けいざいのテスト (Economics Test) こんばんは！ 二週間前は、けいざいのテストがありました。けいざいの九ラスがむずかしいですよ。でも、このテストがオーぺンノートでした。友達とはなしましたから彼女は私の前でテストをしました。彼女はけいざいのテストはむずかしかったと言っていました。それから、私はがしんぱいしていました。アパートにテストをしました。テストはひどく行きました。とてもむずかしかったです。テストはとてもむずかしく、だれもがひどくやったとおもう。 トプソンデリーシャ Translation (PLEASE CORRECT USING HIRAGANA ONLY) 2 weeks ago I had an economics test. My economics class is hard. But this test was open note (or open book). I spoke to my friend because she took the test before me. She told me the test was hard. Therefore, I became worried. I took the test in my apartment. The test didn't go well. It was very hard. Since the test was so hard, I don't think anyone else (aka my classmates) did well either.

Self Introduction-(Please use hiragana in corrections) こんばんは！ はじまして。トプソンデリーシャです。アメリカ人ですよ。今は、メリランヅ大学に行きます。大学院生の二年生です。せいじがくは勉強します。日本語と韓国語も勉強します。日本語と韓国語はちょとむずかしいですけど頑張りますよ。これらげんごはおもしろいですよ。 日本語はすこし話します。私の日本人友達はスキプで日本語に話します。私の日本人ともだちはかんおじょです。かんおじょの名前はあやかさんです。あやかさんはすごいですね。かのじょがだいすきです。 どうぞよろちくお願いします。

자기소개 (Self-Introduction) 안녕하세요! 저는 델리샤 텀슨이에요. 저는 미국 메릴랜드 사람이에요. 우리 집은 메릴랜드에 있어요.멜릴랜드 대학교에 가요. 저가 대학원 학생이에요. 학교에서 한국말하고 종지학은 공부해요. 저는 친구가 많아요. 제 친구들하고 저는 주말에 텔리비전을 봐요. 저도 주말에 공부도 해요. 스포츠는 좋아해요. 텐니스하고 축구가 텔리비전을 봐요. 축구가 아주 좋아해요. 축구도 연주해요. 읽어 주셔서 고맙습니다!

Great JAPN online resources/apps

I thought it might be a good idea to start a thread/discussion about super cool resources that you love using for your Japanese studies. Sharing is caring :). Obviously there's no replacement for authentic communication (reading, writing, listening, and speaking) practice. And you won't have fluency in 6 months using these suggestions, but they can be very helpful in the learning journey.

So I'll start with a list off the top of my head.

1. Skitter: this is my personal fav. For my kanji mastery seekers this can be your best friend. This app, or you can use the website, has loads of goodies. A great dictionary with a plethora of readings for individual radicals, kanji, and kanji combos. But hands down best feature is the writing. If you place everything on the hard setting (which you know u will :D) you will learn correct stroke order, how to shape the strokes (it will penalize you) and you can start learning off any kanji list. They have all the kanji from JLPT N1-N5, Genki 1 and 2, etc. also Skritter uses spaced repetition to help you remember everything. Now this may seem expensive, and it's outrageously expensive, but I can give you tips how to attain the kanji you want to learn within the free trial period to avoid that outrageous price. And after the trial you can keep studying "your words". Just inbox me.

 

2. Benkyo N1-N5 app: this is great if you want practice on the go for any level of the JLPT. There's quizzes and dictionaries, and the best part is that it's free.

 

3. TenguGo: This is an android and iPhone app (I think) and it's awesome. It has hiragana and katakana for beginners for free, and 99 cents gets you the paid kanji version. These two apps give you access to lessens, quizzes, flash cards, and a database of over 2,000 kanji.

 

4. JAPN Amazon: okay obviously this one isn't free, but its great for people who want reading practice, but not that boring crap thats generally available. If you have kindle or the kindle app or an e-reader of some kind you can download books, manga, crochet books, cook books, magazines, etc in Japanese. Just go make an account and you're ready to go. Personally I read manga and it definitely can help you drastically improve in reading comprehension. A lot of manga and other literature have furigana in it to help you with unfamiliar kanji.

 

Thats all I have off the top of my head. I'd love to hear other peoples' suggestions, recommendations, or hacks so please feel free to share :D.

Does anyone have advice for studying a language while you're in graduate school? (Masters) I will be attending graduate school next fall, and I want to take advantage of my close proximity to Washington D.C. My program is only two years, so I want to make the most of it. I want to work overseas in East Asia when I graduate, so it would be great to be able to have at least beginner fluency in Korean or Japanese before i leave. If anyone has any advice, I would greatly appreciate it. Happy Language Learning! Sincerely, Delisha

Are people actually aware of the history of Japan? Like Seriously Sometimes when I read the notebook entries on this website it makes me think that people think Japan is the magical land of unicorns and ponies and rainbows. When people say they love Japan and Japanese culture, I have to ask have they actually studied Japanese history? Some of you seem completely ignorant or at least way to idealistic about Japan. Every country has flaws and dark periods in their histories. Every country suffers from racism/colorism/xenophobia etc. Japan is no different. Don't get me wrong I have an appreciation and love for Japan and Japanese culture, but I'm also very knowledgeable about Japanese history. People need to take the good with the bad. If someone asked me about the United States I would be honest about the good and the bad. People need to acknowledge these things. Sorry for the rant. I welcome any comments of agreement or disagreement.