The difficulty doesn't make it harder, it makes it more interesting
It doesn't matter if you have an interest, it matters if you ENJOY it
It's actually harder for them to make Kanji mistakes
Hey guys and girls on Ask Japanese it's me Cathy Cat. This time we have the
real pleasure to actually get Japanese teachers here in Japan who
teach at Japanese schools to give us some help of how to become better
in your Japanese language skills. Let's go and find out from them
in person. If you are interested about learning Japanese language, Japanese culture
and opinions of real Japanese people don't forget to hit the subscribe button now cause we
have more of that. Now let's go and ask Japanese teachers.
It's important to have some curiosity.
It's important to be interested in many things when learning a language.
I also think Japanese is a unique language.
Around the world there are not many languages around the world
that have a similar grammar like Japanese. My students native language
is generally different from it. It's important to see that difference as positive.
The students that think that this difference is interesting,
rather than hard, have it easier to study Japanese.
It's not "hard because it's different" it "interesting because it's different."
It's important to be curious about these differences.
If you have that you will learn better. - Apart from school life
What efforts should students do to learn?
At school you will learn the right grammar
but it's also important to communicate with as many Japanese as possible
in your daily life. After coming all the way to Japan
it is best to make Japanese friends. Don't just make friends
around you are only people that speak Japanese...
so listen to other's Japanese anywhere, in the store and such
Start from there. - We mentioned jobs...
You said jobbing is ok as long as it doesn't impact your studies. Is there
anything else students should do? - Students say Kanji are hard
It's important to not only learn Kanji from a book but they're also displayed at stations
and other areas in Japan. Take pictures of those
if you can't read them and later ask a Japanese person or teacher
So they can tell you how to read it. Remember that.
Looking around yourself you will see many Kanji. Remember those daily Kanji
and you will enjoy learning them.
Even advertisements and similar. Take pictures and ask people how to read it
Be interested and open and you will learn Kanji easier.
Students that are interested in many things learn faster
They also seem to have more fun at learning.
When people want to talk about Akihabara don't say "I am not interested in Anime!"
Or say "I don't watch soccer" a conversation ends if you do that.
It's not just a conversation you're turning down, but expressions
It doesn't matter if you like it or not. Enjoy the conversation
it doesn't matter how old you are. Unique people with some good humor
will not just learn Japanese grammar but grow as a whole
I think.
A surprising truth is that Chinese, Korean or Taiwanese students
who have Kanji in their lifes
will often mistake their usage of Kanji.
Chinese and Japanese kanji are totally different or have different meanings
The same Kanji can mean something else
Some students will use the kanji from their country
instead of the correct one. Westerners
who come to it with a new eye, don't get it wrong.
That's interesting. - I became a Japanese teacher
and realized that the first time. - One common mistake of students
is words that are different in the native language
That's when many stumble. Students will look for a translation
into their own language. But that's when some things get difficult.
It's better to sometimes just take the Japanese language as it is
and enjoy the process. - Japanese people will often say
"I can't make it" or "Let's do it another time" instead of NO
It's wrong to then be persistent and ask "When will that other time be??"
Ah I see. - Foreigners will try and ask until they get an answer. The other day...
a student asked his senior at work how much she earned
at the job. The senior said "HM?"
The student continued "HOW MUCH DO YOU EARN?" and got "HM?"
When Japanese get asked an improper question they might just say "HM?!"
In the meaning of "Excuse me that's a bit rude"
The student thought the senior didn't understand and repeated "How-much-do-you-earn?"
He was making it worse!!! - Then the senior said "This question is a bit rude."
We had a class about the "HM?!" meaning in Japanese and the student cried
"I wish I had known that before!" We all had a laugh about it.
So really...
Instead of correct grammar, things like the Japanese "Hm?"
or when "ii desu" means yes or know
These fine cultural nuances can cause problems. But laughing about it
and sharing stories can help.
But those are things students stumble over.
The cultural differences. - That's when words are not enough
to explain. - We have similar things when doing street interviews. I will ask
"Can we interview you?" and they say "I am good." ... Is that a yes or a no?
Especially if they smile when they say it, it's hard to tell if its yes or no.
That's my issue!!!
What I found really refreshing was that the teachers say
Enjoy the differences. I found that's some really good piece of advice.
Sooner or later, when you learn Japanese you hit a point when you
get frustrated, we all do, I did. You will do. Instead of going
"Oh I hate this, because it's so different!" the teacher said "Try and especially
enjoy those differences" Ok it is different but how can I learn this
How can I make this fun. And then you get to the fun parts.
And if there is something that interests you in Japan.. may it be anime
may it be games, sumo wrestling, kimonos, fashion...
Use that to keep your passion running. Everyone gets
motivated sooner or later to do something, but continuing
is key especially if you are learning by yourself or if you just
started teaching it to yourself before you maybe come to Japan try to keep
yourself motivated by connecting it with something that you enjoy. For example
Hey I can try and watch that anime without subtitles, or first you watch it with subtitles
and then you try and figure out what the words are that you don't know. There is always a way to bring
that enjoyment back into your language.
and remind you of why you started learning Japanese.
Always keep that in mind. Keep the passion going guys!
And I wish you all the best for your Japanese studies!!!
We have done more on the topic of learning Japanese!
Japanese culture and real opinions of Japanese people.
So if that's your kind of tea, then be sure to subscribe. Also we...
have done more interviews at language schools. We will put those videos somewhere
in the link section wherever it is gonna be, it's gonna be there.
I hope you have a wonderful day, very best all the best of luck with your studies
And I catch you soon here on Ask Japanese.
Also if this interests you and you would like to study Japanese here in Japan
There is actually a programme which is called "Take me to Japan" which is for free.
Where one young girl. At this point it's just one, I thought they were a team...
Helps you find your Japanese language school.
So we are gonna pop a little bit of more info in the box down below. If you are curious,
come check it out.
She is super helpful, I met here and spoke to her in person and she's patient!!!
That girl is patient!!! She's kept a chain of emails for over 125 emails with one student
who wanted to ask her as much as possible before he came to Japan. She's patient.
That girl is gold. So yeah. Go check her out. And I catch you soon
for more stuff here on Ask Japanese. Bye!
that enjoyment back into your language and remind yo why you started learning
Japanese. Always keep that in mind. Keep the passion going guys
And I wish you all the best for your Japanese studies. We have done more
on the topic of learning Japanese, Japanese culture and real opinions of Japanese people
so if that's your kind of tea be sure to subscribe. Also we have done more
interviews at language schools, we'll put that in the link section wherever
it's gonna be, it's gonna be there. I hope you have a wonderful day, all the best
of luck with your studies and I catch you soon on Ask Japanese. Also if this
interests you and you would like to study Japanese here in Japan there is actually a programme
which is called "Take me to Japan" where a young girl
it's actually just one, I thought they were a team, helps you find your Japanese language school
We're gonna pop a bit more info in the box below, if you are curious come check it out
She's super helpful I met her and spoke to her in person and she is
patient. That girl is patient. She's kept a chain of emails for
over 125 with one student who wanted to ask her as much as possible
before he came to Japan. She's patient, that girl is gold. Go check her out
and I catch you soon for more stuff here on Ask Japanese. Bye.