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Linguaholic

AExAVF

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Everything posted by AExAVF

  1. I enrolled in a special English language class as part of complying with unit requirements for law. I needed 18 units of English and am 3 units short. My English language class, Effective Speech, required us to read aloud a certain text from a book that we read. In my case, I read a certain piece from a non-fiction book. Of course, I will read only that particular chapter as long as it is 2-3 pages long. i don't mind reading it aloud as long as my classmates will understand the text. Personally, I prefer reading the text silently, especially if I read an entire novel. i also ask my mother to read stories for me before I fall asleep. Reading aloud is helpful in your early years, but it would also help refresh your memories.
  2. Since I am still a beginner to the Japanese language, I didn't through so much difficulty when reading the on-yomi and the kun-yomi in the kanji. For beginners, I have been exposed to the first 60 kanji, However, as I progress in the language, I expect that I will encounter the same problems as you. You may want to read through the text first before going through the specific word, then looking at the kanji, reciting which is the correct reading. If you read the kanji in the on-yomi and it sounds just not right, then the best reading would be in the kun-yomi, and vice versa. This is in addition to some of the suggestions already posted here.
  3. I notice a great deal of difference when writing in English and Japanese. I have no problem with my handwriting in the English language, but my handwriting in Japanese appears to be irregular, especially in the kanji and to some extent, in the hiragana. By irregular, I mean it to be the size of the letters I am writing, as I write my Japanese texts in larger characters on a graphing notebook. Writing in kanji takes so much space on my notebook because I want to make sure that I have gotten the strokes correctly. I am hesitant to write my Japanese on the same level as my English, because it will be difficult to see the strokes in the kanji.
  4. Sometimes I can't help but curse at times, especially when I feel frustrated. i once said "damn it" while texting with somebody because something didn't push through. I was told not to curse as it is bad. Actually, I had to use the f-word once because someone deserves to be called one, but I was warned not to curse. I just find it difficult to control my emotions, especially with people who put my in a bad light, and as a result I just had to curse as if express my anger. Rather than shout or raise my voice, I simply curse. But in all honesty, I really hate swearing because it makes me someone I don't even recognize. It's like trying to avoid getting into that situation unless something snaps inside of you and you have lost your control.
  5. I am more of a single language type of person these days, as I frequently use English for my documents as well as my mode of communication. I always manage to convey my thoughts well whenever I speak in English. Anything that involves writing or texting, I usually go for the English language. I only use my native language (Tagalog) for casual and informal conversations as well as talking with relatives.
  6. Both positions are correct, though in the case of the first, it can be followed up by additional words, as in: "What exactly happened last month?" or "What exactly happened yesterday?" The second is a variation of the first, but you can no longer follow it up with more information without being grammatically awkward, e.g. "What happened exactly on that day?" In short, you would have to rephrase the sentence to make it grammatically correct. Technically, the second sentence is correct as it is on its own.
  7. I have always been interested in the Japanese language as well as its people, but with particular emphasis on their workaholic nature. As a result of this I was encouraged to study Japanese. I may want to consider taking Arabic in the future, as I didn't have any interest in it when I was still a child. Our elementary classes required us to learn Arabic, whether we liked it or not.
  8. Those are really good beginner's reference materials. I am, however, using Minna no Nihongo as my main Japanese language textbook. But thanks for sharing some of your materials.
  9. To pull your punches means to hold back or refrain from doing something Hitting the bullseye is aiming at a perfect center with darts, but it also means winning at any game. Scoring on one's own goal traces its origins to the own goal shot by the late Andres Escobar, and outside of the sports world it means poetic justice.
  10. I use all available resources, both online and ordinary, in order to learn a certain language. For Nihongo, I have my Nihongo language textbook as well as practice writing materials. My learning is supplemented by various Nihongo language websites such as Memrise and Nihongo Master. For English, I read various blogs such as Grammar Girl. Though I'm more or less fluent in English, I still have some mistakes along the way, therefore I make it a point to read up on grammar and vocabulary.
  11. I learned English when I was still in my pre-school years. I was already an avid reader at that time, reading books up to Grade 4 level. I have been exposed to the English language more intensively.
  12. It is the listening and sentence structure which is the most challenging for me, especially in Nihongo. The first few lessons in Nihongo were easy, but as I progressed my listening skills went in the other direction. I can figure out the words though. So far, listening has been my main drawback in learning Nihongo.
  13. I travelled to Hong Kong in 1989 or 1990 and Thailant in 1991. My trip lasted for five days in Hong Kong, while my Thailand trip was for a week. Since my stay in those countries was only for a brief vacation, I haven't had the opportunity to learn the countries' languages, as I spoke English most of the time. We also had a tour guide who spoke English, so we didn't have any language problems..
