I Love Technology

Let's face it. For me, technology is both a blessing and a curse. But I think even the "curse" side of it has its positives. There's a definite duality to it. The obvious downsides are it makes me WAY too sedentary. So many things I enjoy doing involve little to no movement, and technology (computers, video games, instant downloads, etc.) take a lot of movement out of so many things, such as driving to the local movie store to rent a film. Sure, it's not like you're gonna be walking a mile while traversing the walls of crap in Blockbuster, but you -are- moving!

That said, technology is absolutely wonderful. It really does bring the world to your fingertips. It's safe to say that I wouldn't know nearly as much about Japan were it not for the internet, and computers in general. There are of course things you need to take with a grain of salt when getting information from a less than reputable source, but to be able to be in contact with anyone from anywhere at any time is fascinating to me. If you stop, step back and take a look at the scope of all that, it's pretty mind boggling. A friend shared this with me some time ago, and I think it's relevant to what I'm talking about!

Did You Know: Social Media - Watch more Funny Videos

So, needless to say, technology as been instrumental in helping me learn Japanese. I've certainly not skimped on tangible objects (books, flashcards, etc) to help me learn. But also a variety of computer based programs. My most recent addition (as of 2 months ago, or so) has been "My Japanese Coach" for the Nintendo DS.

There's a variety of mini games that help reinforce the vocabulary you learn in each lesson. One thing that has been invaluable for me is the "Writing Card" function, which lets you trace over (thus far) hiragana, gradually fading out the pre-drawn image, leaving you to draw it on your own. It's fairly precise too. It counts how many strokes you've drawn (an important factor in writing them, of course), and can analyze if what you've drawn is close enough to be acceptable. It does have some flaws, yes. I've realized after drawing certain characters incorrectly (よ - yo, for example, I'd put the upper horizontal line on the other side) it still told me I was correct.

The fact that the exercises have me do these in a time limit really strains my brain, because even as well as I think I may have my kana memorized, having to recall what a particular one looks like (and draw it!) is quite challenging, and very fulfilling when I am correct! Interactivity is key when you're self teaching. Not just reading books (which are also so helpful), but getting a chance to practice and receive responses to your input is great.

 

 

Keeping Things Rollin'

A few days in and I'm staying on track. Nothing to boast about, but I'm happy that I'm keeping my motivation up! The reviewing goes smoothly. I'm still covering material I've previously gone over, but I think it's necessary to cement the information that didn't get a chance to fully take hold earlier.

I've often given thought to applying for the JET program. I approach this in the same way I approached my studying overseas in England. It would give me a real reason to spend time in Japan. It would also be a gigantic motivator towards many of my goals involving work, health, studies, etc. The next round of applications begins in September. That's not an unreasonable thought, I think. Something serious to ponder :)

-Brendan

Getting back into the swing of things.

So, it's been quite some time since my last post. And honestly, it had been some time since my last self-taught lesson, too. After the flu I found it very difficult to get back into the habit of studying. I kept going over in my head the things I'd learned, so they wouldn't fall out of use, but even that became less frequent. Much easier to do was keep up with my music listening and movie watching. I'm certainly not going to commend myself for that though, as I'd be doing it anyways!

Trouble began brewing when I'd try to recall some things that I know I had learned at one point, but then would struggle to remember. I didn't want to resort to looking it up, as I know that I'd knew it. But it wouldn't come to me. It was then that I realized I'd have to repeat my previous course to reconnect with this material. I've started that today. The good news is that out of 130 questions, I only got 4 wrong. I'm recalling the information easily, so it's not long gone from my grey matter, merely the path has become cluttered and I have to find my way again :)

It's refreshing to start this again, as I've begun feeling a bit aimless in my day to day life this past month. I think this bit of structure was something I was sorely lacking. When presented with the problems and obstacles of everyday life, it's easy to forget your long term goals and not focus on them. But if you do that, then what are you really living for? Live for the day, sure, but save for tomorrow. I want to put this knowledge to use, so as part of my New Year's Resolution, I've vowed to make strides in my language learning. That may involve taking a classroom course at some point (I have to see what's available), or just stepping up my program. We'll see.

Anyways, dear (non-existant) readers, and me, consider this my re-entry to this tiny webspace, and back to my study habits!

またね、

　ブレンダン