Final PE Reflection

It's that time of the year to post my final PE reflection!

Looking at my revised PE goals, it looks like I didn't accomplish most of what I said I would. For the most part, I couldn't find the time to go to office hours or language table, especially during the month of April. But before the year ends, I hope to potentially go to one last final office hours, whether to practice for the final's dict-a-conversation or practice for the final oral exam.

In terms of pitch, I think I've made some improvement. I feel like the longer the sentences are, the easier it is to speak in the correct pitch.

In terms of speaking naturally, it's not something that I yet completely feel comfortable with. But practice makes perfect.

I hope to continue to studying Japanese in a few months wherever I find myself!

私の夏休み予定

夏休みに海外旅行行く予定です。行きたいですか、飛行機のチケットをまだ買いませんでした。母はヨーロッパに行ったことがありませんから、一緒に行きたいです。スペインに行ったこたがあるけど、母はスペイン語上手があるから、また行かなければいけません。フランス、イタリア、ポルトガルも行きたいです。8月に韓国に仕事ために韓国に行きます。

今日はしたこと

今日は論文を提出する日です。エディットをしたから、日本語のクラスに行けませんでした。でも２時前に論文を提出したから、今私はとても嬉します。まだ忙しいですけど、気分がいいですよ。論文がないから、したいことがたくさんあります。例えば、天気がいいですから、外側友達と遊びたいです。新し韓国のレスタウランがあるそうだから、このレストランで食べだいです。何かしたいですよ。

Revised PE Goals

Halfway through the semester means it's time to revise PE goals!

I would like to continue focusing on the same points as the beginning of the semester.

1. Pitch!
I think I'm slowly getting the hang of rising and falling pitches, but I haven't fully mastered it.

2. Speaking naturally
I still have to think twice before saying something in Japanese because I want to make sure what I am saying is grammatically correct.

How will I work on these goals?

1. I haven't been going to office hours, but I really have to start to. My new goal is to go once every week if I'm able to. Whether it be practicing a conversation or practicing Dict-A-Conversation, listening to someone speak will be helpful.

2. I haven't been practicing Japanese with friends who speak it, but I should do so. My eating club also sometimes hosts Japanese tables, and I haven't been to one yet. The next time they hold one, I will definitely go!

私の一番好きな音楽

私の一番好きな音楽が韓国の音楽です。高校の時に韓国の音楽を聞いた親友がいますげと、私は韓国の音楽を聞いたことがあませんから、一緒に聞きました。面白そうだから、ユーチューブで楽しそうだミュージックビデオを見ました。アメリカのミュージックビデオより韓国のミュージックビデオほうがいと思いました。ダンスもとてもいいですよ。７年ぐらい韓国の音楽をファンです。私の一番好きなグループが防弾少年団。韓国人ですげと、日本語でも歌を歌います。うたを聞いてください。

私の家族

2nd Semester PE Goals

It's a new semester, which means it's time for new PE goals! 

What do I want to achieve this semester?

1. Pitch, pitch, pitch

I continue to struggle with pitch when speaking. Whenever we do pitch exercises in class, I have a hard time distinguishing the differences between rising and falling pitches, so it's something I definitely still have a lot to improve on. 

2. Speaking naturally

Aside from pitch, I would like to speak at a more natural pace. I still continue to stumble over my words, and I take my time in trying to form grammatically correct sentences when speaking. I'm afraid of making mistakes, so I need to find a way of getting over this fear. 

How will I focus on these goals?

1. I will try to attend office hours at least every other week. Last semester I may have gone only once, and I was supposed to go back, but I didn't. This semester I hope to change that. 

2. I will also try to watch at least one episode of an anime every week. I don't really have time or much interest in watching anime, but I need to improve my listening abilities as well. Hopefully this will help in improving my pitch as well. 

3. I hope to practice Japanese with friends. Perhaps that will be at language table, or just casually with other friends who speak Japanese. 

私の中休み

中休みにうちにかえりました。うちでははと新しいえいがをみて、友だちとあって、私の高校に行きました。しゅくだいがないので、とてもよっかたです。そして、友だちとかんこくのレストランにいきました。このレストランで、ラーメンをちゅうもんしました。ラーメンはしょっぱくておいしですが、ちょっとからかったです。友だちはトンカツをにしました。でも、友だちの中休みの方がたのしかったです。ヨーロッパに行きマスタ。私もりょこしたいですたが、お金がありませんですた。

Final PE Reflection

Looking back at my PE goals, I think I've accomplished half of them. My original goals and the additional revised goal were:

1. Like a native speaker

2. Getting the long vowels and double consonants down.

3. Mastering the 'r' sound

4. Focusing on pitch and intonation

I think I managed to complete numbers 2 and 3. I'm still iffy about number 1 because I don't really have confidence when speaking in Japanese, so I tend stumble over my words, or I take too much time in deciding what to say and how to properly phrase it. But what I need to focus on even more is number 4. Intonation isn't as difficult for me, but I still really struggle with pitch.

