Moving in Japan is always an adventure. Luckily, I was able to get it all done with quite painlessly and quite quickly.
My husband and I got our keys on the 6th and had everything moved out and cleaned up by the 13th, turned in the keys that morning and we were done. AND we should be getting most of our security deposit back. I have to ask the boss exactly how much it was because that dictates how much I'll owe on the new apartment's security deposit.
Only complaints about the new apartment are that it lacks a "washlet" toilet seat (i.e. heated toilet seat that also had butt-washing sprays), and there are no windows in the room we use for our bedroom. However, the latter isn't much of a problem considering if we open one of the sliding doors we get plenty of sun in from the next room over, our living room.
One day, once we get Internet access, I'll post picture of the new place compared to the last. I'll also post pictures of the NTT guys installing fiber optic Internet (yeah, you know you're jealous).
Other news, I completely bombed my Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT). I took the highest level with no studying whatsoever just to see how horrible I'd actually do. Amazingly, I got just around the 40% I thought I would be lucky to get. Only 30% more to go until I pass. Let's see how well I do this coming December!
Anyway, onto the main course! Today, I'll be reviewing a random website I found at work, Free Japanese Lessons.
First impressions: Much, much simpler front page compared to the last website. Straight forward links to all available 10 lessons, videos, chat, and the FAQ. Not flashy, but very straight-forward and easy to navigate. Only downside is the abundance of ads around the front page, but even then they aren't very intrusive. I like the "Today's Kanji" and "Today's Phrase" boxes on the upper right. The link to information about hotels in Japan is also convenient and not something I've seen on many other sites.
Obviously a beginner's website, the first lesson they offer dumps you right into hiragana with a chart of all hiragana, including those with diacritical marks and combinations. It has a short but concise explanation of pronunciation, which with everything considered is actually a pretty decent explanation. Japanese pronunciation isn't that hard once you realize that vowels will never change how they sound no matter what comes before or after them in the word.
A major point for this particular lesson, which I don't think I've ever seen explained on the same page as a hiragana chart, is the pronunciation exceptions for the characters は and へ ("ha" and "he" respectively). Most wait until certain grammar points are learned to bring up the pronunciation exceptions for these two characters, but this site puts it right out there are the beginning to try to defuse any confusion down the line. They also offer a neat little explanation on why these two have second pronunciations, an explanation I actually did not know myself. I was always told in my learning that they are sometimes pronounced differently because "that's just how Japanese is". Their explanation actually makes sense and makes me mutter なるほど (that explains it) under my breath.
They also include the standard explanation of why there are two "zu" and "ji" characters, and also a brief thing on how to know when to use them. All in all, a decent intro to hiragana. Only thing missing is stroke order, which is very important when learning to write. Due to there being no stroke order explanation, I'm guessing this site is more geared towards reading and speaking Japanese, rather than writing.
The next lesson brings you to katakana, which just like hiragana offers nothing but a chart. Also, the explanation about how katakana is used for foreign names and borrowed words is not entirely correct. Yes, katakana is used for foreign names and borrowed words, but it is also used for scientific names of animals and plants, and often as almost a replacement for italics in writing when emphasis is needed/wanted by the writer. However, it is a decent explanation if you're looking for a short-and-to-the-point explanation.
Moving on, we have vocabulary. We're given a very spartan list with a very loose organization. 23 words, including words for "you", "I", "him", "her", "this/that", "here/there", greetings, and random nouns (person, cat, dog, house). While these are all really good things to know, they aren't presented in an easy-to-remember format. Just a list. A list with the kanji, hiragana, romaji, and English meaning. The site does try to explain that there are different types of formalities when dealing with greetings, and offers both forms of "thank you" and "good morning". However, they only offer the casual form of "goodbye", さよなら (sayorana). Formally, it should be さようなら (sayounara).
