Apr 1, 2007
I have to learn Japanese in the next 30 days!
And here’s why:
Now that we’re into April, those of us here in China are looking ahead to the upcoming May holiday. While I did not have any particular plans on going anywhere, my significant other wants to head back to her hometown – Tokyo, Japan.
Now, I’ve never been to Japan. We met here in Dalian. And since Chinese study has been a priority for me here (and playing around building this website), I’ve been putting Japanese study on the backburner for the past little while.
Why is learning Japanese in 30 days so urgent, you ask? Why can’t I just have my girlfriend translate for me when we arrive?
Well, one of the purposes of this trip is to Meet the Parents. And the last thing I want is a Japanese version of Robert DeNiro staring down at me saying “I got nipples, could ya milk me?” Personally I think it’s a little disrespectful if I show up at my girlfriend’s home 30 days from now, not being able to speak a few sentence of semi-respectable nihon go to her parents.
So basically, I’m gonna learn using Pimsleur mp3s, not only because they’re good, but also because I can’t seem to find anything else. They have Japanese I, II and III – each level consisting of about 30 mp3s. I’m hoping to speed through each level in about 10 days. Thus finishing all 3 levels by May 1, which is 30 days from today. Of course, having studied Chinese puts me at a bit of an advantage, since Japanese does use Chinese characters also.
Can I stick to this somewhat lofty target?
Well, anyone who knows me will likely say “fuck no.” But now that I’ve stated it publicly for everyone to hear/read – maybe I’ll be a little more motivated to stick with it.
By the way, if anyone knows of any useful study tools for Japanese, please let me know as soon as you can. The clock is ticking!
Stay tuned…
And fittingly,
China Stolen-Media-of-the-Day: Meet the Parents 2
Unfortunately, I couldn’t find a continuous playlist, like most of the other movies/shows that I’ve found on the Chinese net. But I did find this one in 6 parts:
Meet the Parents 2 – Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6.
Gambatte!!!!
arigato mr one-man roboto!
Progress is not going as fast as I’d hoped, but I’ve learned quite a bit over the past week or so.
John’s a big fan of Japanesepod101.com. There’s also the Rikai site and Rikai-chan plugin to help you with text.
I had the same challenge of learning some basic phrases to “meet the family.” In my case it was Polish and sadly it didn’t work out as far as the relationship was concerned, but the experience actually encouraged me to continue my language studies.
I think the critical thing to remember that podcasts and other approaches should be viewed as the entry point to get to the starting gates of learning Tagalog or any language. A one on one dialog is I think ideal but not always realistic given time constraints or location. That being said Pimsleur definitely an excellent starting point.
All the best with you 30 day challenge to learn Japanese. Just make sure you don’t do what I did and embarrass yourself by saying the family name as the first name. I didn’t realise that Japanese often say the family name first and called my Japanese friend by her surname only for months!! She was too polite to correct me!!
Take care.