Wednesday, May 10, 2017

さいごのPEリフレクション!

さいごのPEリフレクション!


それは日本語の一年生です。。。
今年は日本語を勉強していて、とてもむずかしいですが、楽しすぎます。私は日本語が上手になりたいです。来年の春学期は日本に留学する予定で、日本の文化と日本語と日本の政治を勉強しょうと思いです。

みんなさん、私の今学期のゴールを見ましょう! 


1。スピード

This semester I hope to work primarily on speed. Hesitation and pauses in my speech often make it sound unnatural and not confident, so I hope to work on this thoroughly. 

アップデート: So far this semester, I feel as if the speed of my speech has improved. When looking at my PE comments this semester, しばた先生 has noted a few times that my overall speed has improved (私は嬉しく泣いています!......えも、私は速くなりたいです.)
新しいアップデート: Given that it's the end of the semester, I feel like my speed has improved, albeit slowly. One of my goals in relation to speed for last half of the semester was to work on listening. Often, I had difficultly listening to others speak Japanese at a native-level speed. One activity that helped me improve this was going to the advanced Japanese language table on Monday nights in Forbes. It was very challenging at times to understand everything that was being said, but I felt like it was still helpful for me to get used to that speed level.

私は月曜日の日本語テベールで日本語を聞いていました。

2。ペラペラ
Last semester, しばた先生 and I worked on pronouncing my "r's" correctly, as I had trouble speaking without trilling the "r's" similar to Spanish. By the end of the semester, I was able to successfully pronounce words correctly and at a reasonable speed. I would like to continue this practice this semester, and focus on correct pronunciation and pitch as well. 

アップデート: Fluency has improved these past few weeks as well. This semester I've had fewer fluency issues during the PEs, though sometimes learning new vocabulary creates some difficulty. All in all, it seems better...今週のPEはちょっとむずかしいですけど。。。

新しいアップデート:Fluency has probably been slowly improving as well, but there are still new issues that arise if we learn particularly challenging grammar like those in both Nakama Chapters 2 and 3. Overall, I think that with しばた先生's comments I have improved some of the more specific issues, such as putting the correct emphasis on conjunctions, using proper spacing, and the へ shape intonation. I think doing the Nakama exercises for some of my Your Choice PE Assignments was one of the best ways to practice this. Also, seeing しばた先生's written comments on my speech script was very beneficial to me when practicing later. I also started watching more anime without reading subtitles in order to try and understand both faster speech and more casual speech.
頑張っています!
3。Complexity of Speech
Besides working on speed and fluency, I want to focus on the complexity of the things I say. It's easy to speak using the easy phrases and grammar structures we learned early on in the semester with proper speed and pronunciation, but it's another to incorporate several different structures and new vocabulary constantly. I think this might be my most important goal, because it blends all three of them together. 
アップデート: This has been the most difficult goal to complete so far, just because each week we learn more and more complex structures. Overall though, I feel as if I've made progress, albeit slow. I've gone to the Japanese language table more consistently, which I think has been really important to my progress.
新しいアップデート: Going to both the Monday and Tuesday Japanese Language tables at least once a week was probably one of the most helpful activities I did consistently for the last half of the semester. It helped me practice the new grammar structures and I was also able to interact with others both at my level and at a very advanced level. Overall, I definitely need to keep working on raising the level of the complexity of my speech, given that we know how to say a lot now, and I will continue to work on these goals over the summer during PII.
今私は日本語の試験を勉強しています。。。

Tuesday, May 9, 2017

去年の夏!

去年の夏

去年の夏はとてもたのしかったです。私は家に帰ったり、ロスアンゼルスに仕事がしたり、コンサートに二つ行ったりしました。夏はとてもいそがしくて、楽しいと思いました。
私の親友はエマです。このしゃしんはディズニーランドでとりました。私は親友とディズニーランドが大好きですから、一年に一度行きます。
そして、私は従姉妹とコンサートに二つ行きました。私は好きなイベントでした。私は従姉妹とFlumeと Coldplayを見ました。
Flumeのコンサート後で、にぎやかすぎる!でも、それはとても
たのしかったですが、たくさん人がいました。
じゃあ、私は従姉妹とColdplayのコンサートに行きました。子供の時、Coldplayは好きなおんがくグルプでした。今は、Coldplayはまだ好きなグルプです。
このしゃしんはColdplayのコンサートでとりました。

今年の夏、私は日本に日本語を勉強する予定で私は日本語が上手になりたいです。来年の春学期は日本に留学するつもりです。

みんなさん、今年の夏は何をしますか。

Monday, April 24, 2017

海外旅行!


