learning japanese

[jimmy_sg]

Wanting to learn japanese language, just called up ikoma, they said fully booked....

Can check with you guys whether bunka will be good for begineers like me? Check out the price on both websites, bunka is more expensive, so does that means they are better? Tks!

 

[fox1]

Wanting to learn japanese language, just called up ikoma, they said fully booked....

Can check with you guys whether bunka will be good for begineers like me? Check out the price on both websites, bunka is more expensive, so does that means they are better? Tks!

The best place would be one that is either near your workplace or your home.
That way, you would not be lazy and start skipping lessons. It will be a plus point if it is expensive.
You will think thrice before skipping a lesson.

 

[kumori]

正しいのはどちらでしょう。

クイズを出せていただきます。興味にある方にはぜひ試してみてください。3日後解答をお出しします。

下記の二つの表現のうち、使い方として正しいのはどちらでしょう。

A)バスの走行中は席を立たないでください。

B)バスが走行中は席を立たないでください。

 

[sweet_vanilla]

答えはbですか？
Kumoriさんの日本語が上手ね～

 

[dimitri_can]

I will take both A and B...

Shall await the answer. =)

 

[fox1]

I take A

 

[azumangadaioh]

Wanting to learn japanese language, just called up ikoma, they said fully booked....

Can check with you guys whether bunka will be good for begineers like me? Check out the price on both websites, bunka is more expensive, so does that means they are better? Tks!

Which level did you compare the price with ? If you are talking about the most entry level class, day class for ELE1 [ $220 ] [ which is what I took ] is cheaper by $45 compared to normal evening [ $265 ] Bunka class excluding GST and textbook, whereas Ikoma will cost $510 inclusive GST.

Although there were other factors [ that pushed me towards Bunka ], the top 2 things that made me decide between Bunka and Ikoma, is cash management & speed of completion of courses.

Cash management: I only have to pay no more than $250 per course at any time [ for Bunka ], whereas minimum I have to cough out at least $510 even for the Basic 1 course [ at Ikoma ] , of course, there is always an argument that cost per lesson is so much and so much between Bunka & Ikoma. Thing is, what happens if you don't have $510 ? [ excluding textbook ], what if you finished 1 level, ready to go for next level, something crops up and you cannot spare the $500++ ?

Okay, so what we would normally do is, skip the level, wait till next time I have enough $, then I go... By the time I have enough, I ask to sign up, okay, full house, so never mind, wait for next one, well, so now I have spare $, go and buy this and that, oh, and I call up again, great, there's available places, but I used up my money... By the time I start my next lesson, how many months would that be... get the moral of the story ? [ working adults should have no problem, but what about students ? Which parent will want to fork out half a thousand dollars in this economic climate ? Is it easier to ask from your parents $265 or $510 ? ]

Speed of completion: I want to be able to learn within the shortest time, to allow me to enjoy the benefits of able to use Japanese in my daily life asap [ whether it is watching drama, anime, manga, gameshows, talking to Japanese, working in a Japanese speaking environment or travel to Japan ]. 2 months per course is the shortest I can find anywhere, the flexibility to take a break [ and revise ] if I want after 2mths, charge nonstop course after course, or switch to another day of the week if my working hours are going to overlap.

 

[azumangadaioh]

ちょっとクイズを出せていただきます。興味にある方にはぜひ試してみてください。3日後解答をお出しします。

下記の二つの表現のうち、使い方として正しいのはどちらでしょう。

A)バスの走行中は席を立たないでください。

B)バスが走行中は席を立たないでください。

I think it's B. Although A sounds correct also.. My final answer is B only.

 

[azumangadaioh]

The best place would be one that is either near your workplace or your home.
That way, you would not be lazy and start skipping lessons. It will be a plus point if it is expensive.
You will think thrice before skipping a lesson.

Back then, my first school took less than 10 mins by MRT to get there, and more expensive than Bunka [ comparing cost per course ]. I did not go back and revise after lessons, don't hand in homework [ and sensei does not really insist on it anyway ], and always late for lessons [ maybe because have the idea that it's near, it's okay to be late ].

