Language Learning - Blog Posts

Language Learning Goals 🎀

because I’m just starting out trying to re learn and familiarize myself with the Japanese language again, it was hard for me to think of current goals I might want to achieve, and what time frame I’d want to achieve them in. I think I will begin posting a monthly goals list because as I learn more of the language, my goals are definitely going to change. Right now I have my long term goals for Japanese and then some short term daily/monthly goals!

🌸 Long Term Japanese Goals -

conversational fluency - I want to be able to have comprehensible conversations with native Japanese speakers, and be able to understand what they say and also be able to speak the language myself

understand Japanese media - I want to be able to listen to music and watch Japanese YouTubers and Anime without subtitles

understand spoken/written Japanese - again, I want to be able to know what other people are saying in this beautiful language and also be able to read it to some extent.

My main goals long term are to travel to different parts of Japan in the coming future so being able to speak, understand, and read japanese are my biggest concerns but I’d also like to have that knowledge of writing the characters and knowing proper stroke order too, just for fun and education!

🌸 Daily Japanese Learning Goals -

Use one type of media as a passive learning tool (music, tv shows, YouTube, anime)

Study Flashcards 2-3 times (currently using my hiragana Flashcards I made on Anki)

Minimum of 2 Duolingo lessons

Practice writing the characters in an app (again, currently re learning hiragana)

1 other app lesson used as a supplemental learning tool (renshuu, Bunpo, LingoDeer, drops, etc)

My daily goals are a bit broad as this is typically what I want to do on a day to day basis for about a month of two, and then I will incorporate using textbooks, workbooks, notebooks, and really dive into the self studying and learning more structurally.

🌸 Monthly Japanese Goals (September) -

Memorize hiragana characters

Begin learning basic vocabulary (~30 vocabulary words by end of month)

Begin studying katakana characters (make Flashcards, use apps, etc)

Practicing speaking and pronunciation skills (shadow speak: use YouTube and some tv shows)

Practice realistic listening skills (YouTube videos, tv shows, anime)

Purchase Genki I and Genki II workbook and textbook + Answer Key and chart bundle

Kept a minimum of a 7 - 10 day streak on Duolingo

Joined Japanese club at my university

These are my current goals for the month of September! As the weeks continue, i will assess my progress and build new monthly goals depending on my current progress levels. I’m really excited to be doing this and sharing this journey with everyone. The biggest thing about why I made this blog the way I did was to keep myself accountable for my goals and that is exactly what I plan on doing; reaching my goals!

I so deeply appreciate the encouragement and support you all show me on a consistent basis! It means so much to have this community to keep me accountable and just help keep me on track with my goals but also remind me to be kind to myself! You guys are absolutely amazing <3

Im gonna post a combined daily update for today and yesterday later tonight!

Til next time, lovelies 🩷🤍

***also, wanted to mention, none of the pictures I use are my own!!! I get them from Pinterest but I use them in my posts to keep me motivated to make my space and aesthetic in real life as similar as possible!

Current Japanese Study Routine + Resources 🎀

As you all may know, I am currently self studying Japanese and Spanish, though I am putting Spanish on the back burner for now so I can focus more on Japanese as that is where my passion lies at the moment. Lucky for me, there is a Japanese language and culture club on my university campus that I am (hopefully) going to join next week or the week after, given how busy my schedule ends up being. I thought I’d make a little post about my current routine that I use to study and what resources I am currently using and am planning on purchasing to use in order to build my proficiency in this beautiful language!

Current Resources 🩷

Apps - I am currently playing around with several apps to see which ones work for me, so here is all the apps I currently have downloaded to my iPad/phone

Duolingo - this has been a go to for all language I’ve ever tried to learn, it’s useful for me as a basic introduction to vocabulary, sentence structure, some grammar, and I just like how it involves typing, speaking, listening, and reading.

Drops - this one is just a fun little 5 minutes gamified way to learn vocabulary for me, it’s definitely a go to on my lazier language learning days

Bunpo - I like this for learning the kana but I didn’t realize it costs money to use fully so I am debating purchasing a subscription to the paid version

Write Japanese - this one I’m using to learn the correct stroke order for the kana and I like it for the most part

Renshuu - I just signed in to use this one last night and it looks interesting. I’ve seen it recommended by several blogs and even when google searching language learning and watching YouTube videos so I’m excited to try it out!

NHK for School - I saw someone recommend this on their blog and I remember using the website version in the past so I know this will be helpful when it comes to reading

Jisho - this is a dictionary app that I’ve seen recommended on so many platforms and I’m always open to a good dictionary!

