Japanese - End of Year Reflection PDF

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Summary

Essay on study methods and reflection of what was learned over the semester...

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Japanese&1002& 28&April&2014& 日本語のプロジェクト &

For&my&project,&my&main&goal&was&to&focus&on&kanji.&I&found&myself&struggling&

to&remember&pronunciation,&so&I&started&to&search&for&a&way&of&memorization&that& would&work&for&me.&I&explored&many&different&options,&and&the&combination&of&them& all&has&been&the&most&effective&for&me.&I&started&out&taking&a&closer&look&at&the&kanji& packets&that&we&received&with&each&new&lesson,&and&complied&an&Anki&deck&for&them.& In&having&to&manually&enter&in&all&these&new&words,&I&found&I&was&able&to&quickly&pick& up&a&few&when&I&first&began.&Anki&also&gives&its&users&the&ability&to&tag&every&card,&and& I&used&that&function&to&mark&each&card&with&information,&including&what&part&of& speech&it&was,&what&lesson&it&cam&from,&and&whether&or¬&I&already&knew&all&the& kanji&the&word&contained.&From&there&I&was&able&to&customize&my&study&time&to&fit& what&I&wanted&to&focus&on&at&any&time.&That&particularly&helped&me&learn&the& pronunciation&of&various&kanji,&because&when&I&would&focus&on&the&cards&of&kanji&I& already&knew,&I&found&myself&paying&more&attention&to&how&the&words&were& pronounced.&I&also&used&a&physical&deck&of&cards&that&contained&nearly&five&hundred& of&the&most&commonly&seen&kanji,&which&helped&me&to&learn&actually&new&kanji&than& the&Anki&deck&did.& &

Taking&my&own&interests&into&consideration&also&helped&me,&and&got&me&even&

more&excited&about&actually&furthering&my&learning.&As&a&statistics&major,&I& considered&learning&related&terminology&in&Japanese,&and&was&surprised&and&excited&

when&I&found&a&resource&for&exactly&what&I&was&looking&for.&It&has&been&a&struggle& learning&anything&because&every&word&contains&characters&I&do¬&know,&but&it& gives&me&a&chance&to&learn&new&kanji&related&to&things&I&am&interested&in.&I&have&been& fighting&my&way&through&the&list,&and&will&continue&to&until&I&make&it&to&the&end.& Having&a&finite&list&provides&goals&that&are&easier&to&picture&and&thus&easier&for&me&to& work&towards,&so&this&list&has&really&benefitted&me.&As&I&gather&these&new&kanji,&I&also& use&other&sources&to&learn&the&stroke&order,&as&well&as&other&words&that&include&them,& and&so&it&gives&me&yet&another&opportunity&to&expand&my&vocabulary.& &

Listening&was&tricky&for&me&because&it&took&a&while&to&find&anything&that&

grabbed&my&interests.&I&looked&through&a&few&resources&and&tried&watching&anime,& but¬hing&grabbed&my&attention&or&seemed&like&something&that&would&help&me.&A& friend&finally&recommended&Polar&Bear’s&Café,&which&satisfied&both&my&loves&for& talking&animals&and&coffee&shops,&and&my&desire&for&something&easy&enough&to& comprehend&but&still&gave&me&enough&of&a&challenge&to&let&me&learn&new&things.&I& have&thus&far&worked&through&a&few&dozen&episodes&and&have&found&that&my&ability& to&listen&and&comprehend&Japanese&has&improved&greatly,&and&I&have&learned&new& grammar&points&along&the&way.&I&have&also&gained&a&lot&of&new&vocabulary,& particularly&related&to&coffee&and&animals,&which&though&may¬&be&as&useful&as& other&vocabulary&I&have&learned,&has&been&a&lot&of&fun.& &

I&also&found&other&textbooks&to&be&vaguely&useful,&but&in&terms&of&learning&

these&have&done&the&least.&They&have&assisted&in&solidifying&my&understanding&of& some&grammar&points,&and&have&given&me&some&new&vocabulary&as&well,&but&beyond& that&I&feel&I&have&gained&the&least&from&reading&other&textbooks.&I&may&further&

explore&this&option&in&the&future,&however,&as&I&believe&part&of&my&disappointment& may&stem&from&the&poor&quality&of&the&textbooks&I&read.& &

Overall,&I&feel&that&I&have&made&an&incredible&amount&of&progress&in&my&

learning&this&semester,&and&am&very&proud&of&the&work&I&have&done.&I&plan&to& continue&learning&in&the&same&fashion&this&summer&and&onward,&as&well&as&pick&up& other&new&study&habits&along&the&way.&Finding&things&that&both&interest&me&and& expand&my&learning&has&given&me&new&motivation&to&learn&Japanese,&and&I&do¬& plan&on&quitting&any&time&soon.&&...