なん+これ、それ、あれ

Grammar Point：なに・なん

これ　は　なん　ですか
それ　は　なん　ですか
あれ　は　なん　ですか

これ、それ、あれ

Grammar Point

これ　=　this
それ　=　that
あれ　=　over there

Let's Play!

これ はほんです。　
それはえんぴつです。
あれはこくばんです。

~Happy, Happy Japanese Learning to You!~

Image Source 

Name-Ender Honorifics

How to politely address another person.

Name-Ender Honorifics

〜なん
〜くん
〜ちゃん
〜せんせい
〜せんばい

~Happy, Happy Japanese Learning to You!~

Attack of the Killer "You's"

Actually I should be nice. 'You' is like, only one of the most important (if not the) most important word in the Japanese language. Seriously. I should behave.

Ways to say 'You'

あなた
おまえ
きみ
てまえ
こいつ
〜さん

Thought of the day: Japanese is not for the faint of heart!

~Happy, Happy Japanese Learning to You!~

Soooo many 'I''s!

One thing I am definitely picking up with the Japanese language is that they like to have many ways to describe the same concept, and it is especially tied to the concept of politeness. I am floored at how many ways there are to say 'I'. I should have guessed that this would be the case with the Japanese language when I finally (thanks to TextFugu, yea!) figured out what the difference is between おんよみ and くんよみ.  (I'm still trying to get over おんよみ and くんよみ. It kinda of scares me, to be honest!)

Ways to say 'I'

わたし
わたくし
あたし
ぼく
おれ
じぶん

~Happy, Happy Japanese Learning to You!~

My Vocabulary Log

Words that I am currently practicing:

はる
なつ
あき
ふゆ

あめ
ゆき

きょうかしょ
じしょ
しゃしん
こども
せんせい
ともだち
つくえ

しごと
はこ
しんぶん

ちかてつ
でんしゃ
じてんしゃ
くるま

ねこ
いぬ

くすり
びょういん

こうえん

おてありい

しお
さとう
みず
りんご

~Happy, Happy Japanese Learning to You!~

The Particle は

The particle は is pronounced ’わ’。

I love particles. I was teaching a lesson on English phrasal verbs a few weeks back and I gave the 'official' explanation which was met with blank stares from my students. Then I told them that particles are essentially the 'garbage can' of grammar. Anything that does not fit into another part of speech like nouns, adjectives, etc. are particles. I told them all they have to remember is that particles are 'thing-a-ma-jigs.' They liked that!

I think TextFugu did a particularly nice job of explaining Japanese particles.

However, unlike the particles in English phrasal verbs, は actually serves a grammatical purpose.

は in Action

AはBです

は means 'A is B.'

AはBじゃありません

 は means 'A is not B.'

 AはBでした

 は means 'A was B.'

AはBじゃありませんでした

 は means 'A was not B.'

~Happy, Happy Japanese Learning to You!~

Grammar Recap!

Grammar：To be in the present and past; affirmative and negative
です
でした
じゃありません
じゃありませんでした
はい
いいえ

Let's play!

ねこですか
はい、ねこです

ねこでした
はい、ねこでした

ねこですか
いいえ、ねこじゃありません。いぬです

ねこでしたか
いいえ、ねこじゃありませんでした。いぬでした

OMG! Doggie in komono! Does it get cuter than this? Maybe, for I am just discovering the Japanese aesthetic of kawaii (可愛い)). If you would like to see more photos of dogs in komonos you are in luck!

~Happy, Happy Japanese Learning to You!~

Image Source 1 2

でした

Grammar Point

でした

Examples

ねこでした

~Happy, Happy Japanese Learning to You!~

Image Source 1

Baby's First Kanji 1-4

Awww! How adorable! I'm learning my first Kanji. It seems like a right of passage that I will be able to look back upon someday with nostalgia, like when I finish passing my Level 1 JLPT (someday!).

So for the posterity of the moment, here are my first Kanji, from the new Tuttle textbook Beginning Japanese, that I learned last week:

木　=　き
日　=　に
本　=　ほん
語　=　ご

However, I've determined that this book is a bit overwhelming to learn on its own, so I am supplementing my learning with TextFugu: The Online Japanese Texbook for Self Teachers.