Japanese - this one was recommended on a blog post and it allows you to add vocabulary and interesting phrases so I thought it’d be useful once I start on learning sentence structure and grammar

Italki - this one is the one I’m most excited to use. It connects you to people who speak and teach your target language for a set timed lesson, and it does cost money but you pay by lesson, not on a subscription basis. So if you do one lesson the first week and then another lesson in three weeks or something, you only pay for those two lessons. I’m really looking forward to trying this one out in the future once I get more comfortable with speaking.

Anki - a flash card app I am using to currently learn hiragana and will soon use for katakana and eventually kanji and phrases. I was gonna use Quizlet but I ended up liking this one better for my current needs.

LingoDeer, Memrise, Babbel, HiNative, HelloTalk, Hey Japan, Busuu, Kanji, Kana, Sensei - apps that I have and have not tried yet. I really like the ones I’ve already tried so I’m not sure if I’m going to use these ones soon but if I get bored of current apps than I at least have alternatives to turn to to continue learning

Textbooks/Workbooks/Materials - I currently own two workbooks but will include the resource I am planning on buying, as well as any stationery material I am also using!

Japanese for Busy People I - This was the workbook we had for the Japanese class I took at my university while in high school. My dad ended up buying it for me if I promised not to take Japanese classes once I went to college. (My parents don’t believe it is useful to know and they are helping pay for my education so I didn’t have a choice.) I haven’t started reusing it yet but once I am comfortable with the kana then I will resume using it.

Let’s Learn Katakana - this is a katakana writing book my older brother bought for me (he is supportive of everything I have an interest in even if he doesn’t understand it himself) and it is really useful for learning and practicing writing katakana. However I am still focusing on relearning hiragana so I will return to this workbook after I solidify my hiragana knowledge.

Genki I and Genki II textbook/workbook + answer key bundle - I am planning to buy this off of Amazon as I have heard from most people who are learning Japanese on their own that this set is really useful for self studying so of course I am going to invest in it once I get paid next week.

I am also looking for a hiragana, katakana, and kanji writing workbook to practice those skills.

Free Online Resources -

YouTube!

Anime!

Music

Manga

Anything free I can find online when google searching resources

Stationary Supplies -

Kokuyo Campus Smart Ring Binder in pink

Tombow Fudenosuke Brush Pens in black

Index cards

Pilot g-2 fashion pens

Zebra mild liner highlighter/markers

Papermate Mechanical Pencils

Mini notebook to carry around for vocabulary

My iPad + Apple Pencil + Goodnotes 5

My Chromebook

A lot of resources but I am trying to stick with this for the long term. A few years ago, I self studied Japanese everyday for about 2 years and gained a good understanding but fell off from studying Japanese when I went to university.

My Current Study Routine* 🎀

*when I have more than 30 minutes to study, if I only have 30 minutes or less I just mess around on my language apps

I currently do not use any workbooks or textbooks as I am trying to re familiarize myself with the language. Here’s my current study routine!

Practice Anki flashcards 3 times or until I get 85-90% correct

Practice hiragana writing in Write Japanese app (~10min)

Duolingo lessons for 10 minutes

1 Japanese language Drops lesson

Use Renshuu until I get bored (~10-15min)

Watch an episode of anime as a reward (Japanese audio with English subtitles)

I will switch this up to a more structured way of studying once I start using my textbooks and workbooks, but for now this relaxed style of learning is working for me time wise and attention wise (ADHD brain right here).

I also listen to Japanese music throughout the day and try to recall hiragana characters correctly in my head when I have the time. I also sneak in some practice when at work on my apps and whatnot. I mentioned in my last daily check in some of my favorite Japanese artists, and I also love Japanese versions of K-pop songs too! I’m currently watching Bungou Stray Dogs on crunchyroll right now, and I’m open to any recommendations for what to watch next!

If anyone has any language learning tips or resources they’d want to share, feel free to comment! It would be greatly appreciated!

Til next time my lovelies 🩷🤍

Daily Check-in September 7th, 2023 🎀

Today was...not the most productive day for me if I'm being honest. When I'm using my Ipad to video call my boyfriend, I can't take notes like I want to, so I end up feeling like I'm behind on my homework. I'm genuinely thinking about buying a second Ipad to keep my personal life and academic life separate. I have a 2nd Ipad, but it's with my boyfriend, 1000+ miles away. My university sells one online for 300$ USD so I might buy it when I get paid next week.

