Ways to study for Year 12 Japanese????

[zibb3r]

Hi guys,

Next year I'll be in Year 12 for for Japanese.  I would just like to know what I should do over the holidays that will be beneficial to my studies for next year.  I am quite good in Japanese and according to the class ranking I'm first.  However, I really need to practice and work hard over quite a few things.  I was thinking maybe watching Japanese subbed anime but then realised that the anime speech is more of a casual type of talking whereas I need more formal.  I know the kanji required but do you guys have any other ideas that would benefit me???

Thanks

[Furbob]

hello there! I am presumably ranked 1st in my class as well since I got the award at my school
anyway boasting aside, if you're crazy like me, I'd go on to learning even more kanji or start doing some of the exercises from the red kookoo seikatsu book (I assume everyone uses that book) or read about the Detailed Studies?

I find that there are a lack of resources for VCE Japanese so it can be hard doing extra imo

[Greatness]

Well i would say just memorise all the kanji maybe a few extra ones, all appropriate grammar points, particle use and most importantly have a good vocabulary!!
My teacher says taht vocabulary is very important, as it is a waste of time looking in dictionaries for a word that you dont know.
As Furbob said there arent too many Japanese resources...

[IntoTheNewWorld]

I find that there are a lack of resources for VCE Japanese so it can be hard doing extra imo

But there's heapppppppppps of non VCE resources D:

I personally find the best resources are Jap books, i.e raw manga and light novels. It's absolutely brutal Kanji/Vocab wise, but eventually it gets easier. You can find stuff on the internet or buy them online or buy them at http://www.burningbooks.com.au/store/?language=jp, http://www.kangakanga.com.au/, or http://www.foreignlanguagebookshop.com.au/ which are all Melbourne based.

E.g Bakemonogatari - http://www.mediafire.com/?5zmu2tzn5md

Textbook wise, I like Kanzen Master (完全マスター）for pure grammar, lots of grammar.
http://www.amazon.com/Japanese-Language-Proficiency-Grammar-masutaa/dp/4883190889/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1292394625&sr=1-3

This is after you at least know at least all the VCE stuff though.

But in reality most people stick to VCE resources only and it's perfectly possible to get to the top on just VCE stuff - I'm just suggesting alternatives for when you get bored of VCE textbook drills.

Well i would say just memorise all the kanji maybe a few extra ones, all appropriate grammar points, particle use and most importantly have a good vocabulary!!
My teacher says taht vocabulary is very important, as it is a waste of time looking in dictionaries for a word that you dont know.

Yeah I would say Vocabularly (and associated Kanji) > Everything else. It's verrrry damaging if you have to use a dictionary, particularly during listening, and obviously during the Oral you can't use a dictionary.

[Greatness]

btw does noone use Wakatta? What's with this red book >_<

The red book is the kookoo seikatsu  book 2 by keiko aitchison. Is this the same as the Wakatta??

[IntoTheNewWorld]

btw does noone use Wakatta? What's with this red book >_<

The red book is the kookoo seikatsu  book 2 by keiko aitchison. Is this the same as the Wakatta??

Wakatta is the thick orange book which isn't too bad. It's not koukou seikatsu.

[Furbob]

does anyone use the "Lets Go Tango" book? I think yr it decided to go out of print so our teacher is sending us .pdf copies but it's a VCE vocab bible

...and I dont mind sharing

http://www.independentschools.vic.edu.au/schools/pubs/lote/japanese_part_1.pdf


http://www.independentschools.vic.edu.au/schools/pubs/lote/japanese_part_2.pdf


http://www.independentschools.vic.edu.au/schools/pubs/lote/japanese_part_3.pdf

[Greatness]

Thanks Furbob!!! This should be very helpful

[Furbob]

and something else to add on - if you want another textbook to work on in your own time, I suggest buying the "Genki 2" workbook (not the textbook! unless you have $50~$70 to burn, the workbook is only $25 or less)

you can easily torrent the textbook for the grammar explanations and answers and work on them. Most of the grammar is similar to the kookoo seikatsu 1&2 books but they add a little more on and throw more vocab in the sentences you have to translate.

Not to mention that there's more kanji drills too! <3

[spaciiey]

Contrary to the others, I think that if you get used to being able to use your dictionary quickly it can be a useful tool in the exam.

My advice to you would be to read as much Japanese that you can -- it doesn't matter what it is -- blog posts, websites, manga, kid's books -- and make sure you look up everything you don't know. Try to get ones with furigana in them though, otherwise you''ll have major problems looking things up. Like's been said, it is horrifyingly difficult at first but it gets easier. Also, I would advise watching movies, and tv shows and so on in Japanese. Yes, the manner of speaking is very casual, but you still pick up lots of good vocab along the way, and it improves your listening skills. Even so, it's probably more useful in the long run to learn how to speak in a more casual manner, if you have an interest in Japanese as a language rather than a subject, like I do.

Textbook wise, I cannot really advise you on because I must admit, I did not touch my textbook all year, out of class. Sorry bout that.

[Furbob]

Try to get ones with furigana in them though, otherwise you''ll have major problems looking things up. Like's been said, it is horrifyingly difficult at first but it gets easier.

If you use firefox, I highly suggest using Rikaichan - a program that makes the furigana pop-up on the kanji that your cursor highlights and it comes up the word's meaning (although that defeats the purpose of using the dictionary)

[Greatness]

thanks again Furbob, spaciiey i intend to watch bleach but cant be bothered atm xD also i do find tthe dictionary a useful tool but it is time consuming....

[IntoTheNewWorld]

thanks again Furbob, spaciiey i intend to watch bleach but cant be bothered atm xD also i do find tthe dictionary a useful tool but it is time consuming....

I still find it stupid that the Kodansha Furigana dictionary costs a fortune but does not have coloured tabs on the side, seriously.

[Greatness]

Is that 'Kodansha Furigana dictoinary' good? Because our jap teacher is going to get us to buy new ones next year as our ones are pretty average.

[Furbob]

it's one of these~ nothing special about it though - your average half english-japanese dictionary

(at least it beats the huge beast of a dictionary that the French people at my school use!)