I like the way the chapters have been introducing vocabulary. Human Japanese seems to have a great approach in teaching the structure of the language gradually, and then introducing words for you to memorize after teaching the grammar. I feel like this is a teaching style that I enjoy. It’s bananas to force yourself to attempt to pick up a language in a short time period. I feel like after a year, I’ve got so little … and yet, I’m watching my poor 2 year old try to learn how to speak his first language and realizing how much harder it’s got to be for him. I think watching him continuously pick up conversational skills is exciting and motivating. It feels a little sad knowing that I’m going to be stopping this in another week or so when I finally finish the app.
That said, it’s time to try cramming some more new words into my tiny brain. Read More >
This app has a way of putting more pages into each chapter than what the previous norm is. While I’ve only got 10 chapters left, this one is longer than the last. It makes it quite difficult to have any sense of how much is left when compared to reading a book!
Well, I’m currently between jobs, so I guess I should be trying to get some progress done on this learning hobby of mine! Read More >
Hear that? It’s the sound of soothing ocean waves. The sound of soothing, recorded ocean waves lulling my 21 month old to sleep. The sound of me having some spare time. Time to study another chapter in Human Japanese. What’s on the menu tonight? More Adjectives! Read More >
It feels mildly self-defeating to continue blogging about my Japanese studies. The reality is, I’ve already reprioritized my to-do list. And unfortunately, while I enjoy studying Japanese, I can only manage so many things at one time. I’m going to be moving to Montréal in the not too distant future, and so I’ve got three things going against me at this point: 1. It takes a lot of energy to learn programming, grow my vfx skills, raise a kid, have a life, and learn such an involved language; 2. Montréal does not do JLPT, so I feel like there is less of an incentive to push myself toward that goal; 3. Montréal is bilingual, but not in Japanese… if I am to be focusing on language skills, it really should be in French. Read More >
Two things you should know about this blog post: 1. I ramble sometimes. It’s the price you must pay for getting free things from me. 2. I’ve just released an hour of video lecture on creating effects in Houdini for use in video games. For free. Read More >
While cleaning up my hard drives this weekend, I came across a bunch of my old college artwork and I realized that almost none of it was on my blog! Did you know I used to draw and paint? I even animated pictures one pencil drawing at a time! Those were the days. I still wistfully look at my Wacom tablet now and then, but I’ve got too much on my plate at the moment to put it to use any time soon. Maybe next year I’ll put it to use again? Anyways, here’s some pictures to look at. I’ll get back to my regularly scheduled 日本語 this week. Read More >
Go figure. Last chapter was 38 pages, and this one is only 5! I’m starting to get thirsty for finishing this app, so let’s forget the blathering for tonight and just dive in. Read More >
The little dude was sick today. It meant I took time off work, and he didn’t want to do anything except cling to me all day. He watched some cartoons while I played Pokémon Yellow. I also discovered, that he happily would sit in my lap and pay attention if I played Influent. And I must say, I needed a refresher. I now have flower pot はち memorized for reals though. Enough rambling! Back on the express train to counting! Read More >
Hot damn, this is a long chapter! I can’t manage it all in one go, so I’m going to break this one up into two blog posts. I took a brief look at counting before. There are lots/heaps/piles/a ton/myriad/plenty/a good deal/a plethora/copious amounts/a cornucopia/a deluge/bountiful/loads/masses/stacks/profuse numbers of counters, so this will by no means be a quick thing to learn. But then, I guess, English wasn’t learned overnight either. Read More >