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Update: I finished it, and I definitely still recommend it!!! If you start watching it and aren’t hooked in the beginning, wait a couple episodes and I promise it’ll blow your mind. I’ll refrain from further thoughts because I don’t want to spoil it.

To all my Japanese learners- this Netflix show is SO good. One episode had me hooked. I think significantly more effective to watch live action in your target language over watching animated content, because you can see the way people actually talk. So I’m very thankful that I found this show :)

#learning japanese #learn japanese #language study #japanese langblr #japanese language #first love hatsukoi

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verbally stringing together a sentence in a foreign language fr feels like you’re trying to find items in a dark room that you’re only vaguely familiar with and you’re just blindly feeling around for them.

so… when are the lights supposed to finally turn on?

#dw i’m not getting discouraged #this thought i had resonates with me so much #japanese langblr #langblr #learn japanese #japanese language #jlptn5 #japanese #language study #self study japanese #language exchange

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the extreme she/they urge to use 僕 [ぼく] instead of 私 [わたし] when referring to yourself

#i can’t tell if this is too niche #japanese language #she/they

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Guys i’m really fighting in the trenches right now. Please pray for me.

(i’m just trying to type in japanese using a latin keyboard)

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To all my Japanese learners- this Netflix show is SO good. One episode had me hooked. I think significantly more effective to watch live action in your target language over watching animated content, because you can see the way people actually talk. So I’m very thankful that I found this show :)

#japanese langblr #langblr #learn japanese #japanese language #japanese #jdrama #japanese tv

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I can't get a sentence out!

I've been going to a Japanese conversation club once a week for about two months. It's been really great to meet fluent speakers and make friends. It feels really good to be surrounded by the language, and it feels validating to discuss Japanese learning experiences with other beginners.

For a beginner, I'm pretty decent at writing and reading. However, speaking in Japanese in real-time conversation has been one of the hardest things I've ever attempted.

I know that I have the ability to construct many different types of sentences in Japanese. But when someone asks me a question in Japanese, even when I completely understand what they're saying, I can't get the words out to respond.

Of course, part of it is nervousness, but I think I've gotten over a lot of my fear of being imperfect. I've gotten the chance to meet very kind native Japanese speakers who are excited to help me, so I feel more at ease.

I think my problem is that I'm so used to staring at a book and actually seeing the words and structures. But when it's time to speak, I feel vague words floating around in my brain, and it takes me a lot of time to mentally map out the structure of the sentence. The spontaneity trips me up. When this whole situation occurs, anxiety starts to build because I know that the person sitting opposite of me is awaiting my response. I overthink a lot, but I have no idea how to stop.

I'm no fool- I know that the only way to overcome this is to keep trying. But I don't feel as though my once-a-week group sessions are giving me enough practice. I need more practice, and I want to somehow figure out a way to do speaking practice on my own to build my confidence in speaking with others.

So, I'm here to ask anyone willing to help; what are some creative ways you've practiced speaking a second language when you can't speak to a person face-to-face? How did you overcome the inability to get the words out when in conversation with others?

Or maybe you can tell me your experience with this topic so I feel less alone. I really don't want to let this make me feel defeated. I know I'll get past this eventually, but I don't know where to start.

#jlptn5 #learn japanese #japanese #language study #japanese language #langblr #japanese langblr #foreign languages #speaking japanese

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Oh my goodness, these words are exactly what I needed. Thank you for your honesty and encouragement.

Although our situations aren't perfectly aligned, you seemed to have gone into your experience with a similar skill level as I currently have, so that brings me comfort. I was worried that it would be a waste of time to go to a language exchange at my level, so it helps to know that you felt it was useful for you. It will be so important to be around real people speaking real Japanese, even if I can't give too much input. I hope they understand that I am getting value out of just hearing them all talk :)

It's also a good reminder to hear that the people that go to language exchanges are prepared to help people learn. I'm trying to imagine if the tables were turned and I was assisting English learners at an English language exchange, I would be happy to help and non-judgemental of mistakes. It would bring me joy to help people learn my language.

When you said, "It's rare for someone to participate in a language exchange with intentions of teasing the people trying to learn." that really resonated with me. Being anxious about judgment seems silly when I think of it in those terms. That would be pretty pathetic if people had any intention of making fun of me for being a beginner.

