+1 Challenge Weekly Update #2

So this week has been another successful stampede into unknown territories. As opposed to my initial approach to learning Japanese, which seemed to be treating the language like a precious porcelain doll, now I'm pretty much speaking Japanese like I'm driving the language without the recommended due care or attention for grammatical perfection, pronunciation and yep, even making up Japanese vocabulary words to slot into the missing gaps.

Of course, that's not to say that understanding the grammar, pronouncing words correctly or even using the right words isn't important ... it is important ... however, it's not AS important as speaking, playing, throwing it around to see what happens if I try to do something I haven't done before ... cast myself out of my comfort zone ... scare myself from time to time (the brain loves the occasional scare!) ... and that's what I need to be doing.

So rather than carefully navigating around these obstacles to my progress in language learning ... I'm just saying, "I'm learning new stuff ... and whenever I learn new stuff ... I want to try it out ... see what happens if I use it this way ... what happens if I disobey the rules I've just learned but don't yet fully appreciate or understand". Because what happens is this ... firstly, I have an absolutely fantastic time playing in the language ... secondly, I record my tutored sessions, so whilst I've got time to practice talking with a native speaker, it doesn't seem very efficient to spend that time going over and over the pronunciation of a word I'm finding difficult to understand ... neither does it doesn't seem efficient to spend the vast majority of speaking time breaking the spell of immersion by hopping out of the target language for an English explanation of something ...  so poo to delicately tippy-toe-ing around in this the language ... I shall go forth in my Ronald McDonald sized boots trampling all over the place and getting myself into a right old mess ... so that later on, in my free time, I can reflect on what happened, where I trod in the biggest proverbial dollops of language-dung ... clean myself up ... and have another go next time!

For anyone who's a fan of the series Red Dwarf ... I've imagined how Arnold Rimmer would approach learning a language ... and taken completely the opposite direction. Am I studying hard? ... heck yeah ... am I putting in the hours of practice? ... abso-flippin-lutely .... am I having a good time? ..... I'm having a ball!!! Will I be successful? ... well, watch this space ... but even though I'm still very far from my goal, I've gained momentum and I'm skiddlydiddlyling along, wheels spinning as I push my foot down on the accelerator ... and it certainly seems more probable that I'll get there than if I sat reading an instruction manual from cover to cover before getting into the vehicle. Again, I'm not saying don't read a manual ... I'm doing that ... Tae Kim's Grammar Guide for example ... it's an instruction manual ... and thus far, I'm finding it to be a pretty good one. But rather than just read it and blindly accept that I must know where the brake peddle is ... crashing is so much more dramatic ... hence ... off I go, crashing Japanese into metaphorical walls, hedges ... occasional fruit and vegetable stands ... you name it ... I'll crash into it ... and the faster I go, the more likely it is that I'll get airbourne ... and its at those moments ... when you're "in the language" ... yeah ... that's when the brain gets really turned on and starts doing the work for me ... the work that Arnold Rimmer and his kin would do by rote learning verb tables perhaps.

Have I learned any other languages this way ... well, I was going to say, "nope" ... I'm a monoglot ... but when I think about it ... this is how I learned to talk my native language. Does it work for learning a second language ... I don't know ... some folks would argue that I deserve a smacked bottom ... well, they'll have to catch me first .... but hey, I'll have much more experience in driving stolen vehicles won't I!?

Anyway, thank you to all the people supporting me along the way; the tutors, fellow +1 challengers, Mikie-san, friends and acquaintances that I meet along the way. You are all amazing people and inspire me greatly. Right, so on that note ... Update for Week 2 ... here are my weeks notes etc

WEEK 2:

Monday
TKG: 54 – 58
3.8 Particles used with verbsを andにJ
Grow 10 new words on Memrise. J

Tuesday
TKG: 58 – 61
3.8 Particles used with verbsへJ andでJ
Grow 10 new words on Memrise. J
Speak Japanese at large Japanese conversation meetup. J

Wednesday
TKG: 62 – 67
3.9 Transitive and Intransitive VerbsJ
3.10 Relative Clauses and Sentence OrderJ
Grow 10 new words on Memrise. J
Speak Japanese for 30 mins. J

Thursday
TKG: 68 – 69
3.11 Noun-related Particles
Speak Japanese for 60 mins. J
Grow 10 new words on Memrise. J
Speak Japanese at Small Weekly Japanese Meetup. J

Friday
TKG: 70 – 73
3.11.3 The Vague Listing 「や」and 「とか」particles
[unplanned] http://japanese.about.com/od/grammarlessons/a/031101c.htm
Grow 10 new words on Memrise. J
Speak Japanese for 30 mins. J

Saturday
Test Vocabulary J (87/100)
Speak Japanese for 60 mins. J

Sunday
Water vocabulary J
Make update  J
Review the grammar concepts learned.


Notes from this weeks study

the first example should be ' kanojo wa natsu no hana no youni desu'