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Literacy Blog: Kanji

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  I am still learning kanji and am far from knowing them. Im listening to videos and tapes on how to remember them trying to gain more ideas.  I’ve been trying to look at the shapes and just memorize them. The number ten symbol in kanji looks like to me a sideways Roman numeral x. The symbol 3 is easy to remember because it’s get 3 sideways strokes. The symbol for money or gold looks like a wishing well to me.  The symbol for two is also two sideways strokes.  My sister who speaks Japanese gave me a link to Japanese Pod 01. They break the kanji character into smaller components that are called radicals. They say radicals are the building blocks of kanji and each character has at least one radical. The showed how the person radical is in several Kanji characters and how to recognize them. I’m still learning them.  I am also doing the lessons in our class and trying to figure out what helps me the best to remember.  Sometimes when I see an image in something I can learn easier. 
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Blog: Community & Mentoring

I believe it’s important to find a language community mainly, because there’s strength in numbers. If there’s something I don’t know I can ask another person within the community. If they don’t know the answer I can reach out to ask another person. The more people in a language community the more help I can get. Another reason to join a language community would be so you don’t get discouraged and give up. So many times I get frustrated, because I don’t know the answer. If I don’t have a language community or anyone to ask I get thrown behind.  People within a language community could keep you accountable and encourage you letting you know your not the only one.  They can help you to stay engaged, challenging you so you don’t lose interest in your language.  In a language community there are many people with many different ideas as to how to learn. If my way of learning wasn’t working then another person could shown me their way of leaning and it might work for me instead.  I have some
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Literacy Blog: Katakana

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When learning katakana, by making the letters into images I can relate too, I recognize them a lot more. This has really helped me to learn both katakana and hiragana. I have written out a chart and included my name on the chart I made. Some of the characters in my name I have memorized by the way they look, also, eg smiley face in my name Nancy.  My sister found me a Japanese video online connecting images with Hiragana and Katakana, but I’m also reading the main book on our school site which includes a chart and ideas for images attached to those letters too. Writing the images frequently help with learning as well.  Some suggestions for images I just  can’t see so I’m using the image that comes easier for me to see it. It’s not super easy to memorize all the characters yet that way,  but it has sped things up a lot for me. I’m really believing that learning a different language helps memory, I think it has helped me this short time since taking up Japanese.  I learn from a lot of ha
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Literacy Blog 3: Book Report

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I think the book is about a family, ( 3 kids, mom and dad and grandpa) it’s about things they do all year long in everyday life. The daughter in pink introduces herself. She goes to her father and asks her father something, then to the mother, then to her siblings.  She goes to ask her dog now.  It might be what they all want for. Christmas? She ends up bringing her dog some bones. Mother and father begin by baking some things for a family outing. They all go to the amusement part together, Then father takes his son to a pond to skip rocks.  One of the son takes time to ponder under a fall tree.  Mother and daughter begin flower hunting to make an art work from flowers. Mother bad daughter have a picnic together mother realizes she forgot the chopsticks .  The phone rings and the girl gets to speak to grandpa. Probably making arrangement for the holidays.  The kids go out and play tag, the season progresses towards winter. Grandpa arrives and brings a present ( maybe a cake?
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Genre Exploration 2

This time the title of the book is at the bottom instead of the right side. Story starts on the cover page again instead of after the cover page.  The book is written about the day of a police officer, all the things he does in a days work.  てけすた Te kesuta Little girl goes to the police station crying. Police on bicycle says hi to lady walking a stroller. Police on bicycle asks boy on bike with another person to slow down. Police rounding comer to see girl trying to keep her ice cream cone from getting eaten by a dog. Police helps little girl. Then police see kids trek to climb a tree to get something. The cat is stuck in the tree. The police officer starts to climb tree to get the cat. Kids are happy.  The cat ends up falling down and police officer is left hanging on a tree limb.  good nonbako sashiko ( little stabs)  The next book is about the daily jobs of a police officer too. He’s chasing a criminal at first, then greeting an elderly man and his dog,  helping an
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Literacy Blog 2: Sumimasen

The book appears to be about everyday life of a young woman. She’s boards the bus for work and while on the bus the driver has to stop suddenly. A cat is crossing the path and someone gets the cat to safely.  The girl finally gets to work and greets everyone in her office. She has to do a lot of research when she gets to work and isn’t too happy about it but does it.  In the meantime a worker spills coffee all over himself and she tries to comfort him. She also tried to help a fellow worker who is also doing research.  Someone is celebrating in the work force with giving cookies out and she’s thankful.  She’s finally done for the day and waves goodby to everyone in the work place and runs to catch the bus. When she gets there she doesn’t find the bus there and the bus has a sign on it “sorry out of service.” She looks distraught while kneeling down on the sidewalk.  I recognize the word Sumimasen is used a lot in the book.  I notice in the Japanese language people say their sorry more
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Genre Exploration 1

#intercultural #genre #ethnologistnotebook The book is written in hiragana, Katakana and Kanji.  The book is different than English comic books because the title of the book is found on the far right side of the page and is read from left to right. The author is at the bottom of the page. The book starts on the front cover instead of after you open the book.  The images seem the same to me as an English comic book, depending on what the comic book your reading.  The books are also written about everyday life as a family, the struggles of a day. The season seems to be in summer because the mother is riding a bike to bring her husbands briefcase to him.  Title: Everyday Kimurake when will you come The father is in a big hurry to get to work. In the meantime everyone else is starting there day out right with a good breakfast, getting dressed and ready for school.  In the meantime the father is still frustrated getting ready and eating on the run. He’s in such a hurry to get to work and he
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