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On March 26 2012 07:29 Phrogs! wrote:Show nested quote +On March 26 2012 07:01 dAPhREAk wrote:
sound quality is not so great on the video so hard to tell if these are your issues or the sound quality.
your japanese is good. dont use "eh" so much. its the equivalent of "umm" and not so great. enunciate more. you are swallowing your words. japanese is a very flat language, so keep as much intonation out of the words as possible. Thanks for the advice <3 especially about me swallowing my words, I didn't notice till you said
its good that you are worrying about these things, but like others have said in this thread, it shouldnt be your focus at this point. focus on learning mroe words then focus on proper grammar. and for that japanese test, someone pointed out that learning japanese and learning japanese for that test are two different things. its like TOEFL, even native speakers have issues. find a book, or a class, that is specifically tailored to the test.
when you get to japan, if you know more than five words 95% of the people you speak with will say your japanese is "pera-pera." they have very low expectations of foreigners, lol. =) oh, and then they will answer you in bad english. ;-)
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On March 26 2012 07:40 dAPhREAk wrote:Show nested quote +On March 26 2012 07:29 Phrogs! wrote:On March 26 2012 07:01 dAPhREAk wrote:
sound quality is not so great on the video so hard to tell if these are your issues or the sound quality.
your japanese is good. dont use "eh" so much. its the equivalent of "umm" and not so great. enunciate more. you are swallowing your words. japanese is a very flat language, so keep as much intonation out of the words as possible. Thanks for the advice <3 especially about me swallowing my words, I didn't notice till you said its good that you are worrying about these things, but like others have said in this thread, it shouldnt be your focus at this point. focus on learning mroe words then focus on proper grammar. and for that japanese test, someone pointed out that learning japanese and learning japanese for that test are two different things. its like TOEFL, even native speakers have issues. find a book, or a class, that is specifically tailored to the test. when you get to japan, if you know more than five words 95% of the people you speak with will say your japanese is "pera-pera." they have very low expectations of foreigners, lol. =) oh, and then they will answer you in bad english. ;-)
oh, but the worst is when they mix their terrible english with the japanese xD 日本語がとてもベリーグッドですね！ lol
Thanks again man. Maybe I'm underestimating this test but I've got a feeling its going to go well :-) Will definately do lots of study specifically for the test though! Vocab and grammar especially
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On March 26 2012 07:52 Phrogs! wrote:Show nested quote +On March 26 2012 07:40 dAPhREAk wrote:On March 26 2012 07:29 Phrogs! wrote:On March 26 2012 07:01 dAPhREAk wrote:
sound quality is not so great on the video so hard to tell if these are your issues or the sound quality.
your japanese is good. dont use "eh" so much. its the equivalent of "umm" and not so great. enunciate more. you are swallowing your words. japanese is a very flat language, so keep as much intonation out of the words as possible. Thanks for the advice <3 especially about me swallowing my words, I didn't notice till you said its good that you are worrying about these things, but like others have said in this thread, it shouldnt be your focus at this point. focus on learning mroe words then focus on proper grammar. and for that japanese test, someone pointed out that learning japanese and learning japanese for that test are two different things. its like TOEFL, even native speakers have issues. find a book, or a class, that is specifically tailored to the test. when you get to japan, if you know more than five words 95% of the people you speak with will say your japanese is "pera-pera." they have very low expectations of foreigners, lol. =) oh, and then they will answer you in bad english. ;-) oh, but the worst is when they mix their terrible english with the japanese xD 日本語がとてもベリーグッドですね！ lol Thanks again man. Maybe I'm underestimating this test but I've got a feeling its going to go well :-) Will definately do lots of study specifically for the test though! Vocab and grammar especially
there are multiple levels of the test. a friend of mine took (and failed) one of the higher level tests (and he lived in Japan with me at the time). he would have easily passed the lower tests though. im sure you can find practice tests online to see what it is like.
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Good on you man, Ive always wanted to learn Japanese, but I tried for about a month and just gave up, its just really hard to. A big thing was I was going by this guys method... i dont remember his name but its just like you make your whole life japanese, only listen to japanese music ect. Obviously that got crappy and I just lost motivaiton to really learn it
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On March 26 2012 14:01 ScruffyJanitor wrote:
Good on you man, Ive always wanted to learn Japanese, but I tried for about a month and just gave up, its just really hard to. A big thing was I was going by this guys method... i dont remember his name but its just like you make your whole life japanese, only listen to japanese music ect. Obviously that got crappy and I just lost motivaiton to really learn it
That's not how you learn a language, that would be something on the side to do. Learning a language just means you really put your mind to it, and spend a few afternoons/evenings a week in a class actively engaging with the language. Or do self teaching but that's alot harder. Once you're doing that, do the stuff on the side, like watching Japanese media or looking up words for everyday items.