Lesson 4 brings on grammar, and once again we're looking pretty spartan. The whole page is nothing but explanation about particles, which while are an essential part of Japanese grammar, it is kind of different to see the main 5 listed all together right off the bat. Also, they don't even go into much explanation about へ (e) as a particle. Once again, very basic, very to the point explanations about the remaining four particles, but perhaps too basic. Part of me hopes they go into more details of the particles and how to figure out what is the topic and what is the subject and all that. They do mention that "I" is usually dropped from the sentence in spoken Japanese, due to being implied. This is something many textbooks do not teach, as textbook writers want to make Japanese grammar closer to that of English.
Fifth lesson on the page makes me wonder if the person making this site is just winging it and creating lessons as he goes along. We go from vocab, to grammar, back to vocab. And of all things, numbers, time, days of the weeks and months. Considering how basic this vocabulary is, I would have put it directly after Lesson 3 with the greetings and other basic vocab. Once again, a very spartan list, and instead of listing out a good portion of the numbers, time and months, they give you the start of the "pattern" and tell you to run with it. While they do explain that "4" and "7" both have two pronunciations, they don't go into detail about why you shouldn't use the one pronunciation of "4". For those curious, "4" can be pronounced よん or し ("yon" or "shi"). The pronunciation of "4" as "shi" is avoided a good 60-80% of the time as "shi" also means "death". Because of this, "4" is also an unlucky number. My old apartment complex and my new apartment complex both do not have rooms or parking spots ending in "4". So the first floor rooms go 101, 102, 103, 105.
I really don't have any complaints about the days of the week part of the page. It's straight-forward and simple enough even without a thorough explanation.
Now, back to grammar. Lesson 6 starts off with verb conjugations right away, specifically those of godan verbs. Godan verbs are verbs that the verb stem changes depending on the tense. There are five stem changes, hence the "go" or "five" in the name of the verb type. This site actually sets up their explanation much like my high school sensei did, which for me made it very easy to understand. Only complaint about the whole page is how they explain the conjugation of "te" and "ta" forms. It would be easier to understand with a second chart, rather than just text.
Next lesson continues verbs with ichidan verbs, and once again only gives simple explanations of the conjugations. In their simplicity, the explanations are slightly confusing. They try to compare ichidan verbs with godan by giving them five "bases", or stems. Technically, only have one stem, hence the "ichi" for "one" in the name "ichidan". In their attempt to connect new material with what has already been learned, they actually make it a bit more confusing than it would have been to just introduce them as having only one base, not five. Personally. I would have introduced ichidan verbs first, then godan. But that's me.
Also, their "five base" system of organization they have going on here makes it a bit confusing for the only two irregular verbs in the language. Only really useful thing on this page is a small link to verbs that sound like ichidan verbs but are actually conjugated like godan verbs.
Earlier on, I believe in Lesson 4 or 5, it was mentioned that polite tenses would be discussed in Lesson 8. Well, not really. Yes, they list the polite forms of different verb conjugations, but that's about it. No explanation on when to use them or anything. Also, while they give an explanation for each verb tense, they don't give any examples of how to use them in sentences. And come to think of it, I haven't even seen any explanation about the copula, です (desu) at all. Usually that gets explained way before verbs ever do.
Lesson 9's explanation of adjectives is a bit confusing as well. Not sure where they got "dv" and "dn" for the two types of adjectives in Japanese, but it's something new to me. They mention how "dv" adjectives (commonly called i-adjectives in many textbooks) can be used as adverb and modify nouns, but give no explanation further than that. No examples or anything. They do, however, show how "dn" adjectives (commonly na-adjectives) can be used as adverbs.
Lesson 10 leaves us off at how to introduce yourself to someone and other common phrases. The further I get into the site, the more I start to not like how simple it is. Simple is good, but there are places where it does need more explanation on grammar points. Keeping it too simple misses out on a lot of subtleties in Japanese grammar that need more time and attention.
Overall, a good start to a website. I hope it eventually starts developing into a fuller website, but at this point I'm not keeping hopes up. It's a good place to dip your feet it and get a brief overview of what you're in for when you actually buckle down and start studying Japanese for real.
And that's it for this time. End of this month the NTT guys come on the 28th to check out what they have to do to get fiber optic into the apartment, so hopefully by middle of next month I'll have home access again! Not sure what website I'll do next time, but I'm always up for suggestions.