🩷 What I Ate Today -

Breakfast - leftover burritos with taco bell Diablo sauce

Lunch - spicy ramen with shredded fiesta blend cheese

Dinner - McDonald's

Snacks - one mint choco chip yasso bar, two cups of coffee with creamer

Not my healthiest eating day but I have been incredibly stressed so I turned to easy, greasy comfort food though all its done is upset my stomach. Tomorrow will be better.

🩷 Personal Habits/Goals I Achieved -

nightly skincare routine

studied Japanese for 10ish minutes

took out my bedroom trash

made a workout plan for the week

made a goal setting plan for working out

got in touch with one of my two assigned registered dietitian mentors

got my three week grown acrylics soaked off professionally

I'm hoping to implement the workout routine tomorrow, but I want to take it slow ish because I'm still recovering from a back injury and whiplash from last week so fingers crossed I don't irritate the injury! Also, I'm super excited to be a dietitian mentee. The one dietitian I'm in contact with currently is absolutely the sweetest!

🩷 Academic Achievements -

finished my Fitness For Health and Sport module 3 notes

posted my discussion post and one classmate response for the same course

completed and passed the module quiz for the same class

completed and passed my Food Fundamentals Chapter 5 Quiz

planned for the next few upcoming days

My job has me scheduled for ~35 hours Friday thru Monday, so I am going to be so tired this weekend, but I need the money because I have rent to pay, I want to buy a Genki 1 & 2 Textbook and Workbook + Answer key & hiragana/sentence chart (and some other resources), I want some more stationary, and I need to buy more groceries soon. I am also planning to buy another Ipad, and add some language app subscriptions to my arsenal of language resources for my lazy days.

🩷 Song of the Day - TT Japanese vr by Twice

I love that there are so many Japanese versions of kpop songs that I absolutely love, so this way I can passively listen to the language while enjoying music! There's also a ton of J-pop songs I'm currently in love with. Some of my favorite j-pop artists are liSa, Kenshi Yonezu, YOASOBI, Fuji Kaze, Suda Masaki, Ado, etc.

I did not workout today, I did not do morning skincare, and I did not make my bed. I am planning on getting back on track tomorrow. I appreciate this platform and my followers who help me want to stay on track. I appreciate all 300+ of you <3

Til next time, lovelies 🩷

Updated* Current Goals/Habits I Wish To Achieve 🎀

I have added and removed some daily goals and habits from my first posted list, so I thought I’d post an updated list of my goals and habits!

Workout 20+ Minutes Daily

Daily walks OR 10,000 steps a day

Drink 100oz of water daily

Read 30+ min or 10+ pages daily

Skincare routine AM and PM

Journal AM and PM

Make bed every morning

Study a language 10+ minutes daily

Sleep 6 - 8 hours nightly

Practice a hobby 10+ minutes daily

The two languages I am currently focusing on studying are Spanish and Japanese, the two languages I love the most. Once I get more comfortable with Japanese, I do plan on picking up Korean, as that is my third favorite. I used to self study Japanese for two years and even took a university Japanese class but had to stop and haven’t picked it up. Spanish is useful for where I live and I also think it is a beautiful language, and I’ve taken university classes for Spanish but due to my personal situations at the time, I wasn’t successful in those classes. I do currently have my Japanese textbook from my previous class as well as two Spanish textbooks from my previous classes.

Some hobbies I am trying to get back into is drawing and reading, and I am looking into starting some other hobbies such as crochet, cooking, scrapbooking/bullet journaling, painting, photography, learning sign language, and as I mentioned, language learning,

If anyone has any language learning (self study) tips or resources, tips and resources for any of the mentioned hobbies, or any general motivation or encouragement you want to share, please feel free! It would be greatly appreciated!

I know realistically I will not accomplish everything I listed every single day but the goal ultimately is to make an honest effort and keep my priorities in line with my daily actions. I am going to consistently work on myself and guide my daily routines towards progress and productivity while still giving myself the rest and recovery I need.

Thank you all!

Til next time, lovelies! 🩷🤍

Creo en Ti por Reik: Vocabulario y Gramática

Esta canción escuché por la primera vez hoy y me sentí que “Creo en Ti” (video abajo)sea una de mas canciones lindas de mi vida. Entonces, quiero compartir con ustedes alguno vocabulario clave y algunos puntos gramaticales que aparecen dentro de esta canción. ¡Disfruta! 

