This is a work in progress ... but here's a blog!
2016年09月08日
みなさこんにちわ！これは私のPEのgoalsです〜
１）Improve pronunciation. Perhaps this goes without saying, but I'd like to focus on training my ears this semester in Japanese. That is, I'd like to be able to visualize the Hiragana spelling of new vocabulary, and catch the nuanced rhythm, pitch, and intonation of words and phrases with more ease. When learning a new language, native fluency is never a goal of mine, as I know it will never be obtainable. But, I'd eventually like to work in Japan, and in order to do so, I must pay particular attention to the basic building blocks of the language: phonetics.
２）Attend日本語table every week. Because I generally do not have any Tuesday night obligations (and also I live in Mathey), I have no excuse to not show up for the extra Japanese speaking practice! I went through a similar experience with Chinese table - at first, to speak Chinese for an hour when my vocabulary was limited to "Hello, my name is" (こんにちわ、私の名前は／你好，我的名字是。。。) was a daunting task (and, honestly, seemed a little pointless). A year later, however, I look forward to every Chinese table I attend, and I want that same level of excitement and comfort with Japanese. So, every week it is.
３）Practice. Of course that's necessary to learn any new skill. But I have an abundance of resources available to me: office hours, native Japanese friends, Japanese table, Japanese Student Association -- the list goes on. I encounter Japanese in my life every day outside of class, and it's really easy to say, "I don't know anything yet; I'll wait until my Japanese gets better to practice with them". But learning a language doesn't happen overnight; it's a gradual process that involves a lot of mistakes and even more patience. So, I won't hesitate to slip Japanese into my everyday life.
４）Ask questions. As a continuation of point 3, we won't learn if we never ask our questions. So, I'll ask.
５）And on that note, office hours. One thing I've learned from the Chinese Department is the importance of one-on-one sessions with an instructor. I hesitate to commit myself to a certain number of visits, but once every 2 weeks is a number I'll hesitantly post for the rest of the world to see. Ask me how well I did at the end of the semester.
６）Keep track of my progress: Did I go to office hours? Did I skip a language table? What was that question I had in class -- I can't remember now!
2016年09月27日
みなさん、こんいちわ！私はライトです。これは self-introductionです。私はプリンストン大学の二年生です。せんこうは国際関係です。アメリカ人です。
Please excuse the lack of consistency between pages on this blog so far - I'm still figuring out how to use it, and may have to change the host site if I can't figure out a better blog format. Also, please ignore the pictures, as it came with the template format, and I have not had time to change it!