My husband and I got our keys on the 6th and had everything moved out and cleaned up by the 13th, turned in the keys that morning and we were done. AND we should be getting most of our security deposit back. I have to ask the boss exactly how much it was because that dictates how much I'll owe on the new apartment's security deposit.
Only complaints about the new apartment are that it lacks a "washlet" toilet seat (i.e. heated toilet seat that also had butt-washing sprays), and there are no windows in the room we use for our bedroom. However, the latter isn't much of a problem considering if we open one of the sliding doors we get plenty of sun in from the next room over, our living room.
One day, once we get Internet access, I'll post picture of the new place compared to the last. I'll also post pictures of the NTT guys installing fiber optic Internet (yeah, you know you're jealous).
Other news, I completely bombed my Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT). I took the highest level with no studying whatsoever just to see how horrible I'd actually do. Amazingly, I got just around the 40% I thought I would be lucky to get. Only 30% more to go until I pass. Let's see how well I do this coming December!
Anyway, onto the main course! Today, I'll be reviewing a random website I found at work, Free Japanese Lessons.
First impressions: Much, much simpler front page compared to the last website. Straight forward links to all available 10 lessons, videos, chat, and the FAQ. Not flashy, but very straight-forward and easy to navigate. Only downside is the abundance of ads around the front page, but even then they aren't very intrusive. I like the "Today's Kanji" and "Today's Phrase" boxes on the upper right. The link to information about hotels in Japan is also convenient and not something I've seen on many other sites.
Obviously a beginner's website, the first lesson they offer dumps you right into hiragana with a chart of all hiragana, including those with diacritical marks and combinations. It has a short but concise explanation of pronunciation, which with everything considered is actually a pretty decent explanation. Japanese pronunciation isn't that hard once you realize that vowels will never change how they sound no matter what comes before or after them in the word.
A major point for this particular lesson, which I don't think I've ever seen explained on the same page as a hiragana chart, is the pronunciation exceptions for the characters は and へ ("ha" and "he" respectively). Most wait until certain grammar points are learned to bring up the pronunciation exceptions for these two characters, but this site puts it right out there are the beginning to try to defuse any confusion down the line. They also offer a neat little explanation on why these two have second pronunciations, an explanation I actually did not know myself. I was always told in my learning that they are sometimes pronounced differently because "that's just how Japanese is". Their explanation actually makes sense and makes me mutter なるほど (that explains it) under my breath.
They also include the standard explanation of why there are two "zu" and "ji" characters, and also a brief thing on how to know when to use them. All in all, a decent intro to hiragana. Only thing missing is stroke order, which is very important when learning to write. Due to there being no stroke order explanation, I'm guessing this site is more geared towards reading and speaking Japanese, rather than writing.
The next lesson brings you to katakana, which just like hiragana offers nothing but a chart. Also, the explanation about how katakana is used for foreign names and borrowed words is not entirely correct. Yes, katakana is used for foreign names and borrowed words, but it is also used for scientific names of animals and plants, and often as almost a replacement for italics in writing when emphasis is needed/wanted by the writer. However, it is a decent explanation if you're looking for a short-and-to-the-point explanation.
Moving on, we have vocabulary. We're given a very spartan list with a very loose organization. 23 words, including words for "you", "I", "him", "her", "this/that", "here/there", greetings, and random nouns (person, cat, dog, house). While these are all really good things to know, they aren't presented in an easy-to-remember format. Just a list. A list with the kanji, hiragana, romaji, and English meaning. The site does try to explain that there are different types of formalities when dealing with greetings, and offers both forms of "thank you" and "good morning". However, they only offer the casual form of "goodbye", さよなら (sayorana). Formally, it should be さようなら (sayounara).
Lesson 4 brings on grammar, and once again we're looking pretty spartan. The whole page is nothing but explanation about particles, which while are an essential part of Japanese grammar, it is kind of different to see the main 5 listed all together right off the bat. Also, they don't even go into much explanation about へ (e) as a particle. Once again, very basic, very to the point explanations about the remaining four particles, but perhaps too basic. Part of me hopes they go into more details of the particles and how to figure out what is the topic and what is the subject and all that. They do mention that "I" is usually dropped from the sentence in spoken Japanese, due to being implied. This is something many textbooks do not teach, as textbook writers want to make Japanese grammar closer to that of English.
