Reflection #8

This past week we finished Chapter 23 of Genki II.
We finished this with such grammar point like ことにする.  This is saying something that you decided to do and it very useful.  You can also use ことにしている for saying that you are going to make a habit out of doing.
We also had to learn 方 this is the way which an action is performed.  Such is 泳ぎ方 saying how to swim.
The easiest thing this week was learning and using ことにする.  It is very easy to form and makes sense how to use it.
The hardest thing was realizing how many Kanji I forgot when we were going over the reading.  I really need to take some time and go back and review all the Kanji that I forgot.  It will be hard to continue if I forgot half of the Kanji.
毎日、漢字をれんしゅうすることにしています。

One gesture that I notice is different in America than it is in Japan is the gesture to signal for someone to "Come here."  In America we have our palm in the air and move our hand towards us.  However, in Japan the hand is flipped over and the palm is facing the ground.

Topic for Speech

The topic I decided to do is teaching the way of speaking in English / how to use sarcasm.

Reflection #7

This week we learned まで andでも.  まで literally means "until".  This is used for sentences like I will not go to Japan until I raise enough money.  A でも B is for saying that that you is will do B even if A happens.
The hardest thing thing this week was finding the distinction between でも and たら.  But after doing the worksheet and practicing in class i understand the difference.
The easiest thing was using まで because it works very similar to how it would work in English.
The most fun thing was once again meeting new Japanese students and learning about them.
I will try to practice both of these forms more so I will feel more fluent in using them.  

新しい友達

火曜日は久米木友里に会いました。久米木さんは十九歳で広島から来て広島修道大学で英語を勉強している二年生だけど今ケント州立大学で勉強します。しゅみはしゃべる事です。皆さん、よろしくお願いします。

Reflection #6

This week we started on Causative - Passive sentences. This form is used for telling what someone made you do and it had a negative effect for you.  It is more like someone "forced" you to do something.  It is set up similar to the causative and passive forms by being like a combination of both.
The hardest thing this week was when there was a discrepancy over which form is the most common to use. It made me very confused, but in the end I figured it out.  It was very interesting to find out the most common form to use was not in the book, and even after class I asked my Japanese friends and they both agreed with Yuki-sensei saying that way that was not in the book was the best.  So I have been trying to learn that way instead of the book, because I want to use the form that most Japanese people use.
The easiest thing was creating the Causative- Passive sentences because they are just like a combination of both causative and passive.  So if you can understand both causative and passive, it is very easy to create.
The most fun thing was all the Japanese students that keep coming to our class.  It is a nice break from class to learn more about the Japanese students.
I will be trying to practice Causative - Passive a lot more this upcoming week.

僕の日記

明日、試験があるよ。めっちゃ心配だ。もうたくさん勉強したのに経理は分かない。早く起きてもっと勉強すると思う。試験の後で日本人の友達に会って一緒に晩ご飯を食べるつもりだ。友達と遊ぼうのが大好きだけど時々僕は日本語でしゃべたい。でも、彼らはアメリカに行ったので英語を話したほうがいいと思う。もう一回日本に行ったら、友達と話している時、日本語だけしゃべるつもりだ。

黒岩亮太

先週は新しい友達に会いました。名前は黒岩亮太です。黒岩さんは二十歳で広島から来ました。バスケットボールをしたり、音楽を聞いたり、ギターをひいたりするのが好きです。皆さん、よろしくお願いします。

Reflection #5

Learning Strategies

I like the way that it has been in the past the best.  I like when a teacher gets up and explains things and why they should be that way.  I do not teach myself well and usually cannot grasp the concept the best that way.  However, it was nice meeting some of the other students in class that way.  Because I had not been in any of the Japanese classes with them in the past it was harder to meet people.

I also like doing more things were we can speak aloud in Japanese.  Sometimes it is hard but even at the beginning of class asking students a question that has to do with past grammar that we used.  This will help reinforce what we just learned in the past classes, As well as getting more comfortable with speaking in class. 

It was a big change coming to this class from my Japanese class in the summer.  During the summer we were not allowed to use English at all with the teacher.  The only time was with a question and we would always have to say 英語でいいですか.  It was very difficult, however it really made me think how to use Japanese and I was able to use it a lot better when I was practicing it that way during the summer.