PE Reflection

This year, I wanted to sound more natural when I speak Japanese, so that I added more あのう or えっと. In order to do that, I decided to go to more office hours and Japanese table. Although I haven't been to any office hours beyond the ones required because of individual sessions, I did go to one Japanese table and even spoke to 牧野先生 which I'm actually quite happy about. I wish I could have gone to more Japanese tables, but I was too busy to go. However, this was definitely an improvement from the beginning of the semester. In addition, I also stated that I would like to watch Japanese dramas/anime in my spare time, but it continues to be too difficult to find time. It is also hard to find something that will interest me. Maybe I will just re-watch the shows I enjoy, like Naruto or Yuri on Ice. Lastly, since my last reflection, I fixed my study habits before exams, but I still need to find ways to practice the new grammar I've learned from Nakama 2. I still feel very unsure about my ability to remember and be tested on these grammar points. As for my PE, I continue to need to work on the speed at which I speak. I feel that I have improved on overall sentence pitch, although individual word pitch will probably never come naturally to me. 

大学を卒業したら

大学を卒業したら、仕事をする前に、海外旅行をしたいです。中国に家族を見に行った後で、友どちにあって、韓国と日本に行きたいです。それの後で、アジアの色々な国に行って、おもしろいことをして、美味しい食べ物をたべたいです。ヨーロップに行った時がないから、ヨーロップのイギリスやフランスに行くつもりです。私はハリーポッターが大好きですから、「harry potter and the cursed child」がまだ見せていたら、そのプレーを見るつもりです。それから Platform 9 3/4 の前に刷新をとりたいです。中学生と高校生時は、フランス語を勉強したけど、全部忘れたから、フランスで観光するのはちょっと難しいかもしれません。でも、外国に楽しむために、その国の言語を話さなくてもいいですよ。

中国に行った思い出

私は海外旅行に行くのが大好きですが、あまり行ったことがありません。子供の時、よく家族と一緒に中国に行きました。中国に行った時、おじいさんとおばあさんにあったり、色々なところに行ったり、たくさん美味しい食べ物を食べたりしました。子供だったから、行ったところとしたことを忘れました。でも、最近、３年前、２年前にも行ったから、その旅行の思い出が特によかったから、すぐに再び帰りたいです。

Midterm Reflection

Midterm Reflection:

I did okay on my midterm, but I made some pretty stupid mistakes that I will need to fix. I studied quite hard for the test, and still need to correct a few spelling mistakes, fine details, and grammar mistakes from simply not understanding the question, but I will pay attention to those in preparation for the final.

Updated activity statement/goals: In my spring semester activity statement and goals, I stated that I wished to build upon last year's skills by trying to sound more natural. Some of the concrete steps I thought I could take were to go to more office hours and Japanese table. So far, I have been to one office hour where I practiced the oral midterm with さとう先生, but I need to go more often. I don't think going to Japanese tables will be feasible this semester, though. In addition, I stated that I would like to watch Japanese dramas/anime in my spare time, but it is difficult to find time. I will continue to try and reach this goal, however. Lastly, I said that I would like to review grammar way before tests, and I have accomplished this. I now have better study habits in preparation for tests in reviewing grammar, kanji, and vocabulary, and I hope to continue studying this way. 

Spring Break + Updated activity statement/goals

私の春休みはとても忙しかったです。春休みの後の宿題をして、アイススケートの小フィルムを作りにカメラでプリンストンのアイススケーターを写しました。朝と晩は、私はよく友達とアイススケートをして、ほとんど毎日、ウィットマンホールでブランチと晩御飯をいい友達のルムメートと一緒に食べました。時々、外でレストランでおいしい食べ物を食べに行きました。そして、毎日、難しいIndependent Workもしました。週末にゆっくりしたいですから、「Avatar: The Last Airbender」を全部見ました。

In my spring semester activity statement and goals, I stated that I wished to build upon last year's skills by trying to sound more natural. Some of the concrete steps I thought I could take were to go to more office hours and Japanese table. So far, I have been to one office hour where I practiced the oral midterm with さとう先生, but I need to go more often. I don't think going to Japanese tables will be feasible this semester, though. In addition, I stated that I would like to watch Japanese dramas/anime in my spare time, but it is difficult to find time. I will continue to try and reach this goal, however. Lastly, I said that I would like to review grammar way before tests, and I have accomplished this. I now have better study habits in preparation for tests in reviewing grammar, kanji, and vocabulary, and I hope to continue studying this way. 