  14. 1. English (I use this language for typing and drafting papers and documents, and I find it easier to convey my message in the English language) 2. Filipino (I speak Tagalog most of the time) 3. Japanese (I'm currently learning this language) 4. Arabic (I don't know why, but lately I'm thinking about learning this language again after dropping out of it) 5. Esperanto
  15. "You are a long way from home" - the person is a stranger in the place where he is in right now. "Back against the wall" - this is commonly spoken by police officers when arresting someone, but to a layman, it is like you have cornered someone and his way out has been completely blocked.
  16. Ah, okay then. Thanks. Oh yes, back in grade five, I had difficulty spelling the word rendezvous in my spelling bee. I spelt it as "randayvoo" or "randeyboo" because that was the first time I heard of that word.
  17. This isn't necessarily a difficult word, but I sometimes spell acknowledgment with an e, as in acknowledgement. I recall back in law school when acknowledgment must always be spelled without an e. For non-lawyers, they spell the word with an e between g and m. From acknowledgment comes the word knowledge, which doesn't come as a surprise why this former is spelled in the same way as the latter. Nowadays, acknowledgment is the preferred word.
  18. It has always been a habit for Filipinos to use Spanish words when it comes to age, money, and time. For instance, when referring to 15 years, we use kinse anyos instead of labing-limang anyos. When it comes to money, there has to be some qualification. If the amount is less than Php 100, we use the Spanish words such as bente for dalawampu, singkuwenta for limampu, etc. If the amount is greater than or equal to Php 1000, we use the Filipino words (e.g. sanglibo, sampung-libo, etc.) As for time, we have already gotten used to the Spanish terms (ala-uno y media, alas-quatro y media, etc.) but we also use the Filipino equivalent (isa't kalahati ng hapon, apat at kalahati ng umaga, etc.). We also mix the Spanish and Filipino terms out of convenience (e.g. alas-dos ng madaling araw).
  19. I also find it not only annoying, but also quite difficult to comprehend. Whenever I text with someone, I always spell out the word as far as practicable. Writing in textspeak is prevalent not only in text messages, but also on social media sites such as Facebook at times. I am having difficulty trying to decipher what the words in textspeak mean.
  20. For me, learning Arabic is really hard, not only because it is required for our elementary school curriculum, but also because I have neither any interest nor desire to learn it. Other than little knowledge of Arabic greetings as well as certain words, I I just can't bring myself to like the language. I remember at one time when a man who spoke only pure Arabic mistakenly called us on the telephone line, and because I spoke only English, he said in Arabic that he can't speak in English. Learning Japanese is neither easy nor hard for me, but I am constantly practicing my Japanese language skills. Recently I have began looking back at my Japanese language notes as well as exercise materials. Next year, I'm planning to enroll in Elementary Japanese 2, and possibly 3, so I am eligible to take the JLPT N5.
  21. Its and it's is another homonym to watch out for. The former is a possessive pronoun, while the latter is a contraction of it is. Oftentimes, when people transcribe the spoken words, they pay attention to the speaker while focusing less on the grammar, but those who don't frequently use English as a second language will have greater difficulty transcribing the words than those who frequently speak English. It's all a matter of checking and re-checking the transcribed message over and over, proofreading the text until the mistakes are reduced, if not eliminated.
  22. It all depends on the language fluency and proficiency level of the person. If the person is a beginner to the said language, it's best if he learns the language through explanation of the rules. Once the person is fluent to a certain level, he may start immersing with the community, but only in simple conversations at first. The person learning the language can combine classroom learning and language immersion together, or he can just go with one over the other. It also depends on the languege that he is learning, and traditional rules previously taught in class may not necessarily apply when he is conversing with natives. It all requires a matter of balance between the two.
  23. While they may appear as rare and hardly in use by the average Filipino, the more educated ones would find the use of these words very useful. For the average Filipino, these rare words would hear strange to them. But in my case, I would try to absorb them into my own vocabulary as far as practicable, and if I am not familiar with it, I will simply look for its meaning in the dictionary. However, English is more widely used these days, and as a result, these words have nearly fallen out of use.
  24. Pictorial teaching is very helpful for beginners as well as those who are only starting to learn the language being taught. Children are taught using various aids and methods to help them. With repeated usage of pictorial teaching, children will eventually develop their language skills over the years until they move on to the next level where they will be introduced to more complex words as well as reading plain text. Of course, mentors will still guide their students, but the latter will have to swim or sink on their own.
  25. Precisely. Our teacher imparted onto us everything we need to know about the language. There were some students who dropped from her class because of personal reasons. Those of us who remained stayed through to the end, though there were others who had to leave for Japan during the middle of the semester. I wouldn't be too complacent on my Elementary 1 though. Though I got a high mark, I honestly think I could have done better.
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