Tag: language

Singing in Japanese is Fun! Learn Japanese by Singing

Posted on by RebekahJ in Japanese, Journal

Singing in Japanese is fun and effective. I like to sing than speaking.

The anxiety and stress almost disappear when I sing. I love to sing anime opening songs. my favorite is One Piece and Junjo Romantica. They are both my favorite anime to watch.

 

 

Children learn the language effectively by singing. Singing helps memory, re-enforce new vocabulary and pronunciation. It a great way of exercise the mouth muscle too. You gain speed in talking just by singing a lot.

There are so many benefits in singing, as well as health and well-being a benefit too.

I suffer from anxiety daily. Something the anxiety can creep up on me and causes me to feel uncomfortable. Going out can be a stressful situation for me. I use to take a remedy to ease stress and anxiety. But since I began to sing in Japanese I feel so relaxed and anxiety free.
Now sing more in Japanese daily. I sing while I am walking. When I do feel nervous or anxious I just sing any anime song.

Another great benefit fact, Japanese people love to sing. if you sing in Japanese they would want to be your friend! Karaoke is one of Japanese passion, everyone sing karaoke either they are young or old.
Singing in Japanese it very easy. it’s perhaps Japanese sounds are simpler than English sounds. English words sound has complicated sounds and phonics.
I write the lyrics down on paper. I practice and practice until I master a few lyrics.

overall, singing is the best method for learning a new language.
Tips for singing in Japanese:

  • Break down the song into small parts on paper.
  • Listen to the song first before you practice.
  • Take your time singing
  • Don’t worry about making a mistake, carry on singing if you are stumbling.
  • Sing while standing up, to fill more oxygen into the lungs.
  • Find lyric that’s in Romaji or Hiragana.
  • Most anime opening has the lyrics display for you to sing along.
  • learn most children song too as they are easier to sing along.

My Japanese Studies so Far

Posted on by RebekahJ in Japanese, Journal

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My Japanese studies might be on hold after the Christmas festive season. Instead I have been focusing on doing my manga comic on Clip studio.

I downloaded a flash card apps to help me memorise the Japanese  phrases and sentences.

I’m using Chegg Flash cards IOS app on my ITouch. you can create a category and create new flashcards decks.

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Chegg Flashcard App

Chegg Flashcard App

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Chegg FlashCard App
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Chegg Flashcard App

It’s really good for practice 2 minutes of Japanese.

There is other good free flashcards apps to use for studying.

Tinycard App is very good for memorising Japanese  vocabulary.

Another way i could practice daily is to communicate with native Japanese people on HelloTalk App. But I’m not confident in speaking openly to people online yet (i’m very shy).

I used to write my diary entry on italki.com but I can only write very basic sentences.

I realised I was not speaking as much Japanese daily as i would like to. So the flash is good to read Japanese out loud and get use to training my vocal muscle.

I was getting tired of spending long hours of studying, I just do not have time to foucs, it takes too much mental the energy. I remember hearing that smaller tasks is more efficient than bigger tasks.

i need to develop confidence in speaking daily and developing a habit of speaking in Japanese. It is the same issue I have with dyslexic and speech difficulties on English.

However if I practice daily by reading out the flash daily for 3 minutes, it may become a habit. Most thing is about developing a habit.

For example i have develop a habit with drawing for years. Now is like going for a walk. I want the same habit for Japanese, like going of a walk.

My Japanese Studies so Far

Posted on by RebekahJ in Japanese, Journal

I was slowing down on watching Japanese lesson YouTube because I was busy doing my manga projects.

I was struggling to get motivated into studying again.

I reviewed my Japanese notes on my iPad. I thought it be a good idea to practice handwriting in Japanese. So I re written the notes on my small exercise book. This actually helped me, I remember the vocabulary and phrases. My handwriting is getting better in Japanese. I hope to write more often in Japanese by hand than computer.

Vertical writing

I also trying to learn to write vertical. Japanese has two ways to write, horizontal and vertical.

Vertical writing is often used in novels, newspaper, letters, restaurants. They say it easier to read Japanese vertically.

I want to be able to read vertically so I can read novels and comics.

Watching Anime on CrunchyRoll

AND THEY HAVE NICHIJOU Available on CrunchyRoll!

Nichijou

I am so happy they have Ninchijou. I can regularly watch it online. It one my favourite anime. It funny and quirky. Mio Chan is really me when I was at school drawing my BL stories.

I learn a lot of new vocabulary from watching anime. I think learning from anime is good to learn from. It is more engaging. if your an anime lover then you are having double the fun!

I still watching Junjo Romantica and World Greatest first love on CrunchyRoll, EVERY-SINGLE DAY!

