私の兄弟 (2/25/16)

父と母と弟がいるので、私の家族は四人家族です。私は弟が一人います。弟は１８歳だから、高校生です。私より弟の方が背が低いです。弟は頭がいいとおもいるから、まい火曜日と水曜日にプリンストン大学に授業を聞きに行っていますよ。私の家族はプリンストンに住んでいるから、よくうちに帰ってゆっくりします。弟は話すのが好きだから、よく高校でディべートをしますね。

中休み (2/4/16)

私の中休みはとても面白くてよっかたです。月曜日にすがくのクラスでプレゼンテーションをしました。そして、木曜日に私は友達とニューヨークに行って韓国の料理を食べて買い物もしました。服をかってデザートを食べました。ニューヨークにスケートをしに行きました。ここの下にしゃしんがありますよ。先週はは雪が降り出するので寮にいてゲームするのが好きなので一日中ルームメイトとゲームをしました。金曜日と土曜日と日曜日にたくさん勉強しました。

Semester 2 Goals (2/4/15)

Woo. So JPN 101 has already come to an end, and I think I would like to revise my goals and methods for this semester.

Goals:

1. Since I'm planning to study abroad next year, I would like to figure out the logistics of continuing Japanese with the professors in charge of study abroad programs (Sato sensei?)
2. I would like to improve the speed at which I speak and also reinforce grammar concepts such as conjugating to て-form and plain form speech styles.
3. The biggest thing that tells the difference between a native Japanese speaker and a learner is the pitch and intonation, so I would also like to more closely remember the pitch and intonation of the new vocab words.

Methods:

1. To achieve my goals, I think that I will take some extra time to review for placement tests and perhaps learn a bit more grammar for when I study abroad.
2. To improve speed, the only way to do this is to practice speaking. So in order to accurately speak faster, I would need to talk to a native Japanese speaker. An easy solution would be to go into Shibata sensei's office hours more often.
3. Again, going to Shibata sensei's office hours just to practice would be helpful in learning the right intonation for each new word.

Goals (1/8/15)

These are my goals from the beginning of the year that I will address.

Goals:

1. By the end of this academic year, I would like to be able to understand and speak basic Japanese so that I could survive in Japan.
2. I want to be able to replicate what a native Japanese person says even if I don't really understand the meaning. 
3. I want to achieve a good enough basic background, so that I can start exploring different areas of Japanese language (vocab, grammar) or culture on my own free time.

Plans:

1. Since I'm not too interested in anime, I plan to watch one or two episodes of a Japanese drama every week in order to practice my listening comprehension and pick up more colloquial expressions.
2. When I search up names of Japanese shows or any other content, I will try to switch to the Hiragana keyboard to practice my spelling and help distinguish tricky phrases こんにちは（Wrong: こんいちわ）
3. I plan to spend 30 minutes to an hour every day studying Hiragana and Katakana or memorizing and using vocabulary.
4. Since intonation and pitch patterns can be complicated, I will visit Shibata sensei once or twice a month to correct any errors that I might not notice.

じゃね！

1. Goals:  I think that after this semester, I definitely understand enough Japanese to survive in Japan, although perhaps not exactly comfortably. For the second part, through the PE activities, I can now replicate what a native person says to a large degree although there are definitely parts that I think are still too quick. I think with the basics of the plain form, I think I can definitely continue learning more basics in my free time.
2. Plans: I didn't really get a chance to extensively watch any dramas, but I was able to pick up some colloquial expressions through the days where people could ask words that they wanted to know and through some friends teaching me it. Now when I type, I don't have errors such as こんいちわ, so part two was accomplished fairly well. As for 3, I did spend those 30 min to an hour studying almost every day to prepare for class. As for 4, I did not really go into office hours due to a fairly busy schedule plus not having many questions about intonations, but I will try again next semester to be more proactive.

It was a great semester! じゃ、また！

私のふゆ休み (1/7/16)

私の冬休みはよかっですが、宿題がたくさなりました。今までまだ宿題があるので大変ですよ。冬休みに服を二枚もらって嬉しいです。そして、冬休みなので、ともだちとプリンストンであって喫茶店にコーヒーを飲みに行きますが、お金がないので、コーヒーを飲みませんでした。残念ですね。それから友達のうちへ行って料理しました。中国と韓国の料理をしました。美味しいでした！

コンサート！

빈지노 (Beenzino)のコンサートにともだちと行きました。とてもすきで、コロンビア大学にも行きました！Below are some photos of the event!

 

手紙 (12/18/15)

(Non-kanji version)
はじめまして。スタンフォード・リウです。どうぞよろしく。 私はちゅうごく人ですが、にほんごとかんこくごをべんきょうしています。いまプリンストンだいがくのいちねんせいです 。げんごをべんきょうするのがすきなので、かんこくでりゅうがくきぼうしゃです。あきやすみにニューヨークでともだちにあいいにいって、こうちゃを一はいのんでコンサートにいきました。そしてともだちのうちにいってともだちのりょうしんとばんごはんをたべました。にほんごをべんきょうするのがすきですが、しゅくだいがたくさんあってすこし むずかしいですね。らいしゅうまつにほんにいきますよ。よろしくおねがいします。おせわになります。