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I took the test for about two years ago. If you've studied for a few years and know your kanji and grammar, JLPT1 shouldn't be too hard. As said earlier in the thread, the JLPT tests have some old grammar etc. that really only appears in these tests, so buying a grammar book would help. Then again, the most uncommon grammar doesn't appear too much.
From what I saw in the video, it might be a good idea to start out with JLPT2, but if you put your mind to it, JLPT1 should be doable.
The talk about JLPT1 being a brutally hard test even if you're fluent is well... not really true. There are way harder tests for fluent Japanese speakers.
Good luck with the studies!
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your weakness in pronunciation and intonation can be solved by karaoke or just imitating a native japanese speaker. goodluck on the test and try singing!
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The tests honestly weren't that hard but it really depends on how you learned you japanese.
also, if you're gonna be making a sound while you pause and think, you might as well change your
Ehhh to e-to and sound more japanese.
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I took N2 in December, and I limped out with a score of 91. Passing is 90, lol. (Also fwiw I still struggle with daily conversation, my listening is decent but speaking is horrible.)
The common hurdle is reading speed, make sure you can read at a decent pace. This past test I remember blowing through vocab/grammar/kanji in like 10 minutes but I didn't even finish the reading section.
As far as test taking goes, you'd do well to focus mostly on the test and the skills required instead of developing overall general skills and then hoping to apply it to the test. The latter strategy is better for language learning, but if you need to pass the test for business reasons then focus on the stuff in the 完全マスター books that you got. There's a lot of rare vocabulary and grammar that's used sparingly in real life so it's hard to absorb it through real life experience.
I can't watch the video here at work, but your own accent and intonation are pretty low on the scale of importance. Being able to understand other people and being understood are far more important even if it means speaking awkwardly. Once you get to a comfortable level there, then I'd work on it.
As far as Japanese TV goes, I watch mostly variety shows (AKB48ネ申テレビ^^) and drama.
Just like for me, idol groups are leading the way to Japanese learning, haha. Just be careful you don't pick up any bad habits. (After someone introduces themselves, whether in English or Japanese, I always feel like saying "YAYYYYYYY" afterwards, lol.)
when you get to japan, if you know more than five words 95% of the people you speak with will say your japanese is "pera-pera." they have very low expectations of foreigners, lol. =) oh, and then they will answer you in bad english. ;-)
what's funny for me is that most of the people i've met with the intention of language exchange... most of them refused to speak English or even stopped learning shortly after exchanging emails.
also since i'm filipino but look generically asian, people assumed i spoke japanese... then when that failed they went to chinese, haha. i never got the foreigner advantage, sadly. apparently "foreigner" doesn't apply to asian people.
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I have been trying on and off for the last couple of years trying to learn Japanese myself. I've taken some lousy after school lessons at my university, bought a book with simple sentences and use Rosetta stone from time to time. How are you learning? I really can't imagine learning from anime's and mangas, because I simply lack the vocabulary for it. I can sometimes understand a word here and there and sometimes a simple phrase or sentence by that is more rare. Are you using any books/manuals that you would recommend?
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Aah tons of replies! Thanks for the awesome advice people  Looks like the main thing for the test is making sure I learn all the old/odd grammar that never comes up in real life!
On March 27 2012 04:03 kainzero wrote:Show nested quote +As far as Japanese TV goes, I watch mostly variety shows (AKB48ネ申テレビ^^) and drama. Just like for me, idol groups are leading the way to Japanese learning, haha. Just be careful you don't pick up any bad habits. (After someone introduces themselves, whether in English or Japanese, I always feel like saying "YAYYYYYYY" afterwards, lol.)
Omg you too? :D I do think they're great for Japanese learning though! What idol groups are you into? Congrats on the N2 btw!! YAYYYYYY! 
On March 27 2012 04:55 PetitCrabe wrote:
I have been trying on and off for the last couple of years trying to learn Japanese myself. I've taken some lousy after school lessons at my university, bought a book with simple sentences and use Rosetta stone from time to time. How are you learning? I really can't imagine learning from anime's and mangas, because I simply lack the vocabulary for it. I can sometimes understand a word here and there and sometimes a simple phrase or sentence by that is more rare. Are you using any books/manuals that you would recommend?
Sorry I don't think I can help much... the only manual/book like thing I've used is http://www.guidetojapanese.org/learn/grammar (damn good site by the way) and the rest I picked stuff up from manga/novels/chatrooms/skype/TV etc
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Good luck! I've heard some brutal stories about N1. But some people tell me that test-taking skills are more important. :p
I was going to aim for N3 this summer, but the date doesn't fit my schedule. I've never taken a JLPT before, but N3 should be easy enough for me. I'm not 100% sure though (only 95%), so I want to take it to measure my level and validate my skill. Since I can't take it in July, I'm thinking of N2 in December. But I'll see when the time arrives. 