World Greatest first love

View my post on learning Japanese through anime.

Learning katakana though A Game

I recently brought a game called “learn Japanese to survive, Katakana War” on Steam.

It an educational game, teaching you Japanese in a RPG style Like Final Fantasy.

You slay the katakana characters by calling the right sounds for each character.

I will upload a video of me on playing “learn Japanese to survive , Katakana War” YouTube soon.

Learn Japanese to Survive, katakana War game. Screenshot

There is also games you can buy “learn Japanese to survive, Kanji Combat” and “Learn Japanese to survive, hiragana War”

My Japanese studies so far

Posted on by RebekahJ in Japanese, Journal

I have learnt so much grammar from Misa sensei on YouTube. Taking notes on Notebook app IOS.

Recently I been focusing on other creative projects. This has slow down my study progress. I get tired of doing a lot of activity. Especially mental work such as studying, writing or drawing.

I want to re think my learning #strategy.

I decided to take a break from studying Japanese till next month. But that does not mean I will do some passive learning. Also I should review my notes and practice speaking Japanese more daily. I can read out loud the Japanese notes Or writing from my dairy.

Italki.com

I have joined Italki.com, not to find a teacher yet. But to write my notebook on Italki. I submit my journal entry on italki for people to make correction. This encourages me to write in Japanese and to get some grammar tips from native Japanese people.

Italki.com is good to find a penpal / language exchange partner. My language level is not a good level enough to speak confidently to native speaker. I get really nervous speaking to people online. I would like to take my time first before going to the next level.

I listen to Japanese radio on podcast. There are good podcast to listen about news, interviews and music. I have a good few podcast I have subscribed to. These podcast station regular update daily. It’s relaxing listening to podcast. I listen to Japanese podcast on the bus or when I am working. They are better to use than other radio apps.

I add links to the Japanese podcast:

News in slow Japanese

https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/news-in-slow-japanese-the-podcast/id673108764?mt=2

SBS Japanese podcast

https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/sbs-japanese-sbs%E3%81%AE%E6%97%A5%E6%9C%AC%E8%AA%9E%E6%94%BE%E9%80%81/id161305551?mt=2

Learn Japanese Pod

https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/learn-japanese-pod/id82550696?mt=2

Japanese classical literature audiobook

https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/japanese-classical-literature-audiobooks/id291493280?mt=2

Other podcast for language learning

I will Teach You a Language

https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/i-will-teach-you-language-weekly-motivation-language/id983068456?mt=2

Japanese journal writing

I continue to write my one journal entry daily in Japanese. It is easier to use app such as OneDay app. Plus you can add Japanese keyboard on your iPad, phone or computer.

I brought recently Japanese English Bilingual Visual Dictionary (DK Bilingual Dictionaries. Seriously recommend to buy for your your writing. Combine this visual dictionary with the grammar , adjectives and verbs then you are good to go.

Plus you can download the app to this dictionary once you one. Just simply follow the instructions on from the book.

They have the dictionary in other languages too.

Other books I brought recently are Travel Journal log book called Hokkaido Highway Blues: Hitchhiking Japan. I wanted to read about Japanese culture and learn more about the history and the people. I actually really enjoy reading Hokkaido Highway Blues: Hitchhiking Japan, It is witty, funny and insightful! (The print is tiny So it can be hard to read, which can hurt the eyes) It was really interesting to get an outside point of view of the Japan.

I want to look for more Japanese travel logs books. I never thought reading travel journal books are interesting. It like traveling in the comfort in your own home. I am fantastic to read other travel log book from different countries.

What travel writing books would you recommend for me to read?

Reading Out Loud Really Helps get me to Speak in Japanese

Posted on by RebekahJ in Japanese, Journal

I’m starting to spend time reading out my Japanese note I been taking from lesson and my journal writing. I use Notebook app to recorded my speaking which is very easy to use and can be download onto MP3 player. Or you can just use your  any device with a microphone.

I can feel the muscle in my mouth engaging like a work out. i have to understand the  grammar and Pronunciations first before i can start  practice speaking.

I still continuing writing Japanese daily on my journal,

I found a few videos on tip to help  speaking the language

How to write in Japanese tips:

Japanese YouTubers: My Favourites

Posted on by RebekahJ in Japanese, Journal

YouTube has a lot of Japanese content to watch. I was really surprised there are very good, entertaining Japanese videos to watch. I subscribe to a few YouTube who are very popular in Japan and over the world. I normally watch games videos, vlogs and travel. It also helps with recognise some vocabulary. I can listen to how Japanese natives speak naturally which really help me pay attention to the sounds.

