SmileTalk

Showing posts with label Japanese writing system. Show all posts

Thursday, 7 August 2014

Lesson Plan: 1

Weeks 1-2

Day 1: Today you start to learn Japanese from the very start. It may be intimidating at first, but we are going to take baby steps. The first thing you need to do is get a sum copy (that's the one with the boxes) for this first week you have to learn to read and write hiragana. I've already written an article about the importance of learning hiragana Here that includes some resources but I recommend using Lentil, an online memorization tool to first learn to recognise them.

This is a link to Lentil

Using this program it should be easy to learn how to recognize the characters.

Day 2: Test yourself with flash cards on paper to make sure you know the hiragana you have learnt so far. You should know at least twelve by now. Continue using lentil and start practicing writing the ones you have learnt already. Repeat this process over the next couple of days.

Day 3: Be creative and get an A3 or A2 sheet of paper and add your neatest Hiragana characters to it ad stick it to your wall. Be sure to save enough space to add katakana later. Slowly add to it as you learn your Kana.

Day 6: Look up some Japanese words and practice writing them in hiragana, be sure to use Smiletalk to make sure you are pronouncing them correctly and be sure to say each hiragana character as you write it to reinforce the link in your brain.

Day 7: Review your progress and see how well you have learnt hiragana. If satisfied you can recognize and write them correctly then repeat all the above steps substituting hiragana with katakana.

Goodluck!

Tuesday, 3 June 2014

Chopsticks

English: Chopsticks for cooking Français : bois à manger (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

You are probably well aware that in Japan rather than using knives or forks, chopsticks are the most common eating implement. How much do you really know about chopsticks?

The chopsticks お箸(Ohashi)

At the home in Japan, each family has their own chopsticks. Parents tend to use long chopsticks and children use short chopsticks. There are a variety of colors and designs in department and other stores in Japan.

Many Japanese people carry around their own set of chopsticks. By doing this they avoid having to use the cheap throw away chopsticks (waribashi) that are often supplied at bento shops. Most Japanese find chopsticks easier to use that a knife and fork.

When eating at a restaurant in Japan you will see a Chopstick rest (箸置き hashioki) on the table. If there is no chopstick rest and you need to put your chopsticks down then simple fold the wrapper your chopsticks came in, into an accordion shape and use that as the rest.

Never ever ever

Lift chopstick above mouth height.
Tear food apart by holding one chopstick in each hand
Shake off liquid on tip of chopstick.
Swing hand that is holding chopstick.
Shovel food into mouth with chopsticks, with the edge of you mouth on the rice bowl
Let chopsticks roam around plate while you are deciding what next to eat.
Hold chopsticks with hand that is already holding dish.
Put food in your mouth that is dripping.
Lick cop sticks.
Use chopsticks upside-down.
Eat with unmatched pair of chopsticks.
Tap plate with chopsticks.
Pass food from one person to another using chopsticks.
Use as toothpick.

Friday, 9 May 2014

Greetings with Pictures: Test!

Lets review our greetings with some pictures. Test yourself to see if you know what the greetings are.

Different greetings are used at different times of day.

Morning

Afternoon

Evening

Night

How did you do? Did you know what they meant? Could you pronounce the Japanese words and read the hiragana? If that's a yes then you have mastered the basic greetings that we learn way back in Lesson 1. If you couldn't then maybe you should look again at Lesson 1 and possibly revise your Hiragana