learning japanese

[Ah_keong]

Hi Ah_keong,

I'm not enrolled in any of the Japanese schools and I learn through self-studying (been doing so on and off for a few years but finally decided to register for JLPT this year ), that's why I'm looking for a structured grammar book for learning the grammar points

I see,

in this case, I would recommend

 

[cnstar]

i think this book is a good start. Kinokuniya Orchard should have it.
Your wallet will bleed. =)

http://www.amazon.co.jp/どんなときどう使う日本...1744/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1318136189&sr=8-5

This is another good book.

http://www.amazon.co.jp/実力アップ-日本語能力...1_153?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1318136545&sr=1-153

I see,

in this case, I would recommend

Thanks to both of you for your recommendations, I'll be heading to orchard kino this week and will keep a look out for those books (have to see the prices first as well, lol)

 

[Keri_Lee]

You have iPod touch or iPhone ? Will suggest u to use the Kotoba app... It's free. =)

nah, i dont hav either one.. LOL

thks for letting me know thou..

 

[kjaskk]

Japanese Grammer query

I have a question on Japanese grammer and would appreciate assistance.

What kind on noun (名詞) can be put in the form 名詞をするto become a verb?

Another words given a noun, how are we to know if it can be converted into a verb by doing 名詞 + をする?

Which is correct and why

私は会社員をしている.
私は会社員です.

Thank you for your assistance.

 

[dimitri_can]

Normally are words that have 2 kanji, e.g 勉強,連絡
These kanjis must be "action words", like study, call someone, etc if you know what i am talking about.
You can look at this list for some of the words.

http://www.mlcjapanese.co.jp/image/346verbs.pdf

「私は会社員です。」 is correct.
「私は会社員をしている」 would translate to "i am doing company employee"

That is not correct. If i say　
「私は業務をしている」, then that's correct.
Cos i am doing work. =)

 

[Rokudo]

Currently taking Japanese classes at NUS now, it's fast-paced but really enjoyable!

I'm thinking of continuing studying Japanese outside of NUS in my holidays. I think it will cover up to Minna no Nihongo 1. Any suggestions on where to go to continue from there? ^^

 

[vienne]

Currently taking Japanese classes at NUS now, it's fast-paced but really enjoyable!

I'm thinking of continuing studying Japanese outside of NUS in my holidays. I think it will cover up to Minna no Nihongo 1. Any suggestions on where to go to continue from there? ^^

I did laj in NUS few yrs back too. Yearp, it's really fast paced n really gets u to be well prepared before going for each lesson! Enjoyed it ( thou it's taxing too,)

Anyways, after level 1, I went to IKOMA to continue my Japanese studies.. U might want to consider them .... They are using minna no nihongo textbook as well.. So if u want, you can try calling them and request to join in their class when they starts at book no2 (book 2 starts at chapter/lesson 14 I think?) keke..

there are many other schools as well.. Probably some others can provide info on other schools? (not sure with others, cuz I hav been with IKOMA since then..) =D

 

[Ah_keong]

Currently taking Japanese classes at NUS now, it's fast-paced but really enjoyable!

I'm thinking of continuing studying Japanese outside of NUS in my holidays. I think it will cover up to Minna no Nihongo 1. Any suggestions on where to go to continue from there? ^^

woo!
Another hero / heroine from NUS!
For Minna No Nihongo, I would recommend IKOMA Language school as the text they used is the same

 

[cnstar]

Hi all, I came across this sentence in a book and was wondering how do you read out "years". Take for example this sentence:

私は1975年に生まれました。

The furigana written in the book for "1975" is せんきゅうひゃくななじゅうご, but I find it weird to read it that way because for example, in English, we would read it as "year nineteen seventy-five" instead of "year one thousand nine hundred and seventy-five". Even in Mandarin, we read it as "yi jiu qi wu nian" instead of "yi qian jiu bai qi shi wu nian", if you get what I mean.

So should "1975" be pronounced as せんきゅうひゃくななじゅうご or would "ichi-kyuu-nana-go nen" sound more natural

 

[dimitri_can]

せんきゅうひゃくななじゅうご is correct

 

[XasakuraX]

wooh gotten sms from bunka.

any idea how's kobayashi sensei style of teaching?

 

[friedfred]

Hi all, I came across this sentence in a book and was wondering how do you read out "years". Take for example this sentence:

私は1975年に生まれました。

The furigana written in the book for "1975" is せんきゅうひゃくななじゅうご, but I find it weird to read it that way because for example, in English, we would read it as "year nineteen seventy-five" instead of "year one thousand nine hundred and seventy-five". Even in Mandarin, we read it as "yi jiu qi wu nian" instead of "yi qian jiu bai qi shi wu nian", if you get what I mean.

So should "1975" be pronounced as せんきゅうひゃくななじゅうご or would "ichi-kyuu-nana-go nen" sound more natural

On Japanese radio, the newscaster would read the full thing (せんきゅうひゃくななじゅうご) if I didnt hear wrongly. lol.

 

[friedfred]

I am having my last Int 4 lesson at Bunka this Sunday. I am thinking of proceeding on to Pre-advanced at Bunka but am also thinking if I should jump ship to Ikoma.

Anyone who did Pre-Advance at Bunka or Ikoma is able to help me on the structure of the lessons respectively?

ありがとうございます！

 

[Ah_keong]

I am having my last Int 4 lesson at Bunka this Sunday. I am thinking of proceeding on to Pre-advanced at Bunka but am also thinking if I should jump ship to Ikoma.

Anyone who did Pre-Advance at Bunka or Ikoma is able to help me on the structure of the lessons respectively?

ありがとうございます！

I would recommend you to jump ship to IKOMA after your int4 classes or N4 paper

 

[friedfred]

lol. どうして？

 

[alicia94]

I think remaining at Bunka would be a better choice. Learning japanese should be interactive and not a one way thing. I think Ikoma will be rather classroom like. Furthermore, if you could get through Mizusaki sensei's strict level check to get promoted, won't that be a great sense of achievement?

 

[Rokudo]

Thanks for the suggestions, everyone! It seems like Ikoma will be a good choice since they are using the same books as well. ^^

I think I shall ring them up soon and see if there's anyway to jump in at textbook 2 =D

 

[dimitri_can]

There are people who are at Pre-Advanced 3 (supposedly JLPT N2) standard and yet they dunno a JLPT N4 word... There are people who are in PA3 who can speak and that they are some that can't like a Ikoma Intermediate student... so u call that strict?

Mizusaki sensei is good, but there are other factors to consider. It doesn't mean Bunka is good for 1 and it's also good for another...

 

[alicia94]

That's a point that's also applicable to ikoma students. It all boils down to the amount of effort that you put in.

For a person to remain in a school till int4, the person must be quite satisfied with the approach of the school or else he/she would have jump ship to another school right after elementary or int2. That's why it's important to consider which kind of approach do you like better - be it interactive or classroom.

Personally, i prefer a more interactive approach to learning which is why i remained with Bunka. I've been to the JLPT prep class for JCS and I don't really like it because classes are too dry and boring. At the end of the prep class, there are 3/4 of the class which i hadn't even had a chance to speak to. You may say that the content is a lot to cover which explains the lack of interaction, but if you actually look at the int4 content of bunka, it's similar yet there's still time for interactions. To each his/her own

 

[dimitri_can]

You can't compare a prep class with a normal class. That's unfair.
Oh well, nothing in this world is fair.. LOL