Day 9: Tuesday 9 June
Replying To Comments
Studying the comments, then putting the suggestions into annotations and listening to myself again and comparing it with the correction in order to put the annotation in - is, I think, the main thing which will help me learn in this exercise.
So I've decided not to reply to the comments fully in Japanese. I think if I did that it would take the focus away from the main point. I hope people don't mind me writing in English - and I hope they understand it's not laziness ... I just want to keep the focus of this experiment.
My Mistakes From English
It's interesting that a lot of my mistakes come from English. Well, like you'd expect. But I find those mistakes very interesting. It's like ahhh, we say it like this in English, but you don't say it like that in Japanese ... (picture lightbulb above head).
Mistakes That I Know Vs Don't Know
Some of the mistakes I'm making I know that they're mistakes and for some reason they randomly slip out. Other mistakes I have no idea that that is the wrong way / or unnatural way to say it.
Failure As A Tool
Just found this blog post through a Tweet ... explains the theory behind my experiment better than I can.
http://victorymanual.com/youre-wrong-deal-with-it/
vocab/expressions
工事 こうじ (vlog#1)
I didn't know 工事 was also for painting etc. I thought it was just for construction.
高圧 こうあつ high pressure (vlog#1)
Someone left a comment saying that 強い水 wasn't natural.
という訳で instead of とにかく (vlog#2)
＊ I think one of the hardest things in language learning is knowing when to use words like transition words. As I said in a comment: I think I say とにかく because I say anyway a lot in English when I want to return to the main thing I'm talking about. I'm going to try using という訳で.
も あって (vlog#2)
bizdna left this comment:
編集した人のおかげで・・ 間違っていませんが狭い表現で意味が強くなります
編集した人のおかげ も あって・・ より広い表現になります
This made me think of when you're speaking another language sometimes you sound stupid because you don't know how to express subtle things like this - making things sound more general or more specific.
For example, the difference between saying, "Japanese people eat rice every day" and "Japanese people usually eat rice every day".
休まないで始めると (vlog#3)
はじまるのがはやすぎると
→やすまないではじめると
Interesting. A mistake from English ... this is how I would say it in English: If I start again too early. So that's what I tried to say in Japanese. But that is obviously not the natural way to say it in Japanese.
断定的 vs 推定的 (vlog #3)
断定 だんてい conclusion, decision
推定 すいてい estimate, estimation
かぜが治るのが 長くなる から （断定的） ⇒
かぜがぶり返す かもしれない から （推定的）
という表現がありますよ。
Very interesting! Another one of those nuances that is the difference between sounding stupid and sounding normal/reasonable/thoughtful.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Day 6 thoughts
Day 6: Saturday 6 June
Annotations
The YouTube annotation system is soooo great for this exercise! It's really easy to use and to put them at the right time. And the process of putting the annotations in is what really makes me remember - and learn from - the mistakes.
If I just made the video, uploaded it and then read the comments ... I would just read them and think, oh OK that was a mistake and probably quickly forget about it. But when I put the annotations in, I'm forced to listen to myself again and and compare it with the correction that I'm writing in ... and it really makes it stick! Yay for the YouTube annotation system!
When it first came out I thought, "Oh, that's nice, but I don't really have a use for it" - and I don't really with The Daily English Show - but for this exercise it's fantastic.
2 minutes
I think the two minute time length is perfect. It's long enough me to say something (a story, an opinion etc) - and produce enough language for there to be something to work on. If the time was too short, I might not say enough for there to be many mistakes to work with. If the time was too long, it would perhaps be too overwhelming. Also the time length helps with the motivation to continue - and to start in the first place. I really don't have time because I'm so busy with tdes - but I just think, "Oh, it's only 2 minutes", and it doesn't seem like a burden. The corrections are also manageable too.
1 month
I think the one month time frame is also the right length. I think it's good to have a fixed-length of time.
Side effect - vocab from comments
An important part of the project is reading the comments to learn from the mistakes people point out. So I look up the words that I don't understand and learn some new words in the process. Great! I've decided to keep a note of them in this blog.
ます形
I mentioned in video #2 that I wasn't sure about when to use the masu form. There are several reasons for this. You don't just use all masu form or all not masu form - it's mixed up. It's the same in English - if you're in a business meeting you don't use 100 percent formal words and if you're will friends you don't use 100 percent slang - you mix it up as a kind of package to transmit your message with the right mood that fits the situation or the point/feeling you're trying to convey.
In Japanese, I seem to do OK in super formal or super casual situations - but when it's kind of in between, I get a bit lost.