Today, going to Bunka takes 1 hour of travelling for me, but I am more motivated, will always finish homework, with a promotion test at the end of every course, I have a better view of where I stand in ability after reviewing the results [ and going through the paper with sensei ], since it's a 2 month course, any wrong idea about any stuff can be dispelled rather quickly with the reality of looking at the test results [ instead of studying for 25 weeks to clear 1 course, which did not quite motivate me ].

In my case, it was actually worse when it was near and expensive [ that time, I really did not care ]. You have to choose the one that gets you motivated.

 

[unfinished07]

ちょっとクイズを出せていただきます。興味にある方にはぜひ試してみてください。3日後解答をお出しします。

下記の二つの表現のうち、使い方として正しいのはどちらでしょう。

A)バスの走行中は席を立たないでください。

B)バスが走行中は席を立たないでください。

I think both can be used, depending on the situation.

and, if you wanna use 敬語、you shouldn't use ちょっと in front.....
and if you are at the level to use 敬語, you should be using more 漢字 and not so much 平仮名

 

[dimitri_can]

Agree with what unfinished said... 敬語 cannot have ちょっと。。。

 

[jimmy_sg]

Bunka elementary 1 - 30hrs - $315 (inc gst + txtbk)
Ikoma elementaty 1 - 60hrs - $580 (inc gst + txtbk)

Felt that bunka is a bit rush... Dun know whether can manage a not.
Ikoma seems slower, but felt that can manage own pace better.

Wah, confusing... Of course, price wise bunka is cheaper.... any advise.

But temp ikoma no slot liao... so think bunka???

 

[dimitri_can]

Is it such a rush for u to study Japanese????

If you are going for Ikoma,

I advise you to study the Hiragana Chart first...

Do pm me with your MSN if you need more info

 

[kumori]

I think both can be used, depending on the situation.

and, if you wanna use 敬語、you shouldn't use ちょっと in front.....
and if you are at the level to use 敬語, you should be using more 漢字 and not so much 平仮名

そう言えばそうですね。この場合は「ちょっと」が不適当です。注意してくださってありがとうございます。

ちなみに、よろしければ、他のふさわしい言葉を教えていただけませんか。「すこし」はどう思いますか。

また、「and if you are at the level to use 敬語, you should be using more 漢字 and not so much 平仮名」についてのルールを知りませんでした。このルールからの参考文献を教えていただけませんか。

宜しくお願いします。

 

[nyawne]

クイズを出せていただきます。興味にある方にはぜひ試してみてください。3日後解答をお出しします。

下記の二つの表現のうち、使い方として正しいのはどちらでしょう。

A)バスの走行中は席を立たないでください。

B)バスが走行中は席を立たないでください。

Gut feel says A. Although I have no idea why. Thank goodness JLPT was all MCQ. I can never figure out the grammar.

 

[sweet_vanilla]

anyway, i got something for all to intro to!
a new song!
might not be related, but do please listen to it.
^_^

 

[azumangadaioh]

Bunka elementary 1 - 30hrs - $315 (inc gst + txtbk)
Ikoma elementaty 1 - 60hrs - $580 (inc gst + txtbk)

Felt that bunka is a bit rush... Dun know whether can manage a not.
Ikoma seems slower, but felt that can manage own pace better.

Wah, confusing... Of course, price wise bunka is cheaper.... any advise.

But temp ikoma no slot liao... so think bunka???

If you are weak in hiragana, not a problem also, Ele1 will have lessons devoted to teaching you hiragana, whereas katakana will be taught only at Ele2. So prior knowledge is not really needed to survive the class [ although some basic knowledge beforehand will allow you to enjoy the lessons more ]. There will be regular quizzes, dialogue speaking [ with classmates ] within the lessons, so it's not drill, drill, drill all the way....

Moreover, you can always call in the check with Bunka if places for certain dates still have places [ those that you see on the website ]. Sometimes they will remove certain dates from list of available dates even though there is only 1 place left for any particular date [ they always update the website with fresh info asap ].

There is one thing to note, what happens if you go through a few lessons and find that you don't like it ? Can you ask for a refund ? Would they refund us ? Which is cheaper, a $580 or a $315 mistake ?