So, officially, according to TextFugu, here are my first Kanji 1-4:

一　=　いち；ひと。つ・ひと
二　=　に；ふた。つ・ふた
七　=　しち；なな。つ・なな
九　=　きゅう、く；ここ。つ；ここ

So adorable, yes?

~Happy, Happy Japanese Learning to You!~

The Pronunciation of です and でした

I do find it interesting that all of the Japanese language learning books sing the praises that 'what you see is what you get' with regard to Japanese pronunciation and ひりがん but I have discovered two major exceptions in my current studies.

です = 'des' not 'desu'
でした = 'deshta' not 'deshita'

Of course, if you look at the mess surrounding the English verb 'to be,' I guess a little pronunciation weirdness isn't too tragic in the scheme of things.

All's fair in love and war and language learning!

~Happy, Happy Japanese Learning to You!~

はい and いいえ

Grammar Point

はい
いいえ

Examples

ねこですか
はい、 ねこです

ねこ ですか
いいえ、ねこじゃありません。いぬです。

~Happy, Happy Japanese Learning to You!~

Image Source 1 2

か

Grammar Point

か

Example

ねこでずか

~Happy, Happy Japanese Learning to You!~

です and じゃありません

Grammar Point

• です
• じゃありません

Examples

ねこです
ねこじゃありません

~Happy, Happy Japanese Learning to You!~

Settling Down with ひらがんあ

Yes, I did disappear for a little bit.

I bet you were thinking: "Ha! She already lost interest in Japanese, just one month after the earthquake! She couldn't hack it!"

Ha-ha right back at ya! :) (While bowing politely of course!)

Actually, I have been a good がくせい and I have been exploring a variety of Japanese textbooks, online learning sites, iPhone apps, etc. since I last posted. I have been hard at work my first month sorting out how I am going to learn Japanese.

Japanese is a monster of a language -- a L5 out of a L1-5 scale of difficulty (um...no, 1 is not the hardest, sorry to say!) according to the State Department, so I think having a good plan is wise when doing the tango with Japanese.

So I have had to figure out:

• To take a face-to-face-course, or to not
• To take an online course, or to not
• To pay for a course, or to not
• To Romanji, or to not...(lots about that another day!)

The only thing I am really guilty of is that I have not been writing on my Japanese learning blog, which is a major bummer for you, and not good for me, so Tsk! Tsk! on me.

I have been hard at work studying my Japanese too. Specifically, I have been revisiting my ひらがんあ。As I stated in my first post, I did learn a bit of ひらがんあ with the help of several Japanese students I had the pleasure of teaching a few years back.

I made it through the main kana but I was always very shaky with the だくてん, the double consonants (small つ), the long vowels, and the combo ひらがんあ: よおおん (I'm not sure I spelled that right!). So this time around, I have been working on the quirky ひらがんあ very diligently.

I have been practicing by using ひらがんあ flashcards, writing ひらがんあ worksheets (compliments of TextFugu), and by reading words written in ひらがんあ out loud.

Here are what I find are the 'tricky bits' with learning the ひらがんあ:

The hardest ひらがんあ to pronounce:

• ら
• り
• る
• れ
• ろ

The trickiest ひらがんあ to remember how to pronounce (at least for me):

• ぢ
• じ
• づ

And of course, I am baffled as to when to use:

• ぢ vs. じ、or 
• ず vs. づ

Finally, the trickiest ひらがんあ to tell apart when reading:

• ぬ vs. め
• ね vs. れ

I'm sure the answers will come soon enough!

~Happy, Happy Japanese Learning to You!~

Why Keep A Japanese Language (B)Log?

I'm going to practice what I preach when I learn Japanese. I am always encouraging my EFL learners to keep a binder of notes divided into sections for topics like speaking, listening, reading, writing, and American culture. In addition, I strongly believe in keeping a vocabulary notebook and making flashcards. I have done some of these tactics myself as I've learned other languages, but this time I will do as such more formally. a.k.a., Be a bit more organized! I tend to start too many cute little notebooks (Yes, usually Japanese or French notebooks) and then run around the flat annoyed that I can find my grammar notebook but not my vocabulary notebook.

To reinforce learning, I also encourage my students to teach someone, whether a family member or a friend or even their pet dog (because doggies are always so patient and kind and won't laugh at any mistakes) what they are currently learning. As we say:

The best way to learn a language is to teach it.

(Yes, I know we also say the best way to learn a language is in bed, but focus, people, focus!)

