very convient for me to go to Japanese classes. I am in 2nd year Japanese, amongst my friends, some are Japanese~ so when I talk to them, I spoke to them in Japanese as much as possible~ ( as learning the oral skills) and you should go to like Japanese shopping malls and resturants...... I mean just hang around and listen to other people's conversation~ that helps abit~ But I found the best way learning Japanese is watching Anime since you have the nice subs for you to understand~ and vocal for speaking..... it's quite a effective way to learn Jap. sa~ choose one of your favorite anime~ and repeatly watch it till you almost rememorize their every single line ( almost~ ok~ you get what I mean ~ ) then repeatly doing so: I PROMISE YOU, YOU WILL ROCK in Japanese ^^ ( well, at least that's how I do it for practice ^^ )

2003-12-08, 05:42	Link #117
luckme10 Just call me G Join Date: May 2003 Location: California, bay area or is it San Diego... not sure Age: 39	when i go to japan i think i'll speak nothing but japanese and if people start talking to me in english i'll respond with something like no hablo ingles or something BTW "Himura Kenshin - retired, peaceful samuraiHimura Kenshin - retired, peaceful samurai" NOW THAT WOULD BE COOL TO SPEAK LIKE THAT Orooo!?

2003-12-08, 06:05	Link #118
Elin Junior Mem...n00b! Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Edinburgh, Scotland Age: 38	laughs I've been learning for maybe 3 months... Don't know much yet, but my will to learn is carrying me fairly far through it

2003-12-08, 08:50	Link #119
Mad Cat You only live once! Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Sweden	Id say its up to the person. It took my less then 6 months for me to talk good english when i was learning it

2003-12-08, 10:58	Link #120
Wandering A.I. エッチだ! しかたない Join Date: Jul 2003	Hmm, I've been learning for 3 years (but only ~5 semesters of classes, 1 class per since it's not my major and skipped one) and am still terrible at it. My sole accomplishment is I can usually understand what my roommates (who are Japanese) are saying (like "toire kami ga nai no?" and what not, lol) and can understand most anime with a dictionary at hand. When it comes down to saying something myself (picking a verb/conjugating it and using it in one of the grammar patterns like hazu/tsumori desu or a sentence or whatever) I'm terrible. Actually I have all the conjugations of common verbs pretty much memorized, but if it's something I haven't encountered frequently it takes my mind way too long to figure it out and say it. Anyway I suppose this is why most of the time in class is spent broken up in groups and drilling each other - so you get experience saying things. Anyway, my advice is that if you go with classes then when such a speaking occasion comes up, you shouldn't say the simplest thing that comes to mind. Try to say something vaguely complex, especially if it's your turn with the professor checking you/providing corrections. It will help a lot down the road to get used to saying weighty things, even if it means making more mistakes in class (where they don't count and are even beneficial when corrected anyway ^^). Oh and re. kanji, don't even get me started. Start memorizing now because you'll never finish! Flash cards do nothing for me. If you're the same I suggest trying to use them in sentences/context whenever possible and on your own for practice, also you should read a lot. I could look at/drill a kanji on a flash card and say it's readings to myself 100 times and I still won't remember it as well as a kanji that I've used in my homework once or twice and read in context on occasion.