learning japanese

[Ah_keong]

hmmm the air con problem is for my classroom, room3.
i;m not sure if the other rooms encounter the same problem though.

i see, mine is the 1st room on the left at 5th floor...

but JCS is cheap bah, so elementary level can take there... save money...

 

[Ah_keong]

Teah! Ex but worth it.

yeah!! any other gd points abt ikoma?? please feel free 2 tell me!

my friend still deciding whether 2 choose ikoma or bunka... i want 2 persuade her take ikoma as she has promise 2 subsidise my fees...

YEAH!!!

 

[Ah_keong]

The best is the principal will stand at the lift and thank you for coming after every lesson. haha

u mean the ikoma principal??

if it is, then its a plus point!

 

[dimitri_can]

Ya... i guess so... lol

 

[Ah_keong]

wah, then i must go ikoma!!

 

[hayami2008]

Hi all, i'm torn between hougang and ikoma.... i like hougang for the location, but i read at their website they use the romanji version of the textbook, does that mean we only have very minimum practice on hiragana etc? how about conversational practice? how is it compare to ikoma? And is that famous Nakai sensei still at hougang sch? Any good teachers to recommend?

I'm also interested in bunka earlier becos heard that they teach the informal jap at a very early stage which is very helpful to understanding japanese talking since most of the conversation are in casual form... but is there any cons for doing that? is the school missing out other foundational stuffs by fitting in the casual forms in early stage of learning?

Any comments and advice is greatly appreciated. THanks!!

 

[dimitri_can]

They don't really use the romanji version. Go over to the school and take a look at the textbook. Nakai sensei still in Hougang.

 

[unfinished07]

Hi all, i'm torn between hougang and ikoma.... i like hougang for the location, but i read at their website they use the romanji version of the textbook, does that mean we only have very minimum practice on hiragana etc? how about conversational practice? how is it compare to ikoma? And is that famous Nakai sensei still at hougang sch? Any good teachers to recommend?

I'm also interested in bunka earlier becos heard that they teach the informal jap at a very early stage which is very helpful to understanding japanese talking since most of the conversation are in casual form... but is there any cons for doing that? is the school missing out other foundational stuffs by fitting in the casual forms in early stage of learning?

Any comments and advice is greatly appreciated. THanks!!

wah, u don't sleep ah?

i think its not good to learn the informal at a very early stage. in my opinion, its best to have a good foundation of the standard form of japanese to get your basics and foundation correct. after that, u can learn the casual, conversation forms from many areas, movies, songs, anime, or even better, native japanese (not your teachers).
its not good even if u can master the casual way well, but your basics/foundation is poor, especially if are going to use it in formal occasions in the future. but if ur basics are good, you will have no problem everywhere. u can have all the time in the future to learn the casual forms

 

[terraj]

Personally I think it's better to learn casual speech but without dropping syllables, for reasons I explained a couple of pages earlier, after all that's how kids in Japan learn language in the first place.

wah, u don't sleep ah?

i think its not good to learn the informal at a very early stage. in my opinion, its best to have a good foundation of the standard form of japanese to get your basics and foundation correct. after that, u can learn the casual, conversation forms from many areas, movies, songs, anime, or even better, native japanese (not your teachers).
its not good even if u can master the casual way well, but your basics/foundation is poor, especially if are going to use it in formal occasions in the future. but if ur basics are good, you will have no problem everywhere. u can have all the time in the future to learn the casual forms

 

[Aloof_guy]

Hey guys i just signed up for Ikoma EL 1. Wanted to go Banka ( the only reason is the more informative website and the one big table classroom setting which i THINK enocurages more class interaction ) BUT.. the class was full just when i was about to sign up..

So i just went Ikoma.. hope i have made the right choice

 

[hayami2008]

Personally I think it's better to learn casual speech but without dropping syllables, for reasons I explained a couple of pages earlier, after all that's how kids in Japan learn language in the first place.

Thanks everyone for the advices!

Terraj do you mind to explain again? I actually did go through all the 94 pages of post (that's why didn't sleep that night), but become confused and can't figure out what you mentioned about dropping syllabus. Thanks!!

 

[heguhegu]

dropping syllabus...hmm i'm guessing it meant saying 'wakatte iru' as 'wakatteru', 'wakaranai' as 'wakanee'...

 

[hayami2008]

dropping syllabus...hmm i'm guessing it meant saying 'wakatte iru' as 'wakatteru', 'wakaranai' as 'wakanee'...

Do you mean at Bunka they teach casual speech with dropping syllabus?

If so, then i think I'll go for Ikoma.

 

[terraj]

I was saying that in my opinion, it would be better to learn Japanese initally using casual form, without using the short forms, compared to polite form. Nothing to do with Bunka, as I have not studied there and cannot give an opinion on it. The dropping of syllables part is as heguhegu has explained. Other short forms would be like, for example, when you want to say my friend's place in Japanese, the proper form would be tomodachi no uchi and the abbreviated form is tomodachinchi. Teaching should be in the former initially, and not the latter until more advanced levels. Also, I feel that while teaching proper grammar is imperative, there should be no need to insert watashi into every sentence as what they teach in typical basic Japanese classes because no one goes around saying watashi wa <insert name> desu. The watashi is usually implied.

 

[Ah_keong]

Ikoma!!!!

here i come!!!

 

[yagiza]

yeah..i jus booked a place with ikoma basic 1 course..i am really looking forward to it!hope have great fun in their classes~

jus wanna ask in terms of flexibility, means to say if I cant make it for the timing of the class which I register, can I attend other time slots of the new classes? Is there no limit to how many times I wanna make replacement of lessons? Hee.. i called and bunka says there are onli 2 replacements for every 8 lessons.. so i wonder if Ikoma also has such policy??

Thanks for any replies!

 

[e_weakest_link]

yeah..i jus booked a place with ikoma basic 1 course..i am really looking forward to it!hope have great fun in their classes~

jus wanna ask in terms of flexibility, means to say if I cant make it for the timing of the class which I register, can I attend other time slots of the new classes? Is there no limit to how many times I wanna make replacement of lessons? Hee.. i called and bunka says there are onli 2 replacements for every 8 lessons.. so i wonder if Ikoma also has such policy??

Thanks for any replies!

Can just call them and they will let you attend other classes unless it is full on that day.

 

[hayami2008]

I'm now comparing Ikoma and Hougang school. Anywhere have studied in both schools? Can you advice on why you choose one over the other? THanks!

 

[dimitri_can]

Both are using about the same textbooks. I would say both have their good and bad. You should look at their websites/go down to talk to the teachers.

 

[~WindzStriker~]

My gf just sign up at bunka last week with her colleagues.

$200+ elementary 1