I am going to be taking a japanese class soon...and needs

Inuyasha the 3rd · Post by **Inuyasha the 3rd** » Wed Mar 16, 2005 11:54 pm

Title Continued: a few tips.

I am finally going to take japanese classes!!! whoo!!

But so i dont look like an idiot when im in that class, i am going to need a few tips also...so i dont look dumb while i am in there...lol.

-AB_the_3rd

Scintilla · Post by **Scintilla** » Thu Mar 17, 2005 12:18 am

Pay attention, study as hard as you need to, use flash cards for anything and everything, listen to any listening materials you may receive.

Also, don't let on that you know more than what the class has taught you. That kind of thing doesn't usually work too well.

dokool · Post by **dokool** » Thu Mar 17, 2005 1:45 am

Scintilla wrote:Also, don't let on that you know more than what the class has taught you. That kind of thing doesn't usually work too well.

xINFINITY

Here's how you don't look dumb:

DO Listen to the teacher and pay attention.

DO Study hard.

DO make flash cards and drill with them every day.

DO buy a set of Kanji flash cards. Also consider buying an electronic dictionary and a good kanji dictionary.

DO NOT try to sound smarter than you really are. It will frustrate your teacher, it will annoy your classmates, and it will prevent you from learning the basics. Don't try speaking in short form when you haven't mastered masu-form, don't try little grammar tricks, etc. Don't learn your Japanese from anime or Kurosawa movies, I've heard of teachers unhinging their jaws and devouring students whole for speaking in samurai dialect.

But seriously, dedicate yourself fully to this. You won't learn anything if you don't and it'll be a waste of time for you and the teacher.

Org Profile · Post by **Otohiko** » Thu Mar 17, 2005 1:49 am

Scintilla wrote:Also, don't let on that you know more than what the class has taught you. That kind of thing doesn't usually work too well.

To play devil's advocate here -

On the contrary, that worked quite well for me

Vegeta_ssj4 · Post by **Vegeta_ssj4** » Thu Mar 17, 2005 5:37 am

yeah that what i plan to

Inuyasha the 3rd · Post by **Inuyasha the 3rd** » Thu Mar 17, 2005 7:19 am

Thanks for the advice. ^^

dokool · Post by **dokool** » Thu Mar 17, 2005 7:34 am

Animeboy_the_3rd wrote:Thanks for the advice. ^^

More advice, in the general vein rather than the "don't do stupid things in class" vein - If your handwriting isn't good in English, you should do double whatever your writing drills are in Japanese. I've seen excellent handwriting, decent handwriting, and really, really bad handwriting in Japanese.

Handwriting is v. important in kanji - the stroke order is deathly important and if you don't abide by it, your characters will look horrible.

The faster you learn your kana (hiragana and katakana), the better. Become comfortable with reading them, both silently and out loud (because eventually you'll have to read stuff in class and it gets frustrating when the one kid who still doesn't have his kana down takes forever to deliver one line).

And for the love of all that is holy, learn the correct pronunciations. I cringe at some of the stuff i hear every day. The R thing will be tough (it's somewhat of a combination of R and L - in WWII, Allied forces in the Pacific used passwords like 'lollypop' because they knew Japanese soldiers wouldn't be able to pronounce them correctly), but that too will come in time.

Castor Troy · Post by **Castor Troy** » Thu Mar 17, 2005 10:57 am

dokool wrote:DO NOT try to sound smarter than you really are. It will frustrate your teacher, it will annoy your classmates, and it will prevent you from learning the basics. Don't try speaking in short form when you haven't mastered masu-form, don't try little grammar tricks, etc. Don't learn your Japanese from anime or Kurosawa movies, I've heard of teachers unhinging their jaws and devouring students whole for speaking in samurai dialect.

I felt like punching a few anime fans in the mouth because of this.

greenjinjo · Post by **greenjinjo** » Thu Mar 17, 2005 2:42 pm

Has anyone read the "So You Want to Learn Japanese" paper that was online a while back? I can't find it anywhere, and if it doesn't exist anymore I'll scan my printed out version and get it back online.

I'm taking Japanese next semester as well, should be lots of fun.

Inuyasha the 3rd · Post by **Inuyasha the 3rd** » Thu Mar 17, 2005 3:37 pm

Just so everyone knows...The class that i am taking is Conversational Japanese I. And from what i heard...we're not actually going to be writing the japanese characters...that wont be until Conversational Japanese II. So im just going to learn how to speak it. Then in Conversational Japanese II i am going to learn how to write japanese. This is just what i heard.

-AB_the_3rd