learning japanese

[Ah_keong]

Strongly agreed..

Need to practise a lot... Even like me, now supporting Japanese users. It's not ez... They speak very fast...

agreed x 10000....

HAYAI!!!

 

[Ah_keong]

Thanks

just wondering if anyone know about Alexandra School which also same centre as Hougang School if not wrong. Wonder if there are worth giving a go?

coz Alexandra School is nearer to my office place but i noticed that they only having one lesson? or the same as Hougang School.

the reason askin coz i scare later took the lesson at Alexandra then later got to go Hougang to go on other lessons.

wow... maybe others can help on this... sorry sia... my jap knowledge very limited...

 

[dimitri_can]

i guess for my salary currently, it wouldnt be possible for private

but i noticed tat my area got one centre...

Hougang Japanese School but not the one located at Hougang one...

dont know anyone tried or heard of it b4?
can tell me more abt them?

U might have to transfer to Hougang when u study higher levels from JLPT 2 onwards.

 

[ahmahippo]

oh like that ah... coz i find that they got another brunch but no reply from them one.

 

[unfinished07]

Singapore is out of the new system.
We'll NOT be able to take in Jul as the number of applicants are not as many as people in Japan or China.

Generally, the teacher will test u to see if u have reach JLPT 3 standard before allowing u to go for JLPT 2 class.

Let me tell u, Ikoma has good passing rate for JLPT 2 and the teacher is very dedicated to teach... Ms Kanai.

I would say this... You really pay for the notes and the good teaching. So it's worth it.

JLPT 2
Kanji: 1000 Kanji
Words: 6000 words (5000 examinable, remaining 1000 will pop up occasionally)
Grammer: 165 sentence patterns with about 10% have 2 or more meanings.

You can refer to my notes here for more info on the grammer.

http://www.sendspace.com/file/dwmwug

yeah, and FYI, for singapore's JLPT 1 passing rate these few years is less than half, 40+% i think. and the school with the largest % of these 40% students are from Ikoma.

 

[unfinished07]

You're right. JLPT is not a good way to access Japanese language standards. In fact, no written test can truly do so.
I guess one way would be to see how fast you can respond to someone speaking, or how fast you can react in terms of replying appropriately, or understanding immediately what someone said without asking him/her to repeat... ^^;

this is a chicken and egg question. the debate will never end. what kind of exam is the best to measure japanese language standards?
there are ppl who can pass JLPT 1, but they can't handle a simple conversation. there are ppl who can speak well, but with poor foundation, simple mistakes and some can't write well. there are lots of these ppl around.
its up to the person to get what she/he wants, or is useful. eg, conversation skills are impt in the job, so work on conversation skills, and writing skills may not be that impt, or can afford to slack there.
of course, the best is to get a balance, or be good in all areas.

 

[dimitri_can]

I would say i am better in grammer than vocab.... lol

 

[ahmahippo]

wonder is Alexandra School down? no more?
they never reply me


now left ikoma and Bunka. wonder which to choose.

 

[dimitri_can]

Call them again.

6273 8434

If not i suggest u go Hougang one.
6282 7590

Registration Hours
Mon to Fri: 1:30pm - 8:00pm
Sat: 1:30pm - 4:30pm
Sun: 11:00am - 3:30pm

 

[gnohzwd]

In JS, a broad number of topics are covered, ranging from economy, politics, society, pop culture, business etc. For language modules it's from level 1 to 6, and also has translation and linguistics modules. But they're not also offered every semester, so you need to plan well.

Actually a large majority of the students do not have background when they enter JS, so for these students, they start from level 1. Those who have will be asked to sit for a placecment test and they'll be placed in a class appropriate for their level.

People to major in JS. In fact the no. of students is slowly increasing. But if you see it from another standpoint, lesser students does not necessarily mean that there's very little demand for Japanese speakers in the market. There is in fact quite a lot if you know the market well =)

Hope I've answered ur questions.

hi would like to know what exactly is being taught in the NUS japanese studies module? are there students without any japanese background enrolling in their classes? and do anybody actually major in it?

 

[gnohzwd]

Strongly agreed..