先学期は、私はイタリアに十一泊十日はじめて行きました。去年はHUM215-216とHUM 217-218をとりましたから、私はクラスメートと二つ先生と一緒にイタリアに行けました。それは私のはじめて海外旅行で、とてもたのしかったです。私は博物館と教会と有名なところにたくさん行きました。たくさんおもしろいアートがあって、たてものは大きくて、きれいでしたから、私の好きなところはバチカンでした。その間に、私はラテン語を読めて、それはとてもたのしかったです。

みなさん!私のしゃしんをイタリアから見てください!
これはトレブィの泉 (Fountain)でした!

わー、それはフォーラムできれいな日でした。
私の好きなアートでした。それはとても有名です。
これはCreation of Adamです。


Thursday, March 30, 2017

リフレクションとアップデート

リフレクションとアップデート!
1. Speed

This semester I hope to work primarily on speed. Hesitation and pauses in my speech often make it sound unnatural and not confident, so I hope to work on this thoroughly

アップデート: So far this semester, I feel as if the speed of my speech has improved. When looking at my PE comments this semester, しばた先生 has noted a few times that my overall speed has improved (私は嬉しく泣いています!......えも、私は速くなりたいです.)




2. Fluency

Last semester, しばた先生 and I worked on pronouncing my "r's" correctly, as I had trouble speaking without trilling the "r's" similar to Spanish. By the end of the semester, I was able to successfully pronounce words correctly and at a reasonable speed. I would like to continue this practice this semester, and focus on correct pronunciation and pitch as well. 

アップデート: Fluency has improved these past few weeks as well. This semester I've had fewer fluency issues during the PEs, though sometimes learning new vocabulary creates some difficulty. All in all, it seems better...今週のPEはちょっとむずかしいですけど。。。
(とてもかわいい。。。)
3. Complexity of Speech

Besides working on speed and fluency, I want to focus on the complexity of the things I say. It's easy to speak using the easy phrases and grammar structures we learned early on in the semester with proper speed and pronunciation, but it's another to incorporate several different structures and new vocabulary constantly. I think this might be my most important goal, because it blends all three of them together. 

アップデート: This has been the most difficult goal to complete so far, just because each week we learn more and more complex structures. Overall though, I feel as if I've made progress, albeit slow. I've gone to the Japanese language table more consistently, which I think has been really important to my progress.


(私。。。)



アクティビティ:
このゴールはむずかしいですけど、いいゴールだと思います。私は一週間に一度日本語のテーブルで話に行きます。そして、私は一週間に一度オフィスのアワーに行きます。私も日本のおんがくを聞いて、アニメをよく見ます。 

















Monday, March 27, 2017

私の春休み:くさま・やよいのインフィニティミラールーム

私はお金がないので、家に帰りませんでした。



家に帰りたいですけど、春休みはとてもたのしかったです。母の両親はワシングトンDCに住んでいますから、先週は土曜日から水曜日までワシングトンDCにいました。


先週の火曜日に、祖父と私はびじゅつかんにアートを見に行きました。ゆうめいなびじゅつかんの名前はヒルシュホーンです。ヒルシュホーンにくさまのゆうめいなアートがあります。くさまのアートはとてもおもしろくて、きれいでした。くさまはいいアーティストだとおもいます!

みなさん、アートのしゃしんを見て下さい!

有名な日本人アーティスト!
私は好きなインフィニティミラールームです。「Infinity Mirrored Room—The Souls of Millions of Light Years Away」

へやはとてもきれいですから、大好きです。
くさまはトが好きですから、たくさんトをよく書きます。
たくさんトです!




 







Wednesday, February 8, 2017

新日本語ゴール!

みなさん、こんばんは!
このポストは新日本語ゴールがありますよ!

1. Speed

This semester I hope to work primarily on speed. Hesitation and pauses in my speech often make it sound unnatural and not confident, so I hope to work on this thoroughly



2. Fluency

Last semester, しばた先生 and I worked on pronouncing my "r's" correctly, as I had trouble speaking without trilling the "r's" similar to Spanish. By the end of the semester, I was able to successfully pronounce words correctly and at a reasonable speed. I would like to continue this practice this semester, and focus on correct pronunciation and pitch as well. 



