Your Turn to Interview a Sensei!!
Tuesday, July 24th, 2007Mina-sama, here at JPod World Headquarters we’re always trying to think of more and more ways to help you learn Japanese! And now we have something very special for you!
In April, we will have a very special guest with us. His name is 矢野先生 (Yano sensei) and he has nearly 20 years of experience teaching Japanese! His resume includes not only university classroom instruction, but also private and corporate instruction. He also founded the 矢野アカデミー which specializes in training Japanese teachers how to teach Japanese. It goes without saying; Mr. Yano will bring to us a wealth of expertise and wisdom about the process of learning this amazing language!
But it gets better!
Rather than merely introduce him to our staff, we thought it would be much more fun if we could bring Yano sensei directly to you! So, that’s what we’re going to do.
Now is your chance to ask this seasoned sensei for advice about effective study methods, avoiding pitfalls, breaking bad habits and picking up good ones. If you have a question about studying Japanese, we’ll ask Yano sensei during a very special podcast whose contents are totally determined entirely by YOU!
How cool is that?
The entire interview will be conducted in Japanese, so if you wanna try to ask your question in Japanese, go for it. (Of course, if you don’t want to, that’s OK, we’ll be translating everything!)
Let’s get a big ol’ list of questions for the sensei!!!
Post your questions here in the blog or send them to marky @ japanesepod101.com!
宜しくお願いします
Marky and Yuki and everyone at JapanesePod101.com
Posted by JapanesePod101.com in General Announcements, Teaching Japanese |
July 24th, 2007 at 10:26 pm
WOW! What a cool idea!
I’m learning Japanese on my own (no place to take classes in my town).
So I have 2 questions.
1) It’s hard for me to remember new vocabulary. I always hear new words in each lesson but I can never seem to remember them later. What’s the best way to remember new vocabulary?
2) I can read some kanji and type them on my computer, but I can’t write them with a pen. I tried practicing, but writing the same characters 20 times is boring. Also, 2 days later I can’t remember how to write them again. Is there some trick to it?
Kitty-chan
July 25th, 2007 at 2:48 am
Nice Idea!!These are my question
1) Which book/grammar do you suggest/use in your classes to learn Japanese?
2) Are flash cards useful?
3) How many Kanji does a person have to know in order to say “I can speak Japanese”?
4) Is the Kanji strokes order important?
Thanks a lot! I hope my questions will be answered
July 25th, 2007 at 11:37 am
Great to see some questions already posted! Keep ‘em coming!
Also, we’d like to use your jpod username on the podcast, so if you don’t want us to mention you, please let us know and we’ll respect your privacy!
Marky
July 25th, 2007 at 3:32 pm
I have a question too!!
My Japanese professor recommends to us watching Japanese TV. Is this really good practice? I don’t usually watch TV in my own language, so I don’t know what kind of show to watch.
PS. You can use my username if you want!
July 26th, 2007 at 12:54 am
I use the Heisig ’stories from radicals’ method to remember the meaning/writing of characters, but I haven’t found as effective a technique for remembering readings. Are there any shortcuts other than relentless repetitive reading?
I wish I hadn’t picked such a stupid username.
July 26th, 2007 at 1:42 am
あの質問は締切がありますか？
ミクジ
July 26th, 2007 at 1:57 am
My question has to do with study acceleration.
I know my vocabulary has grown enormously and my reading is improving because the meaning of kanji helps with new words but when it comes to picking up what people say in real life I am still hopeless. I hear perfectly but I cannot make sense of it - I seem to have got stuck in this rut for about one year.
Anime helps a bit (provided it is mimiking daily situations) for informal and TV for formal (keigo and son keigo) - a book with learned vocabulary related to individual disciplines also helped. But my progress is so slow- like walking through treacle- I am losing hope ever to be able to use Japanese seriously!
Is there anyway I can speed up my learning? JPOD lessons are great but can be a bit dilute sometimes. What should I do next? I really need something to hit the pedal for faster progress!
BTW - I don’t live in Japan, so my access is mainly via internet.
Thanks
mikuji
July 26th, 2007 at 8:09 am
Thank you Mr 矢野先生 (Yano sensei) for your help in answering our questions
I would like to know if I can start learning Japanese in any order I want or do I have to follow certain steps first like writing, reading or speaking?
Which way do you recommend to study Japanese online or University Japanese classes. I’m attending on a Japanese class at my University and I feel that JP101 is doing much better job than my Japanese class so any tips or advice for University Japanese classes?
Well thank you for your time Mr 矢野先生 (Yano sensei)
PS: JP101 feel free to say or post my name on the podcast interview
July 26th, 2007 at 8:39 pm
I don’t have a Japanese teacher so this is wonderful!
I am learning Japanese for free on the internet. (Yeah, I’m *that* guy)
But I visited Japan last year and I could understand some Japanese but it was impossible for me to speak. The information is in my brain. But it doesn’t connect quickly from my brain to my mouth.
Is there something wrong with me?
(You can use my screen name!!)