Video Blog

Goal and activity statement

This semester, I wish to build upon the skills I gained last year and try to sound more natural while speaking Japanese. I want to think less about the grammar or vocabulary while forming a phrase in my head, and just be able to speak with more flow. I also want to be able to react or carry out a conversation better in Japanese without feeling embarrassed or stalling too much. In order to do this, I will try to go to more office hours and Japanese table. I will also force myself to watch more anime and start watching Japanese dramas when I have the time. Unlike last semester, I will also try review all the grammar of the past few days every day as I go rather than leave it to the last minute.

中休み

• 私は中休みの前にプリンストンのシンクロナイズドスケートチームとペンシルバニアに行って、競争しました。競争に一位になて、とても嬉しかったです。 そして、プリンストンに帰って、たくっさんゆっくりしました。月曜日にニューヨークに遊びに行きました。友達とWollman Rinkでスケートをして、美味しい韓国レストランで「삼겹살」（豚の腹）を食べました。「김밥」も書いて、プリンストンに帰って、食べました。それからプリンストンで寮にたくさん寝ました。映画もたくさんみました。私の中休みは楽しかったですね。

Final PE Reflection

Throughout this semester, I have enjoyed taking Japanese 101 and learning the basics for this language. While I still feel like I have a long way to go in order to feel comfortable speaking and writing Japanese, I have accomplished many goals that I set for myself through PE exercises. 

At the beginning of the course, there were components that I was hoping to improve on - flow, pronunciation, intonation, and listening. For the most part, I feel like I have made progress on all four. In terms of flow, I still take a while to think about what grammar points I will need to use in order to express what I want to say, but I have gained the muscle memory to say certain expressions more naturally. I haven't had many opportunities to practice speaking Japanese with others, so I think this still will need continuous work. I think I have grasped pronunciation completely. Intonation, however, is something I will always be working on, especially while learning new vocabulary and new grammar. However, despite not knowing exactly the patterns of intonation that will apply to any sentence, no matter what words are in it, I think I have definitely improved, just through practice. Starting up watching anime again has helped my listening skills. I notice now that I can recognize some words and phrases, which is a large improvement from the beginning of the class. Overall, I will work harder to make these improvements last. I am glad to have taken this class and look forward to 102 next semester. Thank you! 

My Winter Break

私の冬休みはとても良かったです。うちに帰って、友達に会って、毎日父のおいしい食べ物を食べました。たくさんゆっくりして、いつも以上に寝ました。そして学校であまり出かけませんが、冬休みに忙しくないので、たくさん出かけました。友達と映画を見て、アイススケートをして、ブランチを遺書に食べました。パーティーにもいきました。うちはサンヂエゴにあるんですが、毎日あった買ったです。冷たくないので、とても嬉しかったです。みんなさんも冬休みにサンヂエゴに行きましょ！とてもいいですよ。

Final Writing Assignment of the Year

Letter to pretend host family:

私のサンクスギビングの休み (My Thanksgiving Break)

サンクスギビングの休みはとても面白かったです。水曜日、11月23日にバスでボストンに友達とお姉さんに会いに行きました。バスでたくさん人があって６時間ぐらいかかりました。６時ごろ駅で友達と会って、遺書に韓国のレストランにフライドチキンを食べに行きました。友達はハーバード大学の学生で、友達のりょうに寝ました。１０時ごろ起きて、遺書に「Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them」の映画を観に行きました。そしてチャイナタウンにタロウパンと卵タルトを食べに行って、ケンブリッジに「Gyu-kaku」で日ほんのラーメンを食べに行きました。あの日、私のお姉さんはボストンにボーイフレンドに会いにきて、遺書にサンクスギビングの晩御飯を食べました。お姉さんのボーイフレンドの料理はとても美味しかったです。私は友達と家族と遺書にいて、とても嬉しかったです。金曜日は黒い金曜日で、８時ごろから１時ごろまで買い物しました。あのばん、高校の友達と会って、イタリアのレストランでおいし晩御飯を食べました。そして「Caffe bene」でかき氷を食べて、話たくさんした。土曜日は友達と再び遺書に見にいきました。その映画は「Doctor Strange」で、とても楽しかったです。そしてアイススケートをして行きました。あのばん、同じ友達と韓国のレストランに行って、いい晩御飯を食べて、カラオケをしました。最後に、サンクスギビングの休みの終わりで、日曜日にバスでプリンストンに来ました。とても楽しい休みでした！