3. Complexity of Speech

Besides working on speed and fluency, I want to focus on the complexity of the things I say. It's easy to speak using the easy phrases and grammar structures we learned early on in the semester with proper speed and pronunciation, but it's another to incorporate several different structures and new vocabulary constantly. I think this might be my most important goal, because it blends all three of them together. 



ありがとうございました!
ロドリゲス

冬休みはとてもよっかたですよ。カリフォルニアにかえりました。私は友達とアイススケートをして、新のえいがをみて、In-N-Outバーガーをたべましたよ。 でも、冬休みはちょとうまあまあでしたよ。たとえば私のおとうととガールフレンドはスノーボードにしに行きました。 私はアイススケートをする方がスノーボードするよりやさしかったですよ。スノーボードはたのしくなかったですよ。そして、たくさん宿題があるので、友達と私は図書館にときどきべんきょうしにいきました。でも、友達はカリフォルニアにバークレー大学の学生ですよ。私はニュージャージーにプリンストン大学の学生ですよ。私はうちにいつもかえらないので、友達にあいにあまり行きません。では、私の冬休みはカリフォルニアに友達ととても嬉しかったよ。


Saturday, January 14, 2017


みなさん、ありがとうございました!

この日本語のクラスはとてもたのしくて、おもしろかったです。ブログが好きです。

For this post, I figure I will go over how my PE goals have been accomplished and what challenges I faced while completing them. 


Commentary on Previous PE Goals:


1. Confidence

  • One thing I definitely notice when speaking Japanese is my lack of confidence. Sure, I've looked at and studied the words, but when it comes down to facilitating a semi-normal sounding conversation, I just sound like I'm mumbling incoherently (probably). 
  • Second, I noticed when I am called on in class to speak, I freeze up and suddenly forget how to read/say what I'm supposed to. I think I'm just nervous that I'll make a mistake, but we're learning a new language, so that will inevitably happen (I should chill out).
New comments: Speaking is still hard (sigh). But I think I've definitely improved. I practice more with the Nakama dialogues and that is one of my favorite things to do. I will keep practicing of course, but it was nice to see some improvement. I've gotten better with speaking in class, and most of it comes down to reviewing the lessons both before and after class. Also, I've accepted that I'll probably make a lot of mistakes and that's fine.




2. Building the (good) habits of paying attention to grammar and focusing on reviewing constantly

  • I find that each day in class we constantly review, but we also simultaneously add new content daily. I think sometimes that can feel overwhelming when we're still trying to grasp the previous day's lesson. Often, I find myself forgetting a grammar rule, the definition of a word, or how a certain sentence is supposed to sound.
  • The point of focusing on grammar and reviewing words boils down to my goal of being able to clearly articulate what I need to say in Japanese in the most correct way possible, not only speed wise (sounding natural), but I want to reduce the amount of time I spend hesitating about my speech while I'm talking (too many pauses sound awful and make for bad, broken speech).
New comments:Again, continued practice and study has definitely improved my Japanese. I can't believe how much we've learned in about 13 weeks (such a short time) and the conversations I can now hold (sometimes). I do still need to work on making consistent work habits, because my progress really starts and stops sometimes when I get (inevitably) busy with other classes and assignments. Still, it's good to see progress and it's nice to know what I need to work on specifically. 



3. Intonation, Long Vowels, and Double Consonants 
  • When I practice Japanese slowly, I find myself being able to distinguish between these things (intonation, long vowels, and double consonants), but quickly find myself frazzled when listening to Japanese at a normal speed. Sometimes, I find it hard to detect subtle sound changes, and the difference in words with long vowels.
  • Intonation is not as troublesome, and I regularly can identify correctly what is meant, but the trouble comes when I myself am speaking (sometimes it's wrong). 
  • I notice there are often very (very) subtle differences in how a word is pronounced (especially with pitch), and sometimes I'm still a little confused when it comes to determining exactly what those are (high/low, etc). 
New comments: Pronunciation has slowly been getting better, but it's also one of those things you will never stop working on when you learn a language. I have found more tools to help me with pronunciation, including Nakama exercises, Suzuki-kun, and just regular exposure to Japanese media. Ultimately, those have been very useful. Interestingly, one recurring issue is that I seem to have trouble with the "r" sound because I over trill them like Spanish. I think if I continue to practice the proper pronunciation and focus on correcting it, it will become less noticeable.

Also, I really found office hours with しばた先生 and とくます先生 to be super helpful and very fun. I really liked that I could speak to them about my life or activities using (okay-ish) Japanese. I look forward to consistently working with them outside of class.