Saturday, April 18, 2009

Japanese Class

For some reason I was expecting some breakthrough method to be used here. I seriously thought that they would have some innovative teaching program that would make learning Japanese so much easier. Little did I know and to my disappointment, it is taught here exactly the same way it is taught in the states. Lol. I should have figured. Guess I was just trying to justify why I cannot remember the 6+ years of Japanese I have taken Japanese and still can't remember.

I swear that some of the people in my Japanese class are some of the strangest people I have met. This counts for high school thru college and here. The Japanese language just attracts some different kids, especially in America. Some of the comments I hear in my Japanese class are like the most ignorant ones I have heard from foreigners since I got here. I don't know what it is. I swear i get in some of the slow classes. One of the American girls cannot even speak proper English. And she's from Chicago, so she has no excuse.

Anyway, the class is pretty much taught like all of the classes I have had in the US. Probably because I have always had teachers from Japan. Here they speak primarily in Japanese during the class, very slow Japanese. Some of the kids can't pick it up, so they have to say it again in English.

Since it is an intensive class, it is 3-hrs, 5 days a week. Pretty killer. 9:15-12:30, Monday-Friday. Thank goodness the days are divided in two, a different prof teaching in the first 1.5 hr and a different in the second part. All together there are 5 teachers that teach during different parts of the week.

We're going over really basic stuff. Easy kanji, easy grammar, most of the vocab I've learned. But I think its better this way. There's no way I would be able to keep up if it was all new. Plus its 8 semester credits, meaning I don't have to take an extra class.

This week I realized two things. One, how much I am able to understand. And two, the extent to which I cannot respond and my inability to read fluently aloud. There has been so much repetition that I can understand grammar patters without having to go through the steps of thinking how to change verbs, adj. Its kinda cool to think that I don't have to talk myself through the grammatical rules. At the same time, it is really really hard for me to put complete sentences together. And when I read aloud, my fluency is terrible. I definitely know what I need to work on.

The chapter we're working on involves situations and vocab for when you are shopping. Needless to say, I have been paying extra close attention. :)

2 comments:

  1. Haha yea Japan attracts a wide range of people, but most of them are a bit 変わった lol.

    In regard to your language classes, I have to say that with me personally at Nanzan I was blown away by their teaching methods. I gained such a deep understanding of Japanese through an explanation of everything like topics, predicates, commas, kanji radicals, intonation, and pitch. It was by far the best language instruction I had ever received but then again Nanzan is known for that.

    I guess what I'm trying to say is don't be too disillusioned with learning Japanese in Japan just yet since it's largely dependent on what school (and also what level I think) you are at. Of course, I'm not trying to be pompous here and put you down haha. I just hope you keep your mind open cuz that's the best way to enjoy Japan! :D

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  2. lol no worries. haha i can be pretty critical, but this really is the best place for me to learn and practice for sure. i have SOOO much to work on!

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