Fifth lesson on the page makes me wonder if the person making this site is just winging it and creating lessons as he goes along. We go from vocab, to grammar, back to vocab. And of all things, numbers, time, days of the weeks and months. Considering how basic this vocabulary is, I would have put it directly after Lesson 3 with the greetings and other basic vocab. Once again, a very spartan list, and instead of listing out a good portion of the numbers, time and months, they give you the start of the "pattern" and tell you to run with it. While they do explain that "4" and "7" both have two pronunciations, they don't go into detail about why you shouldn't use the one pronunciation of "4". For those curious, "4" can be pronounced よん or し ("yon" or "shi"). The pronunciation of "4" as "shi" is avoided a good 60-80% of the time as "shi" also means "death". Because of this, "4" is also an unlucky number. My old apartment complex and my new apartment complex both do not have rooms or parking spots ending in "4". So the first floor rooms go 101, 102, 103, 105.
I really don't have any complaints about the days of the week part of the page. It's straight-forward and simple enough even without a thorough explanation.
Now, back to grammar. Lesson 6 starts off with verb conjugations right away, specifically those of godan verbs. Godan verbs are verbs that the verb stem changes depending on the tense. There are five stem changes, hence the "go" or "five" in the name of the verb type. This site actually sets up their explanation much like my high school sensei did, which for me made it very easy to understand. Only complaint about the whole page is how they explain the conjugation of "te" and "ta" forms. It would be easier to understand with a second chart, rather than just text.
Next lesson continues verbs with ichidan verbs, and once again only gives simple explanations of the conjugations. In their simplicity, the explanations are slightly confusing. They try to compare ichidan verbs with godan by giving them five "bases", or stems. Technically, only have one stem, hence the "ichi" for "one" in the name "ichidan". In their attempt to connect new material with what has already been learned, they actually make it a bit more confusing than it would have been to just introduce them as having only one base, not five. Personally. I would have introduced ichidan verbs first, then godan. But that's me.
Also, their "five base" system of organization they have going on here makes it a bit confusing for the only two irregular verbs in the language. Only really useful thing on this page is a small link to verbs that sound like ichidan verbs but are actually conjugated like godan verbs.
Earlier on, I believe in Lesson 4 or 5, it was mentioned that polite tenses would be discussed in Lesson 8. Well, not really. Yes, they list the polite forms of different verb conjugations, but that's about it. No explanation on when to use them or anything. Also, while they give an explanation for each verb tense, they don't give any examples of how to use them in sentences. And come to think of it, I haven't even seen any explanation about the copula, です (desu) at all. Usually that gets explained way before verbs ever do.
Lesson 9's explanation of adjectives is a bit confusing as well. Not sure where they got "dv" and "dn" for the two types of adjectives in Japanese, but it's something new to me. They mention how "dv" adjectives (commonly called i-adjectives in many textbooks) can be used as adverb and modify nouns, but give no explanation further than that. No examples or anything. They do, however, show how "dn" adjectives (commonly na-adjectives) can be used as adverbs.
Lesson 10 leaves us off at how to introduce yourself to someone and other common phrases. The further I get into the site, the more I start to not like how simple it is. Simple is good, but there are places where it does need more explanation on grammar points. Keeping it too simple misses out on a lot of subtleties in Japanese grammar that need more time and attention.
Overall, a good start to a website. I hope it eventually starts developing into a fuller website, but at this point I'm not keeping hopes up. It's a good place to dip your feet it and get a brief overview of what you're in for when you actually buckle down and start studying Japanese for real.
And that's it for this time. End of this month the NTT guys come on the 28th to check out what they have to do to get fiber optic into the apartment, so hopefully by middle of next month I'll have home access again! Not sure what website I'll do next time, but I'm always up for suggestions.
Comments (0)