What's up!
After returning back to the states I was on a train headed back home from NYC and just thinking to myself and I came up with a question. I wanted to ask other people, not only friends but strangers too. I also wanted to ask a variety of people from different places and different backgrounds.
I wanted to ask you:
As an American, what does it mean to be American to you?
およそ１ヶ月半前に日本からアメリカに帰国しました。日本に住んだ２年間で、僕の世界は広がっていきました。色々な世界の人々と会って、個人的な考えや感情と面白い話をして交流しました。 この経験から色々な考えを思い付きました。
先週末に大阪から友達がアメリカに来たので、ニューヨークに遊びに行きました。その日が終って、電車の中でよく考え、そしてこの質問を思い付きました。
As an American, what does it mean to be American to you?
アメリカ人として、そして自分にとって、アメリカ人の意味とは、なんだと思いますか？
日本に行く前は、そういう考え方がなかったんです。国際的な考え方に興味があるので、これを日本人にも聞きたいです。
日本人として、日本人の意味とは、なんだと思いますか？
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Friday, June 04, 2010
Intermediate Japanese? 中級レベルかなぁ？
僕の日本語は中級レベルかなぁ？
日本語の勉強を始めてから、もうすぐ２年になります。僕はどれぐらい日本語を覚えたかな。中級ぐらいだと思いたいですが、毎日基本的な間違いもいっぱいあります。例えば助詞の使い方とか、動詞活用の規則などよく間違えます。
もうアメリカに帰りましたが、日本に２年間住んでいる間に日本の生活に慣れ、日本語も大分上達しました。日本に住んでいた時には会話はいつもチャレンジになっていました。限られた能力で自分の気持ちと思いを伝えればそれぞれの会話は小さな勝利になります。失敗もありました。すべての会話を１００％分からなくても、そのチャレンジを好きになりました。楽しかったけれども僕はもっと勉強しなきゃと思いました。特に外人の友達から見たら僕は日本語がとても上手だろうけど、自分としてはまだ十分じゃないんだと思う。
友達に「日本語では自分に厳し過ぎだよ」と言われましたが、僕はそうは思いません。日本人は英語圏の国に住むと早く上達することができて、一年ぐらいで大体ぺらぺらになります。少し大げさかもしれませんがそんなことよくあるでしょう。しかし、外人は何年も日本に住んでいても、なかなか日本語を覚えられません。何でだろう？確かにぺらぺらの外人もいますが、今までにそういう人に二人しか会ったことがありません。
日記を書くときは、ゆっくりできるし、辞書を使えるし、大体僕の気持ちと思いも伝えられます。しかし話す時に言葉が出てきません。ちょっと緊張して、つたない日本語ばっかりでちゃいます。対面相互作用として僕の気持ちと伝えたいことは、まだちゃんと伝えられません。
話が上達するためにどうしたらいいですか？ もっと頑張らなきゃ！
I wonder if I can consider myself to have Intermediate Japanese?
Soon it'll have been two years since I started studying Japanese. I wonder how much Japanese I've actually managed to learn. I would like to think that I'm at an intermediate level. However I feel like everyday I make very basic mistakes. For example things like verb conjugation or particle placement I seem to make many mistakes.
I've already returned to America but the two years that I did live in Japan I got used to living there, and I also improved my Japanese alot. After living there every conversation became a challenge. If I was able to get across my thoughts and feelings with with my limited vocabulary and ability I considered each conversation a small victory. Of course there were also failures, but I got used to that challenge and I came to like it. I also came to like the fact that I couldn't always understand %100 of everything I hear or see. I told myself I needed to study more. Most of my foreign friends thought my Japanese was very good, or good enough, but I didn't think so. My friends said I was too tough on myself but again, I didn't think so.