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On March 27 2012 06:12 MichaelEU wrote:Good luck! I've heard some brutal stories about N1. But some people tell me that test-taking skills are more important. :p I was going to aim for N3 this summer, but the date doesn't fit my schedule. I've never taken a JLPT before, but N3 should be easy enough for me. I'm not 100% sure though (only 95%), so I want to take it to measure my level and validate my skill. Since I can't take it in July, I'm thinking of N2 in December. But I'll see when the time arrives.
Thanks Would be cool if you took N2 in December! Good luck whatever you decide to do :D
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On March 27 2012 06:06 Phrogs! wrote:Aah tons of replies! Thanks for the awesome advice people Looks like the main thing for the test is making sure I learn all the old/odd grammar that never comes up in real life!
well, i wouldn't say it never comes up...
it's just that it appears rarely, so focused studying is better than expecting to absorb it naturally. i think grammar is only 15 questions though, it's really the reading part where it's important.
Omg you too? :D I do think they're great for Japanese learning though! What idol groups are you into? Congrats on the N2 btw!! YAYYYYYY!
mostly the 48 groups (nmb more than akb). momokuro is creeping up though, and i really like 9nine's music, but neither of those groups are the variety show juggernaut that akb is.
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Btw are there some starcraft players in tokyo here? I'm looking for practice partners!
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On March 30 2012 15:03 freakhill wrote:
Btw are there some starcraft players in tokyo here? I'm looking for practice partners!
I live in Ayase-shi Kanagawa if you want to meet up and play sometime, it doesn't take too long to get to Tokyo~ I would like to meet someone here that plays Starcraft!
On topic, I really coming to Japan will be extremely beneficial to your studies. I have studied Japanese formally for 5 years and taught myself for 3 before that, and after being in Japan for even a short amount of time I've noticed that my learning speed has increased exponentially. Actually getting to use Japanese to survive helps me remember much more easily than being taught or reading it from a book, and being able to hear how Japanese people speak in certain situations around you is extremely helpful.
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i have question about pronouncing english words when talking tosomeone in japanese. correct me if im wrong but japanese natives do often add an "O" or sometimes other letters to english words ( i guess to make it easier to pronounce ???)
lets say im talking to a random stranger in japan, what should i do about the pronouncation? should i pronounce them the "right" or "japanese" way. do people understand me if i pronounce it right or will they even get offended when im trying to do it their way?
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On March 30 2012 21:44 Matsumoto wrote:
i have question about pronouncing english words when talking tosomeone in japanese. correct me if im wrong but japanese natives do often add an "O" or sometimes other letters to english words ( i guess to make it easier to pronounce ???)
lets say im talking to a random stranger in japan, what should i do about the pronouncation? should i pronounce them the "right" or "japanese" way. do people understand me if i pronounce it right or will they even get offended when im trying to do it their way?
Just say fk it baylife and say it however you want. Baylife dude
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On March 30 2012 21:44 Matsumoto wrote:
i have question about pronouncing english words when talking tosomeone in japanese. correct me if im wrong but japanese natives do often add an "O" or sometimes other letters to english words ( i guess to make it easier to pronounce ???)
lets say im talking to a random stranger in japan, what should i do about the pronouncation? should i pronounce them the "right" or "japanese" way. do people understand me if i pronounce it right or will they even get offended when im trying to do it their way?
I think you are talking about English words inside the Japanese language, in which case you should pronounce them like a Japanese person (by it's katakana reading). They are loan words in the Japanese language, and would sound very weird to pronounce them in English. It's also common that the meaning is not the same as the English counterpart of the word.
I can't imagine anyone would be offended by this.
If you are talking in English to a Japanese person you can pronounce like you normally would, of course (but many Japanese people would have an easier time understanding you if you pronounce it like they do, by it's katakana reading).
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On March 27 2012 06:12 MichaelEU wrote:Good luck! I've heard some brutal stories about N1. But some people tell me that test-taking skills are more important. :p I was going to aim for N3 this summer, but the date doesn't fit my schedule. I've never taken a JLPT before, but N3 should be easy enough for me. I'm not 100% sure though (only 95%), so I want to take it to measure my level and validate my skill. Since I can't take it in July, I'm thinking of N2 in December. But I'll see when the time arrives.
I was 2 points away from passing N1 last december. It's not as bad as many make it out to be, the problem is that you need to know a buttload of words from many different aspects of Japanese. The listening part is really easy and the texts aren't overly complicated, but if there's enough words you don't know, there's just no way to know what to answer.
I'd recommend anyone who wants to pass it to focus on vocabulary above all else, while also going through the grammar needed, the kanzen master books are very good for this purpose.
EDIT: As for JLPT1 being hard for native japanese, that's definitely not true. My GF, who is korean, got 100% on the same test I took. Sure, she lived in Japan for 7 years, but she's still not on the same level as native Japanese.
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EPT
