Tips On Learning Japanese, Blog Pictures And Lollipops

Hi! Just to say to Clay - totally loving the new layout, it's class and waaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyyy easier to use than I imagined it would be.
But - I have come to spread words of...moderate wisdom? I don't know, but if you're finding learning Japanese hard, here's some tips I have for you, which I use and find very useful:

1.WORD ASSOCIATION - The easiest way to remember vocabulary I find is, word association. For example: The japanese word for SUBWAY is CHIKATETSU (I found this word very hard to remember) - so I would make a sentence like this:

"The CHICK studied for a TEST on the SUBWAY." fromt hat I have "Chick" and "Test" so I think "Chikatetsu"

Maybe doesn't work for everyone - but if you can find better ways of incorporating japanese words into Word Assosication sentences, it really does help. I seen 2 Italian sentences and ive never forgotten the word for Frog (La Rana - I RAN Away from a scary FROG) and Curtains (La Tenda - The CURTAINS rubbed a TENDER part of my leg) Bit perverted? I think so, but it really does work!

that brings on to number

2. PICTURE ASSOCIATION - another great way to learn vocab! What I mean by Picture Association is that by drawing a chart out and drawing pictures of animals or colours, then writing the word for that in Romaji or Kana, so by leaving out the English aspect and looking over the poster when you come across it - you should become familiar with the word associated with the picture.

For example - if I draw a picture of a cute cartoon horse - I would write UMA underneath, in big letters, so when you see the picture - you see UMA and not UMA - HORSE. Of course this method is way more effective with young children - but I think it still has a positive learning effect.

3. LEARN GERMAN. - I can't stress enough how much speaking German has helped me with learning Japanese - I know the two languages aren't similar in any way, but with word order, it's so much easier for me to think about how words and particles should be placed. For example!

Ich habe brot gegessen - I ate bread.
(I have bread eaten)

Watashi wa pan o tabemashita - I ate bread.
(I bread have eaten)

Maybe you don't see it the way I do - but i find it helps - which is really bad, because in my end of year exams last year I started writing half my sentences beginning in German, ending in Japanese. Not good.
NB: This doesn't work with FRENCH because I speak both French and German (and what I know of japanese - which is pretty good for someone whose still got 2 years of high school left!)

and lastly

4. MUSIC - even if you can't speak Japanese - even a word of it - listen to Japanese music. Get an Obsession! Ayumi H, Koda Kumi, Yuna ito - ANYONE! Although I do recomend if you're starting out, like really beginning - to go for Yuna ito's lyrics, cause her's are usually Japanese and English together in one song - Kumi has a couple of words and phrases - but both their Lyrics are easy to understand - whereas Ayu uses very poetic language, very expressive and more advanced.

But whoever floats your boat! I used to have a strict musical diet of: The Rasmus, Guns N Roses, Evanescence, Lostprophets, Good Charlotte - basically only rock - I DETESTED every other genre of music.

Until I heard "Evolution" by Ayu.

I was converted INSTANTLY! I wore colour from the next day AND I was like waaayyyy more optimistic.

Tis a powerful thing.

Oh yes, I'm gonna have to repost my pictures again cause they've magically disappeared - even though I know Clay said they weren't gonna be backed up and to save them - which I've done! So yay! So that'll be going up so you can see clearly my blogs - cause I know you all love them so much (lmao)

My Advice for the day:

If you have a hard boiled lollipop, and a carbonated drink (prefrably colourless) stick the lollipop into the drink, holding the stick and watch the bubbles! And notice cracks appearing in the Lolly.
You won't gain anything from doing this - but it's just fun to watch :D

Well that's me out - Linear Programming and Nuclear Physics has me tired D: I neeeeeedddddd sleep (Ill be up to half 1 playin FFX) ;D