As for this situation, talking to a camera ... is it formal or not? I don't know the people watching, so perhaps I should be formal. Then again, I don't want to come across as some gushy, phony, nauseating TV presenter - because I can't stand that style. And, anyway, I'm not a TV presenter or an expert in anything ... I'm just a random girl sitting in small apartment on a cheap (but very stylish!) old-scribbled-on-by-children couch rambling on about nothing in broken Japanese.
And another thing: I'm talking to the camera, which is an old, half-broken (the screen and rewind functions only work when they feel like it) pile of poo ... not deserving of my masu kei, surely! Kidding, of course, I know I'm really talking to the people watching.
Finally, though, I do understand how it looks really bad coming across as too casual in the wrong situation. Like when I meet a Japanese person for the first time and they use a lot of slang or say "fuck" in the wrong place/situation ... I think hmmm ... it would probably be better to just stick to simple, clear English until you get to a pretty high level, and then you can start throwing a few fucks in here and there - in the right places - to give spice your language up a bit.
So I guess that's the essence of the feedback people have given me about using ます形。And I've decided to take their advice and go with that for now. I'll be aiming for an overall polite level ... but again, that doesn't mean you should finish everything with です・ます... it's a mixture, as I said, so I'm sure I'll still make a lot of mistakes with getting the mixture right.
And, at the end of the day, I don't want to over think it. I think this falls into the nuance category - something with will naturally improve overtime but not something to focus on so much that it stalls you and keeps you from taking risks, speaking more and more, making mistakes etc
vocab
腹痛 ふくつう stomachache
目安 めやす aim
怠い だるい dull, sluggish, weary
川沿い かわぞい
川沿いに along a river
川沿いの道 a riverside path
質の高い しつのたかい good quality
設定 せってい establishment
設定する establish, set up, create ...
指摘 してき point out
Annotations
The YouTube annotation system is soooo great for this exercise! It's really easy to use and to put them at the right time. And the process of putting the annotations in is what really makes me remember - and learn from - the mistakes.
If I just made the video, uploaded it and then read the comments ... I would just read them and think, oh OK that was a mistake and probably quickly forget about it. But when I put the annotations in, I'm forced to listen to myself again and and compare it with the correction that I'm writing in ... and it really makes it stick! Yay for the YouTube annotation system!
When it first came out I thought, "Oh, that's nice, but I don't really have a use for it" - and I don't really with The Daily English Show - but for this exercise it's fantastic.
2 minutes
I think the two minute time length is perfect. It's long enough me to say something (a story, an opinion etc) - and produce enough language for there to be something to work on. If the time was too short, I might not say enough for there to be many mistakes to work with. If the time was too long, it would perhaps be too overwhelming. Also the time length helps with the motivation to continue - and to start in the first place. I really don't have time because I'm so busy with tdes - but I just think, "Oh, it's only 2 minutes", and it doesn't seem like a burden. The corrections are also manageable too.
1 month
I think the one month time frame is also the right length. I think it's good to have a fixed-length of time.
Side effect - vocab from comments
An important part of the project is reading the comments to learn from the mistakes people point out. So I look up the words that I don't understand and learn some new words in the process. Great! I've decided to keep a note of them in this blog.
ます形
I mentioned in video #2 that I wasn't sure about when to use the masu form. There are several reasons for this. You don't just use all masu form or all not masu form - it's mixed up. It's the same in English - if you're in a business meeting you don't use 100 percent formal words and if you're will friends you don't use 100 percent slang - you mix it up as a kind of package to transmit your message with the right mood that fits the situation or the point/feeling you're trying to convey.
In Japanese, I seem to do OK in super formal or super casual situations - but when it's kind of in between, I get a bit lost.
As for this situation, talking to a camera ... is it formal or not? I don't know the people watching, so perhaps I should be formal. Then again, I don't want to come across as some gushy, phony, nauseating TV presenter - because I can't stand that style. And, anyway, I'm not a TV presenter or an expert in anything ... I'm just a random girl sitting in small apartment on a cheap (but very stylish!) old-scribbled-on-by-children couch rambling on about nothing in broken Japanese.
And another thing: I'm talking to the camera, which is an old, half-broken (the screen and rewind functions only work when they feel like it) pile of poo ... not deserving of my masu kei, surely! Kidding, of course, I know I'm really talking to the people watching.
Finally, though, I do understand how it looks really bad coming across as too casual in the wrong situation. Like when I meet a Japanese person for the first time and they use a lot of slang or say "fuck" in the wrong place/situation ... I think hmmm ... it would probably be better to just stick to simple, clear English until you get to a pretty high level, and then you can start throwing a few fucks in here and there - in the right places - to give spice your language up a bit.