Accomplishing Goals

I have accomplished a few of the goals and activities that I planned at the beginning of this semester: 

In terms of flow, I think I still have a long way to go before I can speak without taking long pauses to think. I am very happy to say that I was able to go to language table this month, as I determined in my goals. As for practicing with a friend, there are few opportunities, so this is still a goal I should continuously try to achieve. 

I think I have a pretty decent grasp of pronunciation. To really pronounce words and put them together like a natural, practice seems to be the only way to improve, so I will continue to do shadowing of the textbook dialogue for further PE assignments. So far I was only able to do it for the most recent shadowing PE assignment. 

To improve my intonation, I said I would practice shadowing anime every week, but that has not been feasible because of how busy I am. However, I continue to shadow anime every time a PE is assigned, and will continue to do so. I think I will revise this goal by instead repeating phrases out loud from the textbook as I study. In addition, I will try to listen to the textbook dialogue from Speak Everywhere and repeat when I have time. 

I have started to watch a 新しいアニメ called 「ユーリ!!! on ICE」to improve my listening skills. However, I watched all the newest episodes in one sitting, which I believe doesn't help in the long term, so from now on I will try to just watch one per week to get a consistent exposure to Japanese. 

Video Blog

Goals

1. Flow - I want to be able to speak fluidly without any long pauses where I am thinking about what to say. To achieve this goal, I will try to go to language table at least once per month and practice speaking with a friend at least twice a week. 
2. Pronunciation - I want to be able to pronounce words clearly and correctly even if I do not understand what they mean. To achieve this goal, I will do shadowing of textbook dialogue every week. 
3. Intonation - I want to be able to speak with correct intonation even if I do not understand what I am saying. To achieve this goal, I will also practice shadowing anime every week. 
4. Listening - I want to improve my listening and recognition skills. To achieve this goal, I will watch one episode of anime per week. 

Simple Introduction

こんにちわ。
わたしはアィスシエです。
プリンストン大学の三年生です。
せんこうはコンピュータサイエンスです。
わたしはカリポニアのサンヂエゴからきました。
アメリカ人です。でも、わたしの両親はちゅうごくからきました。
よろしくおねがいします。

The Reason I Study Japanese

こんにちは、アィスシエです。

The biggest reason why I chose to start studying Japanese this semester is that learning new languages has always been a source of happiness and relaxation for me. There is a saying that to have another language is to possess a second soul. I really take this saying to heart. Learning new languages is one of the few ways I can de-stress from the big worries of my life and step into another consciousness. In fact, I don't think there has ever been or will be a moment in my life where I am not learning another language. As an American-born-Chinese, I automatically grew up attending Chinese school, so I am fluent in Chinese, but I have also learned a tiny bit of French, and know Korean as well. Japanese will now be my fourth.

To be very honest, the reason why I chose Japanese in particular was a combination of different factors. One, I wanted to continue studying Korean at Princeton, but the next level did not fit into my schedule. Two, a close friend of mine, ししみとさん, started learning and I couldn't stop asking her what new words she was learning -- my subconscious was obviously telling me to take this class. Three, learning Japanese has always been on my bucket list. Four, I enjoy watching アニメ and Studio Ghibli and thought it would be fun to explore the language and culture behind these forms of entertainment, just as I started learning Korean because of Korean dramas and K-pop.

There are many times where I have tried to start learning Japanese on my own, but have failed to motivate myself to begin. Thus, I am very excited that I will be able to finally understand and speak it for myself. I am especially excited to learn Kanji, since that means I will be able to see connections between Chinese and Japanese. After the very first day of class, I realized that speaking Japanese is a lot more than just sounding out the words. It also involves intonation and pitch that I was (oddly) completely unaware of beforehand. I think this will be the hardest part about learning Japanese, and will take a lot of practice if I want to sound natural.

Thank you for reading my story. ありがとうございます。

- アィス