Furthermore, my other axiom when it comes to language learning is:

The best way to learn a language is to keep a copious, detailed journal accounting your triumphs and tragedies.

Therefore, last week when I decided that I would learn Japanese once and for all, I decided that I would start this blog as a place where I would chronicle my adventures in learning Japanese. The goal for creating Green Tea Red Panda is to (hopefully!) result in two main beneficial outcomes: 1) to have a place for me to muse about the Japanese language and reinforce my learning, and 2) to be a place where you, dear reader, can either reinforce your own Japanese learning or maybe inspire you to give the language a whirl.

Yesterday, I was reading a free Japanese lesson at TextFugu called Creating a Japanese Learning Log. The site's author, Koichi, is an online Japanese instructor and I had to smile to myself when I read this lesson. You really should read this page yourself, but suffice it to say that Koichi recommends that one uses the journal to reinforce one's learning of Japanese. It was refreshing to read this recommendation from not just a fellow instructor, but also a Japanese instructor to boot. Koichi even suggested that one keeps the log as a blog! How cool is this?

To read that a fellow language teacher believes in language (b)logs is wonderful because it lets me know that I am not 1) an insane crazy lady who has been driven over the edge from reading the TESOL Journal. (No offense of course. It's just that quantitative research is so...you know...number-y and not very 'activity for student-y'! I'm a qualitative person However, I digress. Erm...the TESOL Journal is lovely. Hail! Praise the TESOL Journal!)

Ahem. Where was I? Oh yes, I have also had the startling realization that I am neither a 'Meanie Pants' Instructor (Yup. In caps. 'cause they are their own breed!). I am always repeating ad nauseum that my students should be a bit anal (well I don't use that word specifically, but this isn't my classroom so I can let it fly) and constantly journal about all their experiences in learning English, which might I add again, should also be very organized copies and kept in one place. (You can't complain. I already said it was anal. So there!)

So often when we learn foreign languages we hit these brick walls when we determine that we are as thick as planks and wonder if our Mothers dropped us repeatedly on our heads before the age of two. We read and re-read grammar points, recite them diligently to ourselves in the mirror, write them out repeatedly, and then on the day of the test or out on the street in a 'real live action language setting':

Poof!

The aforementioned grammar point goes out the window and we flag out tests or we sound like idiots.

Helloooo, brain fart!

And to our horror we realize that we just mangled (insert your favorite foreign language here).

So now know you know why I'm keeping a Japanese language learning (b)log.

A big 'thank you' to Koichi of TextFugu for letting me know that I haven't lost my mind as an EFL Instructor or as a language learner.

I am so excited to learn Japanese and I can't wait to see how it scrambles my brain (more than it already is)!

The Roots

OK. So, I suppose you wonder, how did an EFL instructor end up attempting to learn Japanese and soon (hopefully?) Chinese as an adult?

Good question.

Let me brainstorm for a moment...

Could it be because...

• My Father lived in Japan and he taught me some Japanese words?
• I spent hours glued to my Father's home movies of his travels?
• A close friend in high school was from Kyoto?
• I now have a Japanese relation through marriage?
• My husband is a Japanofile?
• I come from a graphic design background and I love minimal asthetics?
• I dig Buddhism and Shinto?
• I played with Hello Kitty too much as a child?
• All of the above?

Probably.

I taught many English lessons to representatives from the Japanese Ministry of Education a few years back. I started to pick up Hiragana and my students would leave cute post-it notes on my desk quizzing my knowledge. Unfortunately I put my studies aside due to a few moves and sadly I've become cut off from Japanese culture living in Chicago.

The Great Eastern Japan Earthquake got me thinking that life is short and Japan is beautiful, so I have decided once and for all to learn Japanese.

I've been glued to my Mac listening to Yokosonews every day since the tragedy. Katz, the host, tells all of us not to send money (except to the Japan Red Cross if we insist) but instead come to Japan and spend our money when things calm down.

He's right. The best way we can support Japan is to show solidarity and this also includes honoring the very beautiful culture of a very beautiful group of people.

So I'm going to learn Japanese, because I think it is the greatest offering I can give to the Japanese people.

Oh, and free English lessons when I come and visit you all (summer? fall? next winter?) :D

So in honor of Japan...

let's begin!

This post is dedicated to everyone in Japan who is enduring the unendurable.