Additionally, I originally planned on working towards these goals through watching anime, going to language table, and going to office hours. I did not do the latter two nearly as much as I should have. So next semester I plan on trying to find the courage to go to language table. I know I won't see many changes or improvement unless I practice as much as possible, so I definitely have to. Overall though, I feel like I've learned a lot, and I'm pretty satisfied with where I'm currently at, I can't wait for next semester!

私のふゆ休み

ふゆ休みにうちで　かえりました。うちでりょうしんとえいがをみて、おいしごはんをたべて、りょうりをしました。ファインディング・ドリーをみました。とてもおもしろかったです。友だちは日本でべんきょうするので、友だちと日本領事館にいきました。ニューヨークで日本のレストランにひるごはんをたべました。そして、かんこくまちも　いきました。かんこくまちでかんこくのスーパにいって、たかいざっしをかいました。ニューヨークが　好きじゃないので、私のうちで　友だちとかんこくのドラマをみて、ばんごはんをたべました。クリスマスにうでどけいをもらいました。1月１日とてもつまらなかったです。でも、1月２日私のたんじょうびでした。ははとレストランにばんごはんをたべました。そして、コンサートチケットをもらいました。ふゆ休みはとてもよかったです。

てがみ

サンクスギビング休み

サンクスギビング休みは たのしかったです。うちにかえいてべんきょうしてかいものしてうちにたくだんねました。サンクスギビング曜日に りょう人とおいしいひるごはんをたべてデパートにかいものにいきました。金曜日にテレビをみました。ギルモー・ガールズ をみました。とてもおもしろかったです。くじからいちじくじからいちじまでテレビを見ました。土曜日にかいものしました。日曜日にプリンストンへいきました。私のへやでべんきょうしました。

Revised PE Goals

After half a semester (wow that was fast!) I regret to share that I don't think I've been very successful with achieving my original PE goals. I think my biggest weakness is in pitch and intonation. I seem to struggle a lot with using the right pitch for words, as opposed to longer phrases. In order to improve on this, the best thing for me to do would probably be to go to office hours to work on my pronunciation. This wasn't originally one of my stated plans, but I think I should definitely add it. I also haven't been watching anime very much. I can't seem to rekindle my interest in it. If anyone has any suggestions for anime to watch, please share them with me!

じゃまた

にほんごのビディオー

PE Goals

こんぼんは！

My pronunciation goals:

1. 'Like a native speaker': My main goal for the year is to speak Japanese as naturally as possible. As a native Spanish speaker, some of the sounds between the two are somewhat similar, and I'd like to use this to my advantage. 

2. Getting the long vowels/double consonants down: I feel as though this will be the most difficult thing for me to pronounce properly. In class, it's easy to pick up on the differences between long vowels vs. single vowels and double consonants vs. single consonants, but I think that outside of class this will be difficult to do. We may overemphasize these in class when practicing, so I hope to make the transition from overemphasizing/over-stressing to sounding more natural outside of class. 

3. Mastering the 'r' sound: I find it difficult to pronounce this sound since it's kind of a mixture of the English 'r' and 'l' sounds. Of all the consonants, it's the one I have the least confidence in pronouncing, so I'd like change that! 

How do I plan on achieving these goals?

1. Go to Japanese language table at least once a month! I should probably have a goal of going more often, but I know that I'm always incredibly reluctant to going to language tables, so even going once a month will be a big step for me. 

2. Practice speaking with friends who are native Japanese speakers or who may have studied the language for a long time. It will definitely be easier for me to approach friends for conversational practice, so I should take advantage of them as an additional resource!

3. Watch an episode of anime at least twice a week. I noticed on someone's past blog that their goal was to shadow the characters while watching, and I think that's a great idea. Shadowing and trying to sound like the character will definitely help in speaking more naturally. 

4. Read manga! At this point, I know I won't understand most of what is written, but even familiarizing myself with the characters and starting to recognize some things will be nice. I think it will be especially nice to see the progress that I make throughout the year. 

こんにちは！

こんにちは、わたしは Sheilaです。あめりかじんです。Princetonだいがくのよねんせいです。わたしがせんくうのあじあけんきゅうです。New Jersey の Newark からきました。にほんごのがくせいです。じゃまた！

Hello, readers? I hope not to be too awkward in this self introductory post. This year, my senior year(!), I decided to take Japanese 101 primarily for fun! I'm an East Asian Studies major, focusing on Korea, so I've studied Korean for the past 3 years, and I wanted to challenge myself by trying to learn another East Asian language. And I opted to take Japanese over Chinese because I do occasionally watch anime and read manga, and I absolutely love Japan, so I'd like to be able to visit in the future and be able to communicate with the locals in their native language. 
I'm primarily excited to learn hiragana and katakana and to start picking up on Japanese phrases. Even though I've studied Korean for so long, I still find that I have a difficult time with listening and fully understanding what other people say, so I hope to really focus in on this skill now that I'm beginning Japanese. 
After a few days of class, my biggest concern is probably becoming comfortable in class to speak up and communicate with other students. I'm more on the reserved side, so I think this will present somewhat of a challenge to me. Another concern I have is creating a schedule to dedicate an appropriate amount of time to studying the language outside of class. With a thesis and post grad plans to worry about, I really hope I develop good language studying habits early on!
I think the appropriate word of encouragement to say in Japanese is gambatte, so がんばって！