TR: I heard this song for the first time today and I felt that “Creo en Ti” is one of the most beautiful songs of my life. So I want to share with you some key vocabulary and some grammar points that appear within this song. Enjoy!

Letras (Lyrics)

Vocabulario Calve

creo en ti - I believe in you

(la) noche - (the) night

(el) cielo - sky (or heaven depending on context)

(la) calle - street

(el) laberinto - labyrinth

rendir (v.) - to defeat (this verb has many meanings, in this context, it means defeat)

(la) piel -skin

(el) corazón - heart

desarmar (v.) - to disarm, to take apart, to disassemble

(el) amor - love

(las) luces - lights

(el) alma (n.f.) - soul

indestructible (adj.) - indestructible 

(el) dolor - pain

(las) fantasmas - ghosts, phantoms

(la) paz - peace

(la) caída libre - free fall

Gramática 

Porque el cielo ha conspirado en mi favor - Because the heavens have conspired in my favor: 

ha conspirado = present perfect tense (haber + participio pasada)

Me haces bien - You make me better (literally: you make me well)

me (pronombre) + haces (hacer en el presente 2a persona) + bien (adjetivo)

Creo en ti - I believe in you

Creo (creer en el presente 1a persona) 

Creer means to believe. When pared with “en” + “persona/pronombre” it means “to believe in...”

Me ha vuelto indestructible - I have become indestructible

volverse (con pronombre) = to become

“vuelto” is the past participle of volver(se), it’s irregular

me vuelvo (presente) = I become

me ha vuelto (pres. perfect) = I have become

Mi dolor se quedo kilómetros atrás = my pain stayed kilometers away

se quedo = quedarse en el pasado 3a persona

this verb always needs a reflexive pronoun

Past tenses

te encontré   = I found you

crucé = I crossed

esperé = I hoped/waited (what a fun wordplay)

This was super fun to work on! I didn’t include everything because that would take forever! I love this song so much, it’s so cute and sweet. 

If you have any questions, reply to this post and hopefully I can help you out. This is my first time making one of these!

 chloé stafler's french cover of sweater weather slapped me across the face with a french textbook and i took the hit gladly

rediscovering my love of french and wanting to pick it up again, i used to hate it in school but now i realise how the structure of school and exams just ironically kills of the feeling of wanting to learn. please interact and tell me your fav methods of learning languages? or just your experiences with learning french in general?

Hey did you know I keep a google drive folder with linguistics and language books  that I try to update regularly 

UPDATE because apparently not everyone has seen this yet the new and improved version of this is a MEGA folder

I know there’s so many more urgent things but if you like this resource you may consider buying me a ko-fi

Duolingo Sucks, Now What?: A Guide

Now that the quality of Duolingo has fallen (even more) due to AI and people are more willing to make the jump here are just some alternative apps and what languages they have:

"I just want an identical experience to DL"

Busuu (Languages: Spanish, Japanese, French, English, German, Dutch, Italian, Portuguese, Chinese, Polish, Turkish, Russian, Arabic, Korean)

"I want a good audio-based app"

Language Transfer (Languages: French, Swahili, Italian, Greek, German, Turkish, Arabic, Spanish, English for Spanish Speakers)

"I want a good audio-based app and money's no object"

Pimsleur (Literally so many languages)

Glossika (Also a lot of languages, but minority languages are free)

*anecdote: I borrowed my brother's Japanese Pimsleur CD as a kid and I still remember how to say the weather is nice over a decade later. You can find the CDs at libraries and "other" places I'm sure.

"I have a pretty neat library card"

Mango (Languages: So many and the endangered/Indigenous courses are free even if you don't have a library that has a partnership with Mango)

Transparent Language: (Languages: THE MOST! Also the one that has the widest variety of African languages! Perhaps the most diverse in ESL and learning a foreign language not in English)

"I want SRS flashcards and have an android"

AnkiDroid: (Theoretically all languages, pre-made decks can be found easily)

"I want SRS flashcards and I have an iphone"

AnkiApp: It's almost as good as AnkiDroid and free compared to the official Anki app for iphone

"I don't mind ads and just want to learn Korean"

lingory

"I want an app made for Mandarin that's BETTER than DL and has multiple languages to learn Mandarin in"

ChineseSkill (You can use their older version of the course for free)

"I don't like any of these apps you mentioned already, give me one more"

Bunpo: (Languages: Japanese, Spanish, French, German, Korean, and Mandarin)

