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I spend the biggest percentage of my study time doing English -> Japanese study of the vocab. I figure sooner or later I should know it. For some reason kana -> English is not too much of a challenge…yet! ^_^;
That’s why I started just listening to the words rather than reading them. I copied the sound file to the front of the vocab and sentence cards except for the ones containing kanji since that would be self-defeating. That way the sound file is also played when the card comes up rather than only when it’s ‘flipped’.The Anki decks we download go from Japanese to English so I make my own to reverse this and just practice a lot.
@Noah What drives me nutz is the unvoiced vowels such as in がくせい (student) where the ku is pronounced just as if it was a lone k.Oh and the big strength of the Thomas Method is all vocab is used in sentences. You soon start with -masu endings for the verbs you learn then work up to other tenses (-masen, -tai desu etc) adding nouns and a few adjectives as you go.
Same for me about ANKI for Vocab, that’s why I use Flashcardlet to help pound it into my head initially. Anki intervals get too long too quickly. I opened up a set I hadn’t used in months and not only did it want to show me every card, the intervals now inexplicably ranged from 1 to 4 years. At my age I probably shouldn’t be scheduling anything for 4 years hence -_-;
Thomas Method was where I started, plus it was inexpensive at the time. They are in the process of redoing it and charging more. http://www.amazon.com/Michel-Thomas-Japanese-Beginners-Program/dp/0071614362/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1335384491&sr=1-1 It was my first exposure and worked out great for teaching me the beginning grammar structure. I ripped it to my old MP3 player and it has a permanent place in my car. I listen/review a lesson on the way to the gym and back.
Cons are vocab is limited and teaches no reading skills.
I had trouble with various textbooks I used except a couple I bought for learning the kana. They just bored me to death and I had no feedback.
I’m into the Advanced Thomas set now. http://www.amazon.com/Michel-Thomas-Japanese-Advanced-Program/dp/0071637621/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1335384491&sr=1-5
Using Audacity I’m extracting the native speaker parts (she speaks slowly and distinctly) and making flash cards out of them so I can practice listening skills.I get the idea that most of us are all over the map with what we know and what we use to study with the common thread is that we are all here.
@isocracy Thx. I do work everyday not just TextFugu but I also use Thomas Method, it’s a great way to start. In fact I’m learning about the te forms now so it’s a bit ahead of where I am here. I like textFugu for the community plus the written stuff.
I also work through “Erin’s Challenge” for listening mostly which is a real weak point for me. Sheesh they talk fast tho. O_o Just picking out words I know is the challenge part for me!
I have Flashcardlet and ANKI on my iPod and I carry it with me always to refresh myself on vocabulary.
I will get into iKnow at some point, I did the sample lessons and it was pretty good!I very much agree with Misty Hayes.
As a rookie here I envy the students who have survived long enough to bump into the boundaries of the course and salute your zeal in wanting to learn more. I only hope I make it that far someday.
I purchased the eBook and go through a chapter whenever I need a break from studying vocab. I have already found it useful for improving my studies.
Thanks for your good work.
Yep. My wife would love that. ^_~ It is a good idea tho.
Thanks for the quick responses. I do like the site but maybe I should wait just a bit.
The subscription pricing is in ¥ What do they accept in payment? Paypal?
What would be the minimum TextFugu level that would benefit by joining?
I sort of did that for a while by carrying half index cards with me all the time. Sometimes certain vocab just doesn’t want to stick so putting it in front of my eyes all the time works for me.
When I got my iPod Touch I installed the Japanese keyboard then downloaded a free app called Flashcardlet.
Creating several small ‘themed’ decks (10 to 25 cards per deck) I can then roll thru them when I have spare time since I always carry it with me. It’s not SM2 algorithm based like ANKI but you can ‘star’ cards and either include or exclude them from your study. I find that the wait period that ANKI starts giving me is too long after a while anyway.
It also uses Dropbox so I can also create the decks on my wife’s iPad (easier to type) then access them on the iPod Touch.
I use a different Dropbox acct than I use for ANKI just to keep things separate.
It’s amazing how much extra study time you can squeeze in say before a movie starts at the theater or if someone else does the driving.I got 100 minutes for $55 but it takes 2 minutes just logging into Facebook because the connection is slow. I mostly kept my grandkids informed as to where we were and that we were ok.
Lucky! I wish I had a friend or two close by that would learn or could speak Japanese. All I can do is irritate my family. -_-
Good luck! I’m a season 2 beginner … keeping a study diary is crucial for my learning. I keep it on a flash drive using Word. I try to have something to write in it each day plus it’s a great place to put links to web based info I find.
For a good dictionary give http://tangorin.com/ a try, a free acct lets you keep a vocabulary list plus you can save it to a txt file that can be imported into Anki.
Much success!Interesting occupation choice…learning the language sounds like a necessity. Welcome and good luck.