Please don't worry about your response being "long-winded", it was perfect. I myself tend to get concerned about being wordy in anything I write, as you can probably tell. But you were perfectly thorough, which was what I needed.

Perhaps I'll put an update on my blog after my first session! :)

Advice on Language Exchange as a Beginner?

Hi! I need some advice. This is an inquiry for everyone on langblr regardless of target language.

To set the stage, I am a beginner in Japanese. I’m currently completing Lesson 7 of the Genki curriculum. I’m pretty sure that’s like halfway to being able to pass JLPT N5. If those reference points don’t mean anything to you, I think I’m at an equivalent to A2 level if we’re going by Common European Framework standards.

I was notified of the opportunity to attend a weekly in-person group Japanese language exchange. This group is made for native Japanese speakers and people learning Japanese to converse in Japanese. As someone who has few opportunities to converse in Japanese, let alone with anyone at a higher level than me, this seems like an obvious thing to try.

I’m quite nervous. I already can hear the comments of “just go! what’s the worst that could happen?” but as a socially anxious person, I want to feel prepared before I go. I’ll list out some of my concerns, and hopefully someone with experience in this realm can give me advice or consolation?

1. What if most of the people there are fluent/native Japanese speakers and I’m the odd one out who is trying to keep up? To my knowledge, the person who formed this group is a native speaker, so I’m worried of this possibility. How can I make the most of this potential situation without feeling like I’m dragging the group down?

2. What specific phrases should I prepare myself with that may be relevant in this exchange situation? What do I do if someone says something to me that I have trouble understanding?

3. How can I make the most out of a situation like this without it being awkward? Perhaps there’s no getting around the awkwardness and I just need to accept it… let me know.

Bottom line, I know that I need to at least try going to this club. One of the main points of learning a language is being able to communicate with others, so it feels silly to skip out on this just because I’m not confident yet. If I want to get better at speaking, I need to speak, duh! I should be accepting as many opportunities to be exposed to Japanese as possible.

I would like to arm myself with the knowledge I need to make the most of this experience. Please, please, feel free to enlighten me with any wisdom you have. Thank you in advance!

#japanese langblr #japanese language #japanese study #language exchange #japanese language exchange #langblr

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Advice on Language Exchange as a Beginner?

Hi! I need some advice. This is an inquiry for everyone on langblr regardless of target language.

To set the stage, I am a beginner in Japanese. I’m currently completing Lesson 7 of the Genki curriculum. I’m pretty sure that’s like halfway to being able to pass JLPT N5. If those reference points don’t mean anything to you, I think I’m at an equivalent to A2 level if we’re going by Common European Framework standards.

I was notified of the opportunity to attend a weekly in-person group Japanese language exchange. This group is made for native Japanese speakers and people learning Japanese to converse in Japanese. As someone who has few opportunities to converse in Japanese, let alone with anyone at a higher level than me, this seems like an obvious thing to try.

I’m quite nervous. I already can hear the comments of “just go! what’s the worst that could happen?” but as a socially anxious person, I want to feel prepared before I go. I’ll list out some of my concerns, and hopefully someone with experience in this realm can give me advice or consolation?

1. What if most of the people there are fluent/native Japanese speakers and I’m the odd one out who is trying to keep up? To my knowledge, the person who formed this group is a native speaker, so I’m worried of this possibility. How can I make the most of this potential situation without feeling like I’m dragging the group down?

2. What specific phrases should I prepare myself with that may be relevant in this exchange situation? What do I do if someone says something to me that I have trouble understanding?

3. How can I make the most out of a situation like this without it being awkward? Perhaps there’s no getting around the awkwardness and I just need to accept it… let me know.

Bottom line, I know that I need to at least try going to this club. One of the main points of learning a language is being able to communicate with others, so it feels silly to skip out on this just because I’m not confident yet. If I want to get better at speaking, I need to speak, duh! I should be accepting as many opportunities to be exposed to Japanese as possible.

I would like to arm myself with the knowledge I need to make the most of this experience. Please, please, feel free to enlighten me with any wisdom you have. Thank you in advance!

