Comments for しあわせ

Comment on Irish Leaving Cert Japanese — Nihongo Kantan by ロバート

ロバート — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 12:21:43 +0000

It always helps if you like a subject. I think Japanese is a good choice for the Leaving.
Good Luck!
がんばって〜♪

Comment on Irish Leaving Cert Japanese — Nihongo Kantan by erika warren

erika warren — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 17:44:18 +0000

im actually a fifth year student and i took japanese for my leaving cert. it is now my favourite subject and i actually think its easier than english!

Comment on Kanken Result 2009 by Ghazale

Ghazale — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 08:55:44 +0000

Congratulations!! The certificate looks nice.

Comment on Requiem for Battleship Yamato by Doug

Doug — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 22:30:05 +0000

Wow, that is really powerful, thank you. :)

Comment on Irish Leaving Cert Japanese — Nihongo Kantan by ロバート

ロバート — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 17:28:27 +0000

Authentik ( http://www.authentik.com/nihongo-kantan.html ) from the post above still has it for sale on it’s web site.
In Dublin, Modern Languages on Westland Row is worth checking.
In London, JP Books in the basement of Mitsukoshi.

Comment on Irish Leaving Cert Japanese — Nihongo Kantan by Carol O' Neill

Carol O' Neill — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 13:05:52 +0000

I would like to ask where can I get a hold of Nihongo Kantan?

Comment on More Heisig Musings by Doug

Doug — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 17:50:49 +0000

Indeed! I realized this trap of studying in isolation recently as well when studying for the N2, as my wife pointed out my frequent mis-use of vocab words. Dictionaries are only so useful. You’ve got to just learn to read Japanese until it becomes rote. It’s uncomfortable at first, since it’s so unfamiliar, but that’s true of any skill in life. :)

Comment on More Heisig Musings by ロバート

ロバート — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 16:10:11 +0000

I know what you mean about that critical mass of ability that makes it easier to add new knowledge to your store.
I’ve have the odd ability now where I can often guess the readings correctly without actually knowing the correct meaning of the word!
Vocabulary is certainly the key. When you think about it few kanji exist in isolation, even single kanji often have okurigana. All too often I think I lose sight of the goal, which is to read and write Japanese, when concentrating on individual kanji and their components.
I think overall it needs an integrated approach, where you need some grammar, some vocabulary, some kanji, and you build up your reading and writing ability across the board bit by bit.

Comment on More Heisig Musings by Doug

Doug — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 22:06:09 +0000

Hi Robert,

Great article. I’ve steered clear of Heisig myself and just relied on Anki very heavily this last year, but like Owen above, I’ve noticed a trend in my learning of kanji that is interesting. If you learn enough words, the kanji start to converge enough that you can start learning new words with less effort.

For example, I learned the word 光栄 (kōei) recently. I had see 光 from many other words (e.g. 観光, 光明 (buddhism), etc) and 栄 I learned from another word, 栄達 (eitatsu), so when I saw this word, it was easier to put together right off the bat and have a reasonable idea what it meant.

To get to this stage, you definitely have to learn enough words to reach critical mass, and that’s hard. People want the easy way out, and then you see these amateur efforts like you’re talking about, but if you can take the “high road” long enough, it really, really pays off. :)

Comment on More Heisig Musings by ロバート

ロバート — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 11:35:21 +0000

Thank you both for your thoughtful comments.

My wish for a kanji learning resource would be this.
For 2nd language learners initially focus on the 500 kanji that make up 70% of usage. Then progress to the 1000 that make up 90% of usage.
As to the book. I too would like a mix of Basic kanji, Let’s Learn Kanji, and a reader, broken down into manageable chunks. I’d also like exercises and games and SRS. Kakitorikun v3. And a good learner dictionary. I also want it all on an iPad device with pen input. Except for clearances, and a pen enabled iPad, it’s feasible but unlikely. ….