I’ll share some of my favourite for Japanese YouTubers:

Hikahin TV and Game channel

One of the most famous Japanese YouTuber, over 6 millions subscribers. Hikahin San is extremely fun to watch. He posted top quality content everyday. I really enjoy watch Hikahin San, he my most favourite YouTuber. He was the first I discovered and subscribe to for Japanese.

Hikahin San also plays Minecraft and does series on Minecraft his game channel. It is really fun to watch, I play Minecraft too. also Hikahin plays well know Nintendo games Such as Super Mario Odyssey on Nintendo Switch. If you are interested in watch Mario Odyssey on Nintendo Switch in Japanese, then visit his game channel.

https://www.youtube.com/user/HikakinGames

Seikin TV and Game

Another famous YouTuber with over 3 millions subscribers and is a partner of Hikahin San . They did a music video and videos together. Seikin San mainly play games and review interesting products.

https://www.youtube.com/user/SeikinTV

Hajime

Extremely funny to watch, Hajime San dose comedy. He talks very fast which is hard to understand but still entertaining.

https://www.youtube.com/user/0214mex

えむずちゃんねる

Fun, quirky and super cute. えむずちゃんねる is really good to watch. えむずちゃんねる (sorry I dot know how to write the name in English) create funny creative stories with children toys. She also reviews toy children’s toys and does live stream chats. Here are my favourite videos.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClKxxIgMp158CAe-g0HdfLA

The Red Pen for Practicing Writing Japanese

Posted on by RebekahJ in Japanese, Journal

I do a lot of note taking on my iPad. But I still want to practice hand writing on paper. I just copy the Japanese sentences from the Notebook or One Day app by hand. It actually helped me remember sentences. I do this one a week when I have time. I am also practicing writing kanji on this exercise book I brought. Learning Japanese Kanji Practice Book Volume 1: The Quick and Easy Way to Learn the Basic Japanese Kanji

World Greatest first Love Manga

What has helped me through my Japanese studies so far

Posted on by RebekahJ in Japanese, Journal

I learnt a lot from Japanese Ammo by Misa Sensei on YouTube. She is one of the best teacher for Japanese and really break down the grammar and the vocabulary. Misa sensei teaches verbs in a simplicity method which really helps to fully understand how to conjugate verbs in Japanese.

I used to rely on books and other YouTube but watching Japanese Ammo got me much more further in Japanese.

Screenshot Japanese Ammon Youtube

Notebook App

The Notebook app by Zoho is really good for taking note. It simple, easy and able to add in voice recoding, pictures or drawings. There are many more features like extension on the google chrome to easily clip text or photos. You can access Notebook app on computer or IPad which gets sync to all devices. You just need a account to back up your notes. The app is absolutely free with no subscription!My notebooksColour colour cardsAdd Notebook by tapping the plus signNight mode

I am not very good at taking note by hand. My hand writing is very messy, I can not read my hand writing and there were a lot of speeding mistakes. When I did my university studies, I mainly used Microsoft word to write my reflection journal for the assignment. My all class mate hand wrote their journal. I was allowed to submit my assignment by type. I had to print a lot but documents but it was far more professional than hand written.The Japanese note taking needs be clear and easy to read. I did not feel comfortable being at my desk with a pen and exercise book. Using my iPad allow me to be flexible and edit notes. It also more easier to type in Japanese. You can add in Japanese keyboard on the iPad or phone.Go to setting > general > keyboardAdd new keyboard > add both Japanese Kana and romajiI practice writing sentences on my iPad then copy my sentence by hand for hand-writing practicing.I love using Notebook app for my Japanese Studies. I use it while I take notes from watching Japanese lesson. I can create my own learning resource. I can choose colour background to help me read notes in Japanese.If i had know this app, I would of used it for my university studies.

WaniKani.com

I like learning kanji. I want to learn more kanji characters. I already recognised kanji while watching Japanese lesson and looking it up on Jisho.org. There an online course site called WaniKani.com it very good to learn the meaning of kanji and learn new daily vocabulary in kanji. It really important as will be more easier to read important Japanese writing. I want to be able to read Japanese so I can read genres like romance or art books. Jishou (Jishou mean dictionary in Japanese,) very important for checking correct words. I go on Jisho.org daily to check spelling and meaning.

One day journal app

One day journal app is good for having a daily journal of your life. I use one day everyday to write about anything that gone in with my daily life. Now I can write simple sentences in Japanese. It feel really good to be able to write in another language. I can express feelings and action in Japanese. The more I learn the mor I can write in more Japanese sentences.

One Day app journal entry

Japanese media

Watching Japanese YouTuber, anime on CrunchyRoll and listen to Japanese radio on Podcast. I also follow Japanese YouTuber on Twitter where I can read out their tweets.