#langblr #language study #language exchange #language learning #learn japanese #japanese langblr #japanese language #japanese #genki1 #jlptn5

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Thank you everyone who got me to 1000 reblogs lmaoooo

this exchange will never not be funny to me

#tumblr milestone #thank you #1000 reblogs

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They’re are Katakana characters:

シ = shi

ツ = tsu

ソ = so

ン = n (or m or ŋ depending on context)

ノ = no

ワ = wa

フ = fu

… and there are 39 more :)

this exchange will never not be funny to me

#and then there’s hiragana #and kanji #but that’s a whole other story

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this exchange will never not be funny to me

#japanese langblr #langblr #learn japanese #japanese language #japanese #language study #katakana

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last pic is an actual photograph of my brain after learning what 39 means

#learning japanese #japanese langblr

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just realized i never responded to this, but i’ve looked into it and thought a bit about it since seeing this reply. honestly… i might try. i’ve actually started to really enjoy the artistry of kanji. :)

Welcome to learning Japanese with a neurodivergent brain! Today we will be compulsively writing the same kanji character over-and-over until it looks exactly like the example in the textbook. Tomorrow we will be spending three straight hours studying until we are burnt out for the rest of the week.

#kanji #shodō

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ooo sounds cool! this might be a stretch, would you have an idea of the @‘s for these people? or do you happen to know what hashtags I should search for? if not, i can try to figure it out :) thank you!

Does anyone have tips on finding a penpal that’s fluent in your target language? I would love to find a Japanese penpal, especially one who’s learning English so we can both get practice. :)

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Does anyone have tips on finding a penpal that’s fluent in your target language? I would love to find a Japanese penpal, especially one who’s learning English so we can both get practice. :)

#penpal #japan penpal #japanese langblr #langblr #learn japanese #japanese language #japanese #english langblr #learn english #英語勉強

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Having my Japanese professor (who is a native Chinese speaker) compliment my Kanji handwriting has got to be one of the best compliments I’ve received in a long time 😭😭😭

#kanji #learn kanji #chinese language #japanese langblr #japanese #jlptn5 #language study #langblr

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Nine People I Want to Know Better!

thank you @burgeoning-ambition for tagging me :)

Last Song: Interesting enough, it appears that my last song was 夜に駆ける by YOASOBI. I do this thing sometimes where I cruise around town while playing Japanese music in my car and trying to follow the words (even if I don’t understand all of them). It’s also nice when I’m listening to a song and I suddenly realize that I understood what they sang at a certain part. It’s just another fun way I like to fit Japanese into my life!

Last Show: It’s been almost a month I last got into a TV show. I was attempting to begin Bungo Stray Dogs a few weeks ago but haven’t found the time to continue it. The last show I finished must have been The Morning Show earlier this month. It’s addicting and Billy Crudup is just really hot in the show. And before that, it might have been Banana Fish (which was so incredibly good, I highly recommend).

Currently Watching: I’m trying to push through the Evangelion rebuilds right now. I’ve already seen the first three and half of the final one before, but I never finished the last one because I wanted to savor it (apparently it’s a really satisfying ending). So right now I’m rewatching them all. As a mega-fan of Neon Genesis Evangelion, I have quite some polarizing thoughts about the rebuilds of Evangelion, but I digress. Once I’m done, I’ll probably rewatch NGE because I think I’m just back in my Evangelion hyper-fixation phase.

Currently Reading: The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami. I am kind of a mega-fan of Murakami books, if you could even call me one. I’ve told myself that I want to read all of his books before I’m thirty (that gives me a lot of time). This is apparently considered to be one of his very best, and I’m quite enjoying it. I’d say I’m probably 3/4ths of the way through it. Maybe I’ll finish it on my red-eye flight tomorrow.

It feels quite funny to look back on all of my answers and see Japanese influences popping up into all of them. This is just the way I keep myself engaged and motivated to continue my studies. If I had no Japanese influence outside of my language studies, I’d probably lose interest really quickly. So it’s good that Japan’s culture and media is endlessly engaging for me.

Tagging:

@kohi-kumo @jpn-langblr @maicamochichan @amistudyblr @onigiriwithambitions @maimae @soph-jpn @nordic-language-love @makichanjapan

#japanese langblr #tag #tag game #get to know the blogger #get to know me #langblr