Study Methods as of Late

In the last three weeks or so I feel like I've really improved my aptitude towards Japanese. I thought it might be worth mentioning how I've done that.

First, I've been translating manga. Manga is very good for learners. It's visual, so you can see the context of what you're reading. It's colloquial - i.e, it contains slang. Lot's of it. You'll learn the natural speech of the common world-saving teenager quite quickly.* Manga usually has furigana. This makes looking up words about a thousand times easier than without.

So what I've been doing is looking up every single word I don't know at jisho.org and crosschecking with Google translate and rikaichan (or rikaikun for chrome). Once I get the gist of the word and how it was used in the sentence, I'll write it down on graph paper using the new stroke order info on jisho.org. I'm using a brush pen, so I give myself 3x3 squares for kanji (marked out with a regular pen) and write the furigana and concise English definition above and below respectively with a regular, 0.5mm (extra fine) pen. I write grammar notes for small, functional words in the margins with an even smaller pen (which is especially suited to general kanji writing, btw). I'm still experimenting with the exact formatting and which pen is best, but the main point is to get it on the paper. If I write it down, I'm using it; I'm practicing it; I'm learning it.

So how do I know I'm making progress if I'm just only ever writing new words? Well, the more common or topical words get used more often, which reinforces them, but mainly I gauge my progress by watching anime and seeing how well I can pick out words or understand sentences or the structure of a sentence or the flow of speech or anything like that. I see how well the language is ingrained into my head. I see how well I can listen, and even how well I can speak, or even just make the right tone of voice or sound if I don't have the right word I want on hand. I think in Japanese. Everything I can. Have a thought? Try to have it in Japanese. Don't have the words you want? Look it up.

The manga and the anime, they will compliment each other. Each reinforcing things you learned from the other. Now, this is slow going at first, but keep at it and it can be really rewarding. I feel like I've had the biggest burst of progress since starting this. I've slowed down a bit on the manga and picked up on the anime (anime is easier, DUH!), but I've committed myself to filling just one page of graph paper a day. When I'm done, I don't always want to stop.

One more thing. Grammar is a bitch. The best I can say is to not worry about it too much. Yes, there will be sentences you just don't understand because there's some odd little word in there that's not in dictionaries or the verb is conjugated weird and you can't find what that means. You should let it go, but I never did (hehe). So what did I do? Google translate has actually filled this gap pretty well. Don't trust it completely, but if it makes the sentence make sense, go with it. Before they improved their whateveritis that makes Google translate work, I would just use regular Google. Something like "rareru japanese". And this seems to be the step that most people never seem to realize is there. Just google it. I don't know why this is such a hard step for people. Come on! The search bar's right there. Sometimes closer! Look at it. That's the collective knowledge of humanity at your fingertips. Use it!

Well, aside from studying, watching anime, and building a blanket fort in our kitchen, I just finished work today. It's amazing to think that I've worked at Summit Cafe for more than a year, and I was sad to say goodbye to everyone.

I'm also adding AJATT.com to the resource links. While not the top page, it's what I was linked to. Just pick through what seems interesting and try to get the gist of what he's saying. Really good stuff. Different method from Benny, but same attitude. Heck, I can't believe I never added his site, Fluentin3Months.com! Up it goes!

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* Be careful of what sort of character you emulate. Japanese is very gender specific. If you're a rather manly man at heart, you don't want to be speaking like a moe schoolgirl, and vice-versa. Even then, don't take it too seriously until you see what real people are saying. Know what's rude and what's polite.

WVU Study Abroad Process

So. In five weeks, I'll be on a plane headed for Japan. At least I hope. I've never received any paperwork at any point during this process that said, "Congratulations, you're accepted!" or anything like that. They have a Certificate of Enrollment that they're mailing so I can get my visa, and they want me to arrive at a certain date, so I guess I'm accepted, but the idea that they could still somehow just say no and I've wasted an entire semester thinking I was in... It makes me nervous and a little angry. If this doesn't work out, I'll explode like an atom bomb on everyone who dropped the ball and convinced me to risk this on something that wasn't as certain as I was told... OIP has problems. Students need more feedback. Not to mention other students getting important forms months late after initially having no legitimate paperwork available to them as I've heard has happened...

At least it all seems to be working out. 中部大学へゆこう！

Also, I've been looking at maps of the area and formulating a zombie invasion escape route. There is some nearby farmland which connects to a large forest/mountainous region within 2km. Could make it there and be relatively safe. Getting the girlfriend from 金城学院 down the highway, however is another story...