Need to practise a lot... Even like me, now supporting Japanese users. It's not ez... They speak very fast...

Hi, just wondering what you mean by you're supporting Japanese users? What are you working as?

 

[gnohzwd]

this is a chicken and egg question. the debate will never end. what kind of exam is the best to measure japanese language standards?
there are ppl who can pass JLPT 1, but they can't handle a simple conversation. there are ppl who can speak well, but with poor foundation, simple mistakes and some can't write well. there are lots of these ppl around.
its up to the person to get what she/he wants, or is useful. eg, conversation skills are impt in the job, so work on conversation skills, and writing skills may not be that impt, or can afford to slack there.
of course, the best is to get a balance, or be good in all areas.

That's absolutely correct. I know someone who passed jlpt1 three times but can't hold a decent conversation, but I also have a good friend who passed jlpt1 but didn't score very well. But he's super good and fluent.

But seriously, the stuff in jlpt1 is not really that useful in everyday life, even the grammar is not often used in business lol... companies just like to use it as a standard to gauge us, so we're left with no choice...

 

[terraj]

Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses when it comes to languages I think.

I would say I'm terrible at writing and speaking, even more so because I stopped studying Japanese officially for more than 1.5 years and have no one to practise Japanese with So that's why I'm going to go Japan in December to try improve at least on the speaking part.

I'm decent at reading (Japanese novels) and listening though, because that's my one of my hobbies I guess.

In Japanese I think my biggest problem is the lack of vocabulary. I just don't have the natural ability to remember tons of (written) words, which is why my Mandarin is also terrible; furthermore I'm downright lazy when it comes to studying and checking the dictionary. I am a very fast learner though with learning grammar structures (because it's logic based) and I can pick up meanings from sentences contextually quite easily (which explains why I can get through novels without knowing many words).

 

[dimitri_can]

Hi, just wondering what you mean by you're supporting Japanese users? What are you working as?

Japanese IT パソコンヘルプデスクエンジニア。

 

[gnohzwd]

I see. Thanks =)

 

[dimitri_can]

今年、だれか２級を受けますか。

 

[ahmahippo]

hai.... how to be gd to join japanese company here in sg?

 

[dimitri_can]

Speak well... Use keigo (ultra polite form of japanese)
Present yourself well.

I went through 4 rounds of interview to get this job.

1) Phone interview to test my conversation skills
2) Reall interview
3) Phone interview from Japan colleagues
4) Phone interview to test my IT support skills using Japanese.

Roughly with a JLPT 2 and good conversational skills, you can expect another $1k-$2k increase in salary.

Some ppl say a JLPT 2 is equivalent to a degree.... well... i dunno..

 

[unfinished07]

That's absolutely correct. I know someone who passed jlpt1 three times but can't hold a decent conversation, but I also have a good friend who passed jlpt1 but didn't score very well. But he's super good and fluent.

But seriously, the stuff in jlpt1 is not really that useful in everyday life, even the grammar is not often used in business lol... companies just like to use it as a standard to gauge us, so we're left with no choice...

i think the stuff in JLPT1 is not directly useful, as in we do not use them in our everyday life, but it is definitely good for us indirectly. JLPT 1 is a base for us to use. for example writing emails, reading newspapers, internet reading material. even when i watch japanese dramas/tv shows i can hear them using JLPT 1 grammar.
and yes, companies use it to gauge us, so in a way JLPT1 is useful. got JLPT 1= more money.

 

[unfinished07]

Speak well... Use keigo (ultra polite form of japanese)
Present yourself well.

I went through 4 rounds of interview to get this job.

1) Phone interview to test my conversation skills
2) Reall interview
3) Phone interview from Japan colleagues
4) Phone interview to test my IT support skills using Japanese.

Roughly with a JLPT 2 and good conversational skills, you can expect another $1k-$2k increase in salary.

Some ppl say a JLPT 2 is equivalent to a degree.... well... i dunno..

wah, with JLPT 2 only u can get 1k increase? so good ah. or is it for your field? i didn't get that much in my previous 2 jobs leh, all japanese speaking jobs.
hmm......but i think for engineering, IT, the increase is better. i've got some interview offers before.