Comments on: How to Study Japanese Over the Summer

By: Even Tolo Dybevik

Even Tolo Dybevik — Sat, 19 Feb 2011 10:40:00 +0000

Ohh, I’m going on a language learning trip to Japan this summer, really exited!

By: Britany Castillo

Britany Castillo — Sat, 19 Feb 2011 01:52:00 +0000

a little late replying (^^)’ but, I just started studying Japanese three months ago and yes, I feel confused when it comes to saying words that were “adopted” into the Japanese language from English. When I talk to my friends I talk with as best a “Japanese accent” as I can because I want to pronounce the words the way they are supposed to be pronounced. However, when I speak with my friends who speak Japanese I revert to an obvious American accent and become completely unsure of everything I learned.

I guess that’s the reason I never learned Spanish (my father is from Mexico and my town is about 50% hispanic/latino). But I always felt that I would be pictured as mocking Spanish when I tried to learn it because of all the cognates that really are the English word with an “o” at the end. Anyways… I guess I too will have to find a way to get over the insecurities (^^)”

By: Designer handbags

Designer handbags — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 11:08:54 +0000

Just the kind of blog I need. ^_^

By: Designer handbags

Designer handbags — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 04:08:54 +0000

Just the kind of blog I need. ^_^

By: Me: Latest News 1 | yonasu.com

Me: Latest News 1 | yonasu.com — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 03:29:25 +0000

[...] laziness and started studying Japanese again. I want to thank Koichi over at Tofugu.com for writing this article, I found it difficult to just start studying, but he makes it sound so easy (which it actually is). [...]

By: spacejay4000

spacejay4000 — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 19:16:02 +0000

i studied japanese in college, but only for a year (boo) so i'm still at a very low level and i think that i've gotten lower than that since i havent studied since i left college almost 5 months ago!! *fail*

but i really want to learn it! and i know that i cant through osmosis, though that would be freaking awesome if i could!! anywho, i really appreciate your blogs and vlogs cuz i've learned a lot from you and are using your resources. i did just randomly come across it as i was searching youtube for japanese lessons and your panda hat and the title “learn japanese while watching anime NOT!” really intrigued me and i havent gone back since. and i'm so glad that i havent! ive watched your koichiben vids as well and i really want to be able to understand that so i'm going to try to do some hard core studying!! (sorry this is soooo long! it wasnt intentional!! ^_^)

By: spacejay4000

spacejay4000 — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 12:16:02 +0000

By: koichi

koichi — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 23:24:35 +0000

heh, if I had to choose between math and Japanese, I’d be practicing Japanese a lot more I think :)

By: ~

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 23:21:48 +0000

Haha, trouble concentrating on Japanese? It’s like the opposite for me. I’m supposed to be doing math, but I end up doing Japanese the entire day. The worst part is that only one of my friends (that I have regular contact with) is trying to learn Japanese, and she gave up on hiragana, katakana, and kanji. In fact, she has decided to start learning ‘later.’ That means I haven’t had a lot of practice (I’m not allowed to buy stuff, including books, online.) and I forget a lot… but I’m going to start using that Lang-8 site now.

What you really need is a guide on how to pull away from Japanese and do boring stuff… like conic sections.

By: Terin Lyr D'Amico

Terin Lyr D'Amico — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 11:14:25 +0000

For me fluency in a foreign language is about being able to clearly and correctly communicate your thoughts in the target language, to be able to quickly and accurately read in the target language, and to be able to listen to a foreign speaker and to be able to accurately understand the conversation. Does it require native level fluency to the point that your own speech patterns are indistinguishable from a native speaker? Absolutely not, though it would be a lofty goal. I studied Arabic at the Defense Language Institute at Presidio of Monterey a long time ago, and after studying Arabic for 6 hours a day, five days a week for 16 months, I can assure you that I was nowhere near a native speaker. But, I was able to communicate on a wide variety of subjects and understand most of what I heard (assuming the speaker was not trying to talk in a subject that contained a lot of specialized, unfamiliar vocabulary). Learning a language is about bridging the gap between two cultures and trying to meet others on their grounds. Most countries have a low opinion of Americans, and think that most Americans “expect” them to speak English. When you attempt to speak in their language, you build instant rapport. I have experienced this first hand with speaking Arabic in the Middle East, and also speaking Korean here in Korea. Just my two cents on the comment of “native fluency”.

I’m just beginning learning Japanese and look forward to the new experiences that will bring.