Final Reflection

For the last half of the semester, I really enjoyed when the grammar topics picked up and sped forward, forcing me to think carefully and deliberately before speaking. Unlike other grammar forms I had learned before, this time, the new たら、ておく、and てある forms didn’t naturally blurt out of my mouth, and I had to think carefully and slowly, which changed the way I approached Japanese.

My first goal was slowing down and focusing on fluidity and rhythm over speed. Now, especially with the new content, I find myself still fixated on the correctness of what I’m saying, which has definitely helped me speak more slowly and deliberately. I feel like I have achieved this goal, and have noticed that I’m ruminating much more on what I say, before and after, always with correctness and smaller details in mind.

I still talk to both my parents in Japanese, a goal I’ve somewhat kept. I wish I had more time to dedicate to these calls, and that is something I’ll be working on not just now, but for the rest of my life, as long as I’m speaking with my parents. I haven’t been so proactive in listening to Japanese music, and am looking forward to doing this in Ishikawa.

My second goal was perfecting the “he” shape. I’m still not there yet, I felt lost and disoriented, and didn’t know exactly what to do for a long time, especially since I had no reference (besides OJAD’s Suzuki-san’s robotic voice). Listening to Shibata sensei’s audio feedback in SE, however, was very helpful, and I think that I have definitely ended the semester with a better idea of what my Japanese should sound like (even if the sounds haven’t yet fully forme din my mouth). I’m more comfortable changing my register when speaking Japanese, I’ve just accepted that my voice will change, and I saw this in the freeform conversation I recorded with Brown-san and in the speech recordings. My double vowels are also more deliberate now, although I still have to keep working on that.

I’m looking forward to being in Japan this summer, for this will help me work on my listening, something I was lacking this semester. I’ve noticed that listening has been extremely helpful, as I tend to mirror the way my grandmother and teachers speak quite often.

My last goal was to be more expressive. The speech process has definitely shown me that I have made progress towards it. I think this last half of the semester, I’ve finally let myself have some fun in Japanese, which has made the assignments and drills more enjoyable, and as a consequence, made me more comfortable expressing emotion in Japanese (this might also be just because we have now acquired a broader range of things to say).

PII will be a great opportunity to continue practicing casual conversation. For future goals, I want to be able to be myself, my own personality, even when speaking only Japanese.

Overall, I’ve ended this semester feeling much more comfortable speaking Japanese. 102 has helped me break down everything I new at an unconscious level, and made me more aware of the mistakes in my spoken Japanese and encouraged me to be more thoughtful and conscientious of my use of the language. Thank you Shibata Sensei, Tokumasu Sensei and Sato Sensei! I’m looking forward for the weeks to come.

 

日本に行ったら。。。

日本に行ったら、ブラジル人ですから、たくさんのじゅんびしておかなければいけません。いく前に、パスポートをとったなければいけなくて、おばあさんと話せるように、日本語を勉強しなければいけません。日本に行った時にお父さんに会いたいです。お父さんと日本料理を作りたくてたくさんの映画をみたいです。

おばあさんはふくしまけんにすんでいます。おばあさんと毎朝早く起きて日本の朝ごはんを食べます。大好き！ふくしまけんはきれいな山があるから、おばあさんと山登りたいです。８０歳いだけど、おばあさんはとても元気です。

そして、東京にすんでいる友達に会いたいです。バーゴとファイファーさんは私のブラジルの高校の英語の先生でした。今、東京のアメリカ高校で働いているから、東京に住んでいます。バーゴとァイファーさんとびじゅつかんに行きたいです。

体にいいこと：まめ

私のダイエットにたくさん豆のしゅるい(type of beans)があります。家族が日本から来たから、りょうりにたくさんだいず(soybeans)を使います。とうふやなっとうやえだまめやとにゅう(soy milk)やみそを食べます。豆はたくさんプロテインがあるから、体にとてもいいです。ブラジルりょうりには、たくさんのレンズ豆(lentils)とくろまめを使います。ご飯とくろまめはとてもゆめなブラジルりょうりです。日本りょうりでも、白米(white rice)と豆の料理があります。時々、お母さんはもちとあんこのあまいものを作ります。

ブラジルのごはんとくろまめ

プリンストンでは、ブラジルと日本のまめをあまりないけど、毎日 ひよこ豆(chickpeas)を食べます。ウィルコクスの学食でよくフムスとひよこ豆のサラダがあります。

インターネットによると、たくさん豆を食べたら、たくさんおなら(fart)をはきます。知りません。けれども、体にとてもいいですから、毎日豆を食べたの方がいいですよ！

ジェーリビーンズもおいしいですね！

Midterm Goals

I started the semester worried about catching up to all the Japanese I’d had forgotten. However, the class’ drills have been a great opportunity to reinforce a lot of content I had learned a lot of time ago, and I’ve realized that the real challenge is in the details. My goals have changed.

1. Goal: Improving and regulating speed and fluidity  Slow down, and focus on fluidity and rhythm over speed

Speeding up hasn’t been a problem for me so far. More than stuttering, the problem posed by speed is that I end up repeating old mistakes which have been drilled into my mind over time. I want to continue working on being more deliberate and intentional. I want work on slowing down without compromising fluidity and rhythm (got to master walking before I can run), and pausing to nit pick at the mistakes I keep making.

