learning japanese

Kage82

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Actually I'm curious in the stats on average how many attempts does a typical student take in order to pass N1...its such a beast haha
 

FreedomDy

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Hi, have been studying Japanese for 7 months at ikoma but still having trouble with the sentence structure like when to put へ, が etc etc. Is there any method to improve on this like which textbook or online source to learn from ?
 

avalanste

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Was watching this TV programme the last week, the MC mentioned that 90% of the Maiko in Kyoto is actually fake, there are shops that allow tourists to dress up as Maiko to experience the culture, those tourists who do not know which is real, they ended up taking photos of other tourists who dressed up as Maiko.
 

unfinished07

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No need to get back to me unless u wanna try my free classes. i stopped taking students for the time being..

while i try to be very objective towards all the schools, its quite hard, thus its good that u should do more research on the schools.
Some other threads that talk about the schools:

http://www.meetup.com/japanese-7/boards/thread/2955557/0/
https://www.facebook.com/BunkaLanguageSchool/reviews/

It's hard to find a good teacher to teach Japanese nowadays, tbh.
my student who is also taking classes at XXX told me that the teacher told the class that 日本へ行きます and 日本に行きます is the same, where there is actually a nuance difference.

If u can get a teacher to explain to you the difference between

1) 日本へ行きます and 日本に行きます
2) 「私は友達にプレゼントをもらいました」 vs 「私は友達からプレゼントをもらいました」

then that teacher is a good teacher.

need to dig out my minna no nihongo and whack the teacher on the head:s13:
 

dimitri_can

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need to dig out my minna no nihongo and whack the teacher on the head:s13:

文法的には、「行く」のような移動を表す動詞とともに使われる場合、「に」は到着点、帰着場所を示し、「へ」は移動の方向性を示す意識が強くなります。

From a grammar point of view, when a movement verb like 「行く」 is being used, 「に」strongly indicates the destination, the place of return, 「へ」strongly indicates the directivity of the the movement.

http://kabasen3.blogspot.sg/2016/04/vs_30.html
 
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unfinished07

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sharing my $0.02 here.

for me, i think motivation is very important in learning a language, japanese in this case. i have seen too many people/colleagues who learn the language just because they are in japanese companies, and need to for their work. and almost all i know, stopped classes after basic, or at the most intermediate level. they find that even after going for classes, it is still not enough to communicate with the japanese, and go back to using english. and many of the colleagues can speak/write decent english, so in the end there is not much motivation for them to continue the language and drop out soon. and out of working hours, there are no chance / they do not immerse themselves in the language/culture, therefore chances of learning are very limited.

for me, i started listening to japanese songs, watched j-drama when i was in poly, used to listen to the whole japanese cd the whole day till i could memorise the songs even though i had 0 japanese ability. for me, that was a very good way to learn the correct pronunciation. i see so many people who have N1/N2, but their pronunciation is way off.

and after NS, i went to Ikoma in 2005 for full time classes, from the very first biginner course all the way to further advanced, and passed my JLPT 2 in 2006. Took Ms Bullet train's JLPT 2 prep class and her further adv classes. she was so fast in class that there is no time for you to think of anything else but to just listen to her. her mentality is, if you are already in my JLPT2 class, you should already have a certain level of japanese ability, and since this is already level 2, there is no point to go easy on you and to expose you to a speed nearer to native speaking.
by the way, she is in Ikoma's office in Tokyo now, helping out in office and arranging courses for those who want to go to learn in Japan. and oh, her full bullet train speed is even faster when she talks after classes.

i then started working in a japanese company, used japanese and although i could communicate, business japanese was very diff from that in language schools. i switched over to part time course after working, and got my JLPT 1 only at my 3rd try. and also took the previous BJT.

through ikoma and work, i got to know more japanese friends, and also got to know my wife who also had her circle of japanese friends/colleauges, thus expanding my chances of usage of japanese. she's an even more japanese maniac than me, speaking more and and listening to more japanese than me. watching japanese dramas and variety shows together at home, and with her correcting my japanese at home helps even more.
 
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unfinished07

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文法的には、「行く」のような移動を表す動詞とともに使われる場合、「に」は到着点、帰着場所を示し、「へ」は移動の方向性を示す意識が強くなります。

From a grammar point of view, when a movement verb like 「行く」 is being used, 「に」strongly indicates the destination, the place of return, 「へ」strongly indicates the directivity of the the movement.

http://kabasen3.blogspot.sg/2016/04/vs_30.html

yeah, i think this was already discussed quite thoroughly in this thread many many pages back...
 

damienloh

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Thanks for sharing the stories. From those people I came accross, most of them like anime, drama, songs, or to travel to Japan. Japanese Language is a tool to enpower them to do the things they like.

Some bro are very serious and wants to make it to N1. Some just want to be able to have a normal conversation. So it is down to each expectation and to manage those expectations. It is the same when looking for a Sensei or school. Some Sensei are very serious and some are more relaxed.

Anyway, learning a language does not end after an academic course/ paper so enjoy the process!
 

dimitri_can

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Have a new beginner class coming up on 14th December 2016 (Wed).
The updated time is 7pm-8.30pm.
Number of slots left: 6 (4 slots left)
Fees: $415 for 25 sessions.
Interested students can pm with your name and contact number for more information.
Japanese: Foundation Studies

Also for those who are looking for short courses:
i am offering a set of 5 trial lessons for $80. (Original: $100)

Its 7.5 hours worth of lessons and will be held on a Wednesday evening starting December.

What can you do after these 5 lessons:

1) Learn about the history of Japanese
2) Learn the Hiragana chart
3) Self-introduction
4) Learn about accents in Japanese
5) Behavior of Japanese people
6) Describe basic actions and desires.
7) Describe simple numbers in Japanese

Contact me if u are interested to find out more.
 
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Toast A La Plunger

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Hi all,

Regarding the JLPT, the test voucher will be mailed to us right? I do not remember receiving a test voucher when signing up.
 

dimitri_can

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This tricky question for N4 and above to try.

A: あれ、このテレビ、電源を入れても_________。
B: ああ、それは、昨日から壊れているんですよ。

1)つきないですよ
2)つきませんよ
3)つけませんよ
4)つけないことができませんよ
 

Ah_keong

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No object -> 2 :D

if 1 is つかないんですよ, I will choose 1 :D
 
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