July 27th, 2007 at 10:35 pm
私も先生ですけど。聞きたい質問は教育に対す。
たまに、生徒は英語に興味がなそう。全然ない。えらいの先生の私はレッソンの準備をちゃんとしてくせに、生徒たちは参加したくないのようにする。授業中、生徒はみんなだまる。色々な面白い教える方法がやってみるけど、たまに生徒は興味がなくて、先生は失敗。がっかり！原因は生徒たちは一日中働いて、その後，私働いてるのCramSchoolで授業をする。
この場合に、どうすればいいですかな？
いいインスピレーションをさせる方法をもらいたいんですんが。教えていただけませんか？
（私の名前を使っていい！マクシワーワーだけど。）
I hope that all made sense, in case of “What The Hell Is He Talking About” please email me! Feel free to correct any mistakes I have made. (まさか！*cheeky grin*)
July 29th, 2007 at 5:34 am
uhh i didn’t expect peter too look like like
July 30th, 2007 at 7:43 am
I’m trying to learn Japanese by myself (a teacher won’t be availible to me for two more years, so I’m trying to get a head start) and I have a few questions.
1) I can’t seem to get the hang of writing any sort of kanji! I can never remember how to write anything complicated: is there some shortcut to memorizing kanji besides writing the samething over and over?
2) Is there a program I could get to be able to type in Japanese? Or do I need to get a new machine all together? So far, I only have access to an English/French computer and it’d be nice to be able to write to my friend in Japan in Japanese!
Thank you Yano sensei and everyone at Jpod 101!
)
(You can use my username if you want!
July 31st, 2007 at 12:02 am
Aranaさん、 i’m gonna go ahead and answer question 2 for you!
if you’re on a PC, here are step-by-step instructions on how to install Windows IME on your computer. this is software from Microsoft that enables windows computers to vary text input/output according to various languages.
this link will break it down by every version of windows:
http://www.declan-software.com/japanese_ime/
August 2nd, 2007 at 5:03 am
As a teacher, how do you approach the subject of teaching informal Japanese? Most textbooks I have read focus mainly on formal speech and introduce informal speech much later and sometimes not at all. Yet I have been to another more progressive resource that claims you will use certain informal phrases much more often in the real world and you should learn informal first and then formal. Which method would you prefer?
August 3rd, 2007 at 11:40 am
What is the best way to learn new vocabulary,and actually remember it? Do you recommend learning the kanji with the words or the words first before kanji? My major weakness in Japanese is the particles, such as を、が、は、に、で、etc. What is an easy way to get these right when forming new sentences?
You may use my name.
August 4th, 2007 at 10:00 pm
Excuse me, when will we see answers to these questions? I would like to see the answers.
August 6th, 2007 at 10:28 am
Liz-san, and everyone who is waiting for the answers!!
I’m sorry to have you waiting to see the answers so long… but we are gonna have 矢野先生 on August 16th. Then the recording audio with him is at the same time.
All answers for those are gonna come up with audio. (maybe coming with some bonus) We’ll try to publish it as fast as we could. So please be patient a bit…よろしくお願いします！！
August 8th, 2007 at 3:55 am
everything yukiさん said is TRUE!! and thank you EVERYONE for asking.
also, WE WANT MORE QUESTIONS!!! so don’t lose your chance!
this feedback is coming directly from you to Yano Sensei. he won’t be in the country until mid-august, so there’s plenty of time to submit questions!!
our deadline is monday the 13th…
August 13th, 2007 at 9:22 pm
[…] Also, this week we will be going into the studio with Yano Sensei to address the questions you submitted to us. We’re really excited about this because a lot of you have told us you don’t have a Japanese teacher or can’t take classes in your area. I think this is a cool way to put you in touch with a man who has A LOT OF EXPERIENCE teaching Japanese. If you don’t know what this is all about, then please check our earlier post: http://blogs.japanesepod101.com/blog/2007/07/24/your-turn-to-interview-a-sensei/ […]
August 14th, 2007 at 10:26 am
How many kanji are required for you to know to pass the 1-kyuu test?
August 14th, 2007 at 3:57 pm
My case is pretty much the same as mikuji. I’ve also seemed to hit a wall. This is the first time it’s happened.
To figuratively describe it…
I became interested due to a native-ish speaking friend and when I first started, after getting past what was once gibberish, it felt like I was looking down from the top of the Grand Canyon into the vast emptiness below. At first I was climbing slowly down the canyon, tripping a few times. Then if felt like I was rappelling, and eventually like I suddenly just base-jumped (with a parachute). But it seems that I’ve hit a rock sticking out from the side of the cliff without deploying the parachute. My legs are broken, I can’t move, and I’m not really advancing any farther any time soon (if not at all).
Ok enough with the figurative language/narrative. I’ve hit a wall, somewhere between ３級 (JLPT) and １級.
November 13th, 2007 at 4:34 pm
hi ho, marky here! sorry for the long delay in getting this one out. it turned out being 3 podcasts in all, everyone’s questions were asked. one of the main reasons for the delay is that Yano sensei spoke primarily in Japanese, so we had to transcribe and translate a LOT of conversation. advanced students probably won’t have a problem following it, but i’m sure newbies will appreciate the transcription and translation.
anyways, very sorry for the delay and the first installment is scheduled for 12/5. the 2nd and 3rd installments will be out in may. hope it’s worth the wait!
marky