I took the second oral exam in my Japanese class tonight. I scored 24/25, which is good, but that one point missed was for another of my now infamous simple mistakes. What I was supposed to say was something along the lines of： 毎日ごぜん八時に日本語のじゅきょうにいきます。(mainichi gozen hachi ji ni nihongo no jugyou ni ikimasu/ I go to Japanese class at 8 a.m. every morning.) More or less. :) But I left out the に after 八時。Like my other mistakes thus far, I will remember this better now for having made the error. So maybe I should study by doing everything wrong! ha!! No, not a good plan...
The next chapter in my textbook is about buildings and introduces adjectives (both i-adjectives and na-adjectives). So far, I'm doing okay, but I will definitely use all of the practice resources for this chapter.
Yesterday, I took a class on EduFire about preparing for the JLPT. The instructor, Brett, had some good analogies and answered lots of general questions like, "Do they play the audio portion more than once?" and "How do you know which level you should test at?" Keep an eye on his class listing, as he may offer it again! One thing that he was adamant about is that you should study the past year exams. I had given that a cursory attempt in the past, but gave up quickly since I really didn't understand much of the exam.
This morning, my friend went through the exam sections with me and explained in detail what type of responses each section needed and ran through some of the questions. It was almost immediately apparent that I was way too stressed about this exam. I was really concerned that I would be clueless on exam day, but I see now that if I'm comfortable with my vocabulary and my kanji, I will survive. I definitely need more listening practice, but that isn't going to do me any good if I don't understand the words that are spoken.
The next chapter in my textbook is about buildings and introduces adjectives (both i-adjectives and na-adjectives). So far, I'm doing okay, but I will definitely use all of the practice resources for this chapter.
Yesterday, I took a class on EduFire about preparing for the JLPT. The instructor, Brett, had some good analogies and answered lots of general questions like, "Do they play the audio portion more than once?" and "How do you know which level you should test at?" Keep an eye on his class listing, as he may offer it again! One thing that he was adamant about is that you should study the past year exams. I had given that a cursory attempt in the past, but gave up quickly since I really didn't understand much of the exam.
This morning, my friend went through the exam sections with me and explained in detail what type of responses each section needed and ran through some of the questions. It was almost immediately apparent that I was way too stressed about this exam. I was really concerned that I would be clueless on exam day, but I see now that if I'm comfortable with my vocabulary and my kanji, I will survive. I definitely need more listening practice, but that isn't going to do me any good if I don't understand the words that are spoken.
6 comments:
I'm sure you'll do fine Kara, with a positive state of mind you can accomplish anything. Do you have any good podcasts or other soundfiles to listen to?
Thanks for the continuous encouragement! I have tons of files on my iPod and my computer, but as my schoolwork piles up, and the kids' after-school activities and homework pile up, I'm finding it easier and easier to make excuses. I think it's time for the kids to give me a lecture on responsibility. They can probably quote me verbatim :)
I say forget about podcasts and soundfiles, what you really need is a native speaker whom you can have conversation in Japanese with. (via Skype for example)Treat this person nicely and he/she will be helpful to you.^^
Yes, that is a good option, too. But times zones are a hindrance to that for me, especially since my other classes have started and the kids are in after-school activities now. I feel like I'm on the road more than I'm at home!
It is じゅぎょう（授業）not じゅうきょう btw.
Regards,
Your Sensei
Thanks for the correction. I fixed it.
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