If Japanese people live in an English speaking country they learn English so quickly and within one year or so they become more or less fluent. Ok that may be somewhat of an exaggeration but I've met many people that are fluent after living only one year abroad. With foreigners living in Japan they can live there many years, but in very few cases are they fluent. I wonder why this is? Of course there are foreigners that are fluent in Japanese but in my experience I've only met two people to whom this applies to.
Because I can do it slowly at my own speed and with a dictionary I'm able to convey my feelings and thoughts in Japanese, however when it comes to speaking the words just don't seem to come out. I get nervous and I use crude or clumsy Japanese. Basically when I come face to face with someone I just can't say what I want to say at the right time.
What can I do to become better at speaking? I guess I just gotta keep trying.
日本語の勉強を始めてから、もうすぐ２年になります。僕はどれぐらい日本語を覚えたかな。中級ぐらいだと思いたいですが、毎日基本的な間違いもいっぱいあります。例えば助詞の使い方とか、動詞活用の規則などよく間違えます。
もうアメリカに帰りましたが、日本に２年間住んでいる間に日本の生活に慣れ、日本語も大分上達しました。日本に住んでいた時には会話はいつもチャレンジになっていました。限られた能力で自分の気持ちと思いを伝えればそれぞれの会話は小さな勝利になります。失敗もありました。すべての会話を１００％分からなくても、そのチャレンジを好きになりました。楽しかったけれども僕はもっと勉強しなきゃと思いました。特に外人の友達から見たら僕は日本語がとても上手だろうけど、自分としてはまだ十分じゃないんだと思う。
友達に「日本語では自分に厳し過ぎだよ」と言われましたが、僕はそうは思いません。日本人は英語圏の国に住むと早く上達することができて、一年ぐらいで大体ぺらぺらになります。少し大げさかもしれませんがそんなことよくあるでしょう。しかし、外人は何年も日本に住んでいても、なかなか日本語を覚えられません。何でだろう？確かにぺらぺらの外人もいますが、今までにそういう人に二人しか会ったことがありません。
日記を書くときは、ゆっくりできるし、辞書を使えるし、大体僕の気持ちと思いも伝えられます。しかし話す時に言葉が出てきません。ちょっと緊張して、つたない日本語ばっかりでちゃいます。対面相互作用として僕の気持ちと伝えたいことは、まだちゃんと伝えられません。
話が上達するためにどうしたらいいですか？ もっと頑張らなきゃ！
I wonder if I can consider myself to have Intermediate Japanese?
Soon it'll have been two years since I started studying Japanese. I wonder how much Japanese I've actually managed to learn. I would like to think that I'm at an intermediate level. However I feel like everyday I make very basic mistakes. For example things like verb conjugation or particle placement I seem to make many mistakes.
I've already returned to America but the two years that I did live in Japan I got used to living there, and I also improved my Japanese alot. After living there every conversation became a challenge. If I was able to get across my thoughts and feelings with with my limited vocabulary and ability I considered each conversation a small victory. Of course there were also failures, but I got used to that challenge and I came to like it. I also came to like the fact that I couldn't always understand %100 of everything I hear or see. I told myself I needed to study more. Most of my foreign friends thought my Japanese was very good, or good enough, but I didn't think so. My friends said I was too tough on myself but again, I didn't think so.
If Japanese people live in an English speaking country they learn English so quickly and within one year or so they become more or less fluent. Ok that may be somewhat of an exaggeration but I've met many people that are fluent after living only one year abroad. With foreigners living in Japan they can live there many years, but in very few cases are they fluent. I wonder why this is? Of course there are foreigners that are fluent in Japanese but in my experience I've only met two people to whom this applies to.
Because I can do it slowly at my own speed and with a dictionary I'm able to convey my feelings and thoughts in Japanese, however when it comes to speaking the words just don't seem to come out. I get nervous and I use crude or clumsy Japanese. Basically when I come face to face with someone I just can't say what I want to say at the right time.
What can I do to become better at speaking? I guess I just gotta keep trying.
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