Action:

I’ve managed to keep up with my biweekly calls to my father. However, because he is a much more advanced speaker, and the pace in which we speak in Portuguese is much faster, I often find myself stumbling over my Japanese, a habit I’m trying to get rid of. Instead, I’ve noticed that speaking to my mom, whose Japanese is a bit closer to my level, has been more helpful, as she also answers more slowly to me too. I want to keep doing that this semester. I’ve also been listening to Japanese music, but mostly from bands and rappers I already know. I’d like to expand my breadth and subscribe to more Japanese music on iTunes.

2. Goal: Perfecting the double vowels  Working on the up and down tones, the “he” shape!

How does one perfect the pitches in Japanese without increasing the overall pitch of your voice by 2919231203 decibels? That is a challenge I’m still trying to figure out. I’m pretty happy with my work with double vowels, practicing kanji has been very useful in that. Thus, pronunciation wise, in the future I’d like to work on my tones.

Action:

Listening to more music and exposing myself to more anime, listening, listening, listening. And putting more effort in drills and with my parents to be more expressive, which means overcoming my shyness and perhaps even changing the way I usually speak (my speech is usually dry and monotone).

3. Goal: Being expressive. <– This goal blends perfectly with the goal above.

[I’m keeping this goal the same for the second half of the semester, as it is something I still need to work on]

Especially in casual conversation, finding the right sounds that in Japan, express awe, or amusement, or excitement is both a question of learning the right “vocabulary” and practicing its pronunciation and acquainting oneself with the customs and mannerisms of the culture.

Action:

Watching other people be expressive in Japanese (Sato sensei  Suzuki san is great at this!) has proven to be more useful than practicing in itself. I’d like to perhaps start watching DeathNote (a friend recommended it to me) or continue listening to more Japanese music.

春夏み

春休みに、ボストンに初めて行った。私のダンスのグループと行きました。１４人いました。みんなは一緒に家に一ついました。天気が良くなかったです。毎日、くもっていって、雨がふっていました。とても寒かったです！けれども、とてもたのしかったです。毎日10時間ぐらい寝ました。

M.I.T.とハーバードのキャンパスを見に行きました。キャンパスで、おいしいものをたべたり、ダンスをしたり、友達に会ったりしました。M.I.T.で高校で会った友達に会いました。かのじょはコンピュータサイエンスを勉強しています。

ボストンの中でゆうめいなカノーリやに行きました。カノーリはとても大きくて、あまくて、おもかったです。今まだ、おなかが痛いです！

毎晩、一緒に帰って、晩ごはんを作りました。

ビデオブログ：セネガルの家族

私のセネガルの家族 from MC Otani on Vimeo.

中休み

１月２４日から２月５日まで、大学の休みありました。プリンストンで休んでいました。ランチのプランをもっているのをわすれましたから、毎日ブランチとよるごはんをつくりました。ともだちとケーキとブラジルりょうりをつくりました。とてもおもしろかったです。あさごはんに、タピオカをつくりました。タピオカはブラジルのパンケーキみたいです。キャッサバです。タピオカの中に、あまいものとしょっぱいものを入れます。とてもおいしいです。

肉のタピオカ

土曜日、バージニアにくるまで行きました。バージニアの山とそらはとてもきれいです。たのしかったです。

ビルジーニアの青い山

PE Goals

Goal: Next time I go visit family, take the metro, sit down, and be like these folks above. Feeling totally inconspicuous, just another person commuting from work.

 

 

It’s been about 6 months since I last practiced Japanese. Starting JPN with full force this semester has made this first week of classes and exciting and eventful one (and in truth, just a little bit daunting). Here, I’ll be penning down my PE goals which will help me accompany my progress throughout the upcoming weeks.

1. Goal: Improving and regulating speed and fluidity

My previous experience with Japanese (and drills with my grandmother in Fukushima) has left me with confidence in some sentence structures and vocabulary, and I’ve noticed that I tend to quickly rush through them in my speech. The problem is when I combine them with new vocabulary and new grammar, where I find myself rushing and stuttering in different places, making it more difficult to understand. This semester, I want to foster a more deliberate thought process before speaking, making sure to string my words together and have a comprehensive rhythm to my speech.

Action:

To speed up, and get new vocabulary and grammar into the automatic gear, I want to drill, out loud, the new content with my father during our weekly FaceTime calls (he lives in Osaka), and practice integrating it into conversation. I also want to stay aware of my habit of drifting of and mumbling and giving up on complicated sentences when I can’t think of them fast enough, and push myself to power through when I stumble through them in conversations with my father and peers. I also want to practice my pace by listening to (and singing along) to more Japanese music! I want to listen to a different album every two weeks, and learn the songs.

2. Goal: Perfecting the double vowels

Turns out that understanding and hearing the double constants makes all the difference in learning new vocabulary and kanji, especially when there is a ちゅう or ちゅ or しょ or しょう involved. I have such a hard time telling them apart!

Action:

When practicing aloud, I will make special emphasis on drilling and exaggerating the double vowels. In my kanji and vocabulary flash cards, I will make special markers to indicate the presence of double vowels/short vowels.

3. Goal: Being expressive.

Especially in casual conversation, finding the right sounds that in Japan, express awe, or amusement, or excitement is both a question of learning the right “vocabulary” and practicing its pronunciation and acquainting oneself with the customs and mannerisms of the culture.

Action:

This requires me speaking to as many Japanese people as possible. I hope to start with my dad, and get early to classes to talk to my professors and throughout the semester, attend office hours.

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