Q/A and advice for 2012/Future VCE Japanese Students

[RazzMeTazz]

Is けど to informal to use in the oral exam? Should I stick to using  けれど or が?
Also, is it okay for the oral exam to have a plain form in the middle of the sentence but the ending of the sentence is still polite, (so thus the whole sentence is still polite) or is it better to have polite form throughout?

E.g

Which would be better:
(1). しずかですから好きじゃないです。
(2) しずかだから、好きじゃないです。

Thanks

[RazzMeTazz]

Also does anyone have any advice on how to make sentences more sophisticated? I feel like all of mine are very basic!

Thanks

[AngelWings]

Also does anyone have any advice on how to make sentences more sophisticated? I feel like all of mine are very basic!

Thanks

Well... that'll depend on context, of course. Some good ideas would be:

• add conjunctions.
• add a time phrase e.g.～時.
• add reasons, using ので,  から, なぜなら, etc.
• use relative clauses (adjectives, plain form verbs, adverbs, etc. before a noun) - described in Keiko Aitchison's books and in the Wakatta series.
• cite sources where necessary or possible e.g. ～によると、～ そうです.
• List things - reasons or actions performed. Use ～たり、～たり or ～し、～。

Hope that helps.

[Deshouka]

Is けど to informal to use in the oral exam? Should I stick to using  けれど or が?
Also, is it okay for the oral exam to have a plain form in the middle of the sentence but the ending of the sentence is still polite, (so thus the whole sentence is still polite) or is it better to have polite form throughout?

E.g

Which would be better:
(1). しずかですから好きじゃないです。
(2) しずかだから、好きじゃないです。

Thanks

Although I don't think they'll take off marks for just using けど, it's preferable to use が

For your second question, I think it's better to be polite throughout, although again, unless you're going to say おれ or 好きだぞ it really won't matter as long as you're well mannered.
Good luck for your oral exam btw!

[RazzMeTazz]

Although I don't think they'll take off marks for just using けど, it's preferable to use が

For your second question, I think it's better to be polite throughout, although again, unless you're going to say おれ or 好きだぞ it really won't matter as long as you're well mannered.
Good luck for your oral exam btw!

Thankyou so much Deshouka for the help!

Thankyou, goodluck to you as well!

[sammiegan]

In the exam if we use kanji that isn't in the VCE prescribed kanji list, do we need to include the furigana above it?
Because sometimes for certain kanji I'm not really  how to place the furigana.

For e.g. for the word 明後日 I'm not really sure where you would place the 'さって’ part?

Thanks

[op4blushift]

In the exam if we use kanji that isn't in the VCE prescribed kanji list, do we need to include the furigana above it?
Because sometimes for certain kanji I'm not really  how to place the furigana.

For e.g. for the word 明後日 I'm not really sure where you would place the 'さって’ part?

Thanks

Nope. The VCE assessors should know how to read much more than the prescribed list of kanji. You're wasting your time if you're doing that in the essay section, or anywhere else (Source: my teacher).

Just make sure that you're writing the kanji correctly.

[ST0123]

Hi everyone!
Could anyone tell me whether we should include a topic/ subject for emails or not. My Japanese teacher crosses it out every time I write it in, but in the study design under features of an email there is topic. What does everyone else do?

Thanks.

[jibba]

[My post got deleted it seems]

Anyway, I'm overseas at the moment but will be around for any VCE Japanese questions that 2016 students might have over the summer break.
I found a great article explaining differences between Ni and De: http://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2015/12/14/language/going-places-staying-put-particles-ni-de/#.Vm_ryGR953n

Good Luck 2016!

[xjiaa]

Hello,

Just wondering if there are any advice on answering in Japanese, especially for listening? Although I can understand what is being said I have trouble noting key information down in time and answering in Japanese.

Thank you

[jibba]

Hello,

Just wondering if there are any advice on answering in Japanese, especially for listening? Although I can understand what is being said I have trouble noting key information down in time and answering in Japanese.

Thank you

Hi xjiaa,

That's quite a common issue SL students have.
I like taking notes in roomaji as I find that a lot quicker to note down key information than writing hiragana. But if you prefer hiragana that's okay too.
Try also just to note down the key vocab and point being said rather than copying the whole grammar pattern.
The first listening is the most important as well, you should do your best to note down as much as possible in the first listening.

If you're understanding the content, that's a great stage to be at, but also knowing a wide range of vocabulary is a great help too. Potentially, you might have instances where you know the vocabulary but you didn't recognise it while listening to it.
It's a good idea to watch some Japanese drama or news to get used to how the vocab you rote-learned sound when said and the context they are used in.

Hope those pointers help

[xjiaa]

Hi xjiaa,

That's quite a common issue SL students have.
I like taking notes in roomaji as I find that a lot quicker to note down key information than writing hiragana. But if you prefer hiragana that's okay too.
Try also just to note down the key vocab and point being said rather than copying the whole grammar pattern.
The first listening is the most important as well, you should do your best to note down as much as possible in the first listening.

If you're understanding the content, that's a great stage to be at, but also knowing a wide range of vocabulary is a great help too. Potentially, you might have instances where you know the vocabulary but you didn't recognise it while listening to it.
It's a good idea to watch some Japanese drama or news to get used to how the vocab you rote-learned sound when said and the context they are used in.

Hope those pointers help

Thank you!

[japanese]

Hi everyone,

What is the email structure on Genkouyoushi?

Thanks!~

[Elizawei]

Anyone know the newspaper article format?

[jibba]

Anyone know the newspaper article format?

I'm not sure of the exact genkouyoushi format, but I'd write it in plain form as actual newspaper articles are written in plain form.

Keep it similar to a regular essay structure: Title (maybe in 「」 brackets), Name on second line, plain form writing, and usual Intro, Body, Conclusion.