 

[dimitri_can]

If you are weak in hiragana, not a problem also, Ele1 will have lessons devoted to teaching you hiragana, whereas katakana will be taught only at Ele2. So prior knowledge is not really needed to survive the class [ although some basic knowledge beforehand will allow you to enjoy the lessons more ]. There will be regular quizzes, dialogue speaking [ with classmates ] within the lessons, so it's not drill, drill, drill all the way....

Moreover, you can always call in the check with Bunka if places for certain dates still have places [ those that you see on the website ]. Sometimes they will remove certain dates from list of available dates even though there is only 1 place left for any particular date [ they always update the website with fresh info asap ].

There is one thing to note, what happens if you go through a few lessons and find that you don't like it ? Can you ask for a refund ? Would they refund us ? Which is cheaper, a $580 or a $315 mistake ?

Come on... give the guy a break... Let him have his own choice. Whichever he decides, it's his own business.... We can't take responsibility if he chooses the wrong school and comes blame us for telling him to enrol in the wrong school...

It all boils down to personal effort. I just tutored a friend from Bunka yesterday from Elementary 2 who was struggling with particles, forms, counters, etc, and he is one type who really studies... Imagine how stress he was. When i introduced him to 国文法, within 1-2 hours, he managed to get everything cleared up.

Throughout my experience of the language, i have seen people who started from Ikoma and then jumped to Bunka and vice versa. Not everybody is suited to Ikoma's or Bunka's teaching..

If you wanna say about school fees, what about Hougang Japanese Language School ($200 for 20 lessons x 2 hours)?

I maintain a very neutral point of view. Either Bunka or Ikoma, most importantly, ask urself what u want to see yourself 3-4 years down the round. and don't regret.

 

[dimitri_can]

Introduction to 国文法:活用

In 国文法, there's no such verbs that belong to Group 1, Group 2, Group 3/Irregular verbs.

All verbs are categorized under the following

五段動詞(Group 1): Verbs changes based on あ、い、う、え、お-段

上一段動詞(Group 2): All special verbs like 生きる、見る

下一段動詞(Group 2): All verbs that end with え sound.

カ変動詞 (Group 3): 来ます

サ変動詞 (Group 4): します
=================================
In the Japanese that we learn, we learn things like ない-form, ます-form, 辞書形、可能形、意向形,etc

In 国文法, the forms are

1.未然形 (imperfective form)
2.連用形 (conjunctive form; continuative form)
3.連体形 (participle adjective; attributive form)
4.終止形 (predicative form)
5.仮定形 (hypothetical form)
6.命令形 (imperative form)
=========================
In Japanese schools in Singapore, e.g JCS, students are taught that the base form used to switch to other forms is 辞書形 (dictionary form)

In Japan, the base form always start from 連用形 (ます-form minus the ます)

e.g:

五段動詞
買います (buy)

Step 1: Identify the 連用形, 買います->買い

Step 2: Identify which form you wish to change, e.g maybe you want ない-form (未然形 in 国文法)


Remember Hiragana Chart:
あ (わ)、い、う、え、お

Step 3: Change to 未然形


未然形: 買い (連用形) -> 買わ (未然形)

ない-form: 未然形＋ない
受身形: 未然形＋れます
使役形: 未然形＋せます

Answer: 買わない
=======================================
一段動詞 (Group 2)

一段動詞 got this characteristic.

Everything is just 連用形＋＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿

e.g

ない-form: 連用形＋ない
辞書形(終止形): 連用形＋る
＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝
These are just some examples.

You might not see the benefits just by seeing this...
The hidden benefit is that students who study this will be able to construct sentences faster in conversation, another thing is just by seeing the verb, the sentence can know which group it belongs to, without having to change to dictionary form or memorizing.

If you were to ask a Japanese (exclude Japanese teacher), what's a い-adjective and a な-adjective, they won't know. But if you were to say, 形容詞 and 形容動詞, they would understand.

If you were to look at those old published China books, you would realise they in the book, there's no Group 1, 2 or 3. China is following 国文法 to teach.

Unless you learn this system, if not it would be hard for you to know the benefits easily.

 

[Ah_keong]

クイズを出せていただきます。興味にある方にはぜひ試してみてください。3日後解答をお出しします。

下記の二つの表現のうち、使い方として正しいのはどちらでしょう。

A)バスの走行中は席を立たないでください。

B)バスが走行中は席を立たないでください。

I take B..