Finally continuing on a book that i really really need to return to the uni library; and just skipped a chapter (they're independent essays) because it wasn't relevant/interesting to me; but this next chapter is coming through within the first paragraph:

"To know another's language and not his culture is a very good way to make a fluent fool of yourself"

- attributed to Winston Brembeck

STOP SHOWING ME VIDEOS LIKE THIS OR I'LL GO ON ANOTHER RANT ABOUT WHY LANGUAGE DIFFICULTY CLASSIFICATIONS ARE ANGLOCENTRIC AND FRANKLY OFTEN RACIST BULLSHIT

What they don’t tell you about speaking multiple languages is that your brain does not in fact have a box labeled Spanish and another one labeled German. Instead it has a box labeled “Not English” and sometimes when you’re talking or writing in one of the languages you speak it will just start pulling random words from that box.

Do you have any tips on how to improve your writing in your target language ? I've been learning English for four years and I still write like a five year old

Here's some ideas:

If you struggle with forming sentences, you could start by simply copying texts in your target language, e.g. news articles, quotes, lyrics, and so on. That way you'll get used to the rhythm of the language and how the sentence structure looks

If you don't know what to write about, maybe you could write daily diary entries. Or short summaries of your favourite books or films. Or you could make a special tumblr blog dedicated to posts about something you're passionate about, e.g. describing comic books, writing fan fics in your target language, translating memes into your target language, etc.

Maybe you can try the app Slowly. It's an app where you can find penpals around the world who speak your target language or are also learning that language. Find someone, send them a nice letter, and then you can practice together

The most important thing is that you practice regularly, so finding nice people to talk to or finding a topic you're passionate about and love writing about would probably be the best tips i have

I hope this helps a bit!

i cannot keep quiet about this anymore.

if you're in the US or Canada and interested in learning a language using a free app please get a library card and download MANGO. it's very good and extremely free with a library card (there are many public libraries and universities using the service, so make an account and use the search feature here to find out if there's one near you).

mango currently has 72 available languages and dialects (that's right! different courses for french or canadian french! spanish or latam spanish!). it's set up basically like an audiobook with text. the idea is that the narrator explains the words while you read, and you repeat after them or say the translation out loud when prompted. there's a daily review where you go through flashcards. you can also use the flashcards at your leisure and create your own. at the end of each chapter there's a listening comprehension quiz and a reading comprehension quiz. i cannot emphasize how effective this all is. and it's free with a card.

if you're not in the US or Canada and/or looking for something more like duolingo (don't use duolingo btw tldr they fired translators and replaced them with "ai"), then try BUSUU! it only has 14 languages atm but the lessons are really descriptive and effective. it also has a feature where you can correct other people's open-ended speaking/typing exercises. you set your fluent languages, and exercises by people learning those languages will appear in your feed for you to correct. you can even add others as friends! and, much like duolingo, it has a streak and leaderboard system for you to strive for, minus the guilt-tripping owl.

busuu is free (you watch ads to unlock lessons and they're all skippable after like five seconds), although it also has paid premium/plus versions (i don't use the paid version—the language courses are available for free, and the ad system is Really unobtrusive).

so that's my wisdom for the day. mango and busuu. please check them out :)

Professor Bathsheda Babbling

Professor Bathsheda Babbling was a witch and professor of Study of Ancient Runes at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Professor Babbling is the only language teacher in Hogwarts.

Anciet Runes is more than only a language in the Wizardry World given its magical properties, but still...

"I mistranslated ehwaz... It means partnership, not defence; I mixed it up with eihwaz."

—Hermione Granger after her Ancient Runes O.W.L.

The Study of Ancient Runes (commonly shortened to Ancient Runes) is an elective course at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and presumably Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, that can be taken by students third year and above.

It was taught by Professor Bathsheda Babbling during the 1990s at least and it is the study of runic scriptures, or Runology. Ancient Runes is a mostly theoretical subject that studies the ancient runic scripts of magic.

and if i started learning german because of erik lehnsherr and russian because of bucky barnes

Language learning is so damn attractive. Like, who wouldn't look good when they spend hours understanding a language's illogical grammar and twisted vocabulary and have mental break downs because of it?

15th April 2024

I've been ignoring my language course for the past 7+ months and my final exam for it is coming closer day by day T-T

Overall a productive day...

Today I :

Completed 5 lessons with grammar in Arabic

Attended my Arabic class

Finished my homework

Read 100+ pages (still counting)

Completed a novel

Total study time: 1 hour 30 mins