So I guess that's the essence of the feedback people have given me about using ます形。And I've decided to take their advice and go with that for now. I'll be aiming for an overall polite level ... but again, that doesn't mean you should finish everything with です・ます... it's a mixture, as I said, so I'm sure I'll still make a lot of mistakes with getting the mixture right.
And, at the end of the day, I don't want to over think it. I think this falls into the nuance category - something with will naturally improve overtime but not something to focus on so much that it stalls you and keeps you from taking risks, speaking more and more, making mistakes etc
vocab
腹痛 ふくつう stomachache
目安 めやす aim
怠い だるい dull, sluggish, weary
川沿い かわぞい
川沿いに along a river
川沿いの道 a riverside path
質の高い しつのたかい good quality
設定 せってい establishment
設定する establish, set up, create ...
指摘 してき point out
Friday, June 5, 2009
Day 5 thoughts
Day 5: Friday 5 June
Feedback
Many of the comments so far have been about the project itself - rather than pointing out mistakes. People saying the project is pointless, it would be better done differently etc. Interesting to see different people's opinions and their attitude to language learning. So far no "please die" type of comments. Sweet!
Correction Style
I didn't state my preference for corrections - maybe I should have, or maybe I should have put it in the description. I prefer: normal Japanese (including kanji). If I don't understand the kanji, it's easy enough to look it up. Putting in the time is also a big help. Some people have written the corrections in a very clear, easy to understand style which is great!
Side effect - more interested in speaking Japanese
I seem to be more enthusiastic about speaking Japanese since this has begun. I'm asking people what words mean etc.
Side effect - thinking more about level of correction
Remembering again how too much correction in lessons can be overwhelming for the student and be pointless. Just the right level of correction is an art.
Feedback
Many of the comments so far have been about the project itself - rather than pointing out mistakes. People saying the project is pointless, it would be better done differently etc. Interesting to see different people's opinions and their attitude to language learning. So far no "please die" type of comments. Sweet!
Correction Style
I didn't state my preference for corrections - maybe I should have, or maybe I should have put it in the description. I prefer: normal Japanese (including kanji). If I don't understand the kanji, it's easy enough to look it up. Putting in the time is also a big help. Some people have written the corrections in a very clear, easy to understand style which is great!
Side effect - more interested in speaking Japanese
I seem to be more enthusiastic about speaking Japanese since this has begun. I'm asking people what words mean etc.
Side effect - thinking more about level of correction
Remembering again how too much correction in lessons can be overwhelming for the student and be pointless. Just the right level of correction is an art.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Day 4 thoughts
Day 4: Thursday 4 June 2009
Hey. I thought I'd write a blog about how the experiment is going, what I learn etc.
Annotations
Today I started annotating the videos with the corrections that people have left. I think putting the annotations in the videos helps me learn from the mistakes more than just reading them.
Announcements
Yesterday I announced the experiment on tdes and some people checked it out and left nice comments :) I also announced it on Twitter - and several people were very supportive and said it was a great idea :) Today knf announced it in Mixi and a few people were interested and came and checked it out.
Emoticons
I just tried to find a Japanese emoticon to express my thanks for a nice comment and spent several minutes looking at lists of emoticons (called emoji or kaomoji) and eventually decided on this one:
☆⌒（*＾▽゜）vありが㌧
Cute, but not too much. Wow, there are some craaaazily long ones ... does anyone actually understand ones like this:
(ﾉ･ω･)ﾉﾖﾛヾ(･ω･ヾ)ｼｸ(σ･Д･)σﾈ★(^▽^笑)
http://kaomojiya.com/
http://emoji.vis.ne.jp/
Hey. I thought I'd write a blog about how the experiment is going, what I learn etc.
Annotations
Today I started annotating the videos with the corrections that people have left. I think putting the annotations in the videos helps me learn from the mistakes more than just reading them.
Announcements
Yesterday I announced the experiment on tdes and some people checked it out and left nice comments :) I also announced it on Twitter - and several people were very supportive and said it was a great idea :) Today knf announced it in Mixi and a few people were interested and came and checked it out.
Emoticons
I just tried to find a Japanese emoticon to express my thanks for a nice comment and spent several minutes looking at lists of emoticons (called emoji or kaomoji) and eventually decided on this one:
☆⌒（*＾▽゜）vありが㌧
Cute, but not too much. Wow, there are some craaaazily long ones ... does anyone actually understand ones like this:
(ﾉ･ω･)ﾉﾖﾛヾ(･ω･ヾ)ｼｸ(σ･Д･)σﾈ★(^▽^笑)
http://kaomojiya.com/
http://emoji.vis.ne.jp/
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