Testpilot's Guide to Studying Japanese (1 Viewer)

[Testpilot]

Introduction

[FONT=&quot]While there is no one correct way to study for this subject there are many methods that you can use to effectively study a language. I recommed that you use the Preliminary course to experiment with study methods so that by the start of the HSC course you know what is right for you.

Methods of Study

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• Read passages in Japanese and then test your comprehension (with questions, written responses etc).

• Create flash cards with required vocabulary and kanji and run through these as many times as possible. They can even be put on a key ring for example and be looked over while waiting for the school bus. I recommend that if you put the effort into making flash cards then you should place the information on the opposite side to the Japanese. (e.g. have one side of the card with the Japanaese word then on the back have the English translation). This prevents you from 'cheating' by reading the English. Some people also find that it helps to associate the Japanese word with a picture. For example you may have a picture of a dog with the word[FONT=&quot] いぬ[/FONT]<o></o> under it so that the link forms in your mind

• Have a conversation in Japanese with your class mates or anyone else who can speak Japanese. A native speaker is good because you get used to the voice.

• Practice writing in Japanese. You should be aiming to write 300-400 ji on each topic. If you struggle to write in Katakana you can even practice writing using Katakana for all words. However remember that in a exam you may be marked on the appropriate use of Hiragana, Katakana and Kanji so make sure you understand when you should use each.

• Do past papers. Your teacher may have some (especially for the lower grades e.g. year 10). For HSC students past papers can be found here

• Watch the Japanese news (or NHK news as it may be known) daily. It airs daily on SBS and on the World News channel on Foxtel. Check local guides for exact times.

• Do practice listening tasks. Your teacher should be able to do some in class. You may also find listening to Japanese podcasts is helpful. For example japanesepod101 or japancast. You can download these for free using iTunes or some other podcasting program.

• Watch Japanese movies and try to avoid reading the subtitles (my Japanese teacher recomended sticky tape across the bottom of the TV).

• If traveling to <st1><st1:country-region w:st="on">Japan</st1:country-region></st1> is a viable option take the opportunity. You will learn about Japanese culture as well as improving your language abilities while having the time of your life. However this is very expensive as a study technique.<o></o>

Get a Japanese Pen or e-mail friend through e-mail or MSN, the time difference isn't too bad, and it's a great chance to make a nice friend, have a 'contact' in Japan - and get really good advice from a native speaker. Your Japanese teacher will probably be connected to an organization that does this.

When to Study?

Ideally you should study Japanese everyday, this means more than just homework.

How much Study?
Its not good to measure the effectiveness of your study by the amount of time you spend doing it. I recomend 40 minutes to an hour per day (after all you have other subjects). If you try to do a 3-4 hour session it is likely that you'll will not be studying effectively due to a deterioration in concentration.

During exams/assessments:

For writing you will be penalised if you write under the recommended ji limit but you will not be penalised if you write over it, but don't write too much over the limit as this will/may increase your mistakes in the composition and waste your time when you could have gotten a better mark with fewer ji. This applies to both Continuers and Extension level)

For listening section, in the Continuers course you will be required to do a listening HSC exam on the same day as your reading and writing HSC exam but in the Extension course there is no listening exam for the HSC. But you will have listening assessments throughout the year. My advice try to get the gist of the passage, try to take down key words, if you don't know a word try to write it down and check it in the pause you have or after the exam in the remaining time. Write fast, and don't use white out or erasers, just cross it out if you do a mistake, time is of essence in this section

For speaking in the continuers course you will be required to have a conversation with a HSC marker for 10 mins (isn't long when you actually do it). The marker asks you questions you have to answer it to sustain a natural conversation (although you are not allowed to ask the marker questions). If the marker asks you a question like "what are the ingredients in laksa?" anything that may seem out of the syllabus or too hard to answer, when they mark you speaking exam they will exclude it from the mark allocation. If you don't understand a question, ask for them to repeat it in japanese say like "mou ikai ogenai shimasu" or "kuri kaishite kudasai".
Listen to the standard packages, especially the exemplars ones and try to distinguish the highest level from the lowest level

In the Extension course you will be required to write two 2 min speeches in 10 mins, you will have speaking assessments in the year to help you practice this. They will be on the issues of Overcoming personal difficulties, Impact of technology and Group vs individual. So rougly try and spend 5 mins on each speech and every year the questions are ambiguous so when you do your assessments in the year don't throw away those notes!

FAQ

Q:What do I do if I think of something not in this guide?
Aost it below and I'll edit my post.

Q:Where can I get resources for this subject.
A: Here are some links.

HSC Online
Board of Studies: Syllabus, Vocab list, Examination procedures etc
Boredofstudies' resources
Thread on "Where to get Japanese Stuff"
The BoS's Biki Thanks pLuvia
Vocab Flash Cards Thanks pLuvia and toadstooltown
Thread on the best dictionaries
You can also ask your teacher for resources, or try the library.

Q:What if I have a question that needs a specific answer?
Aost in a thread on a similar topic or create a new thread (use the search function first)

Q:How do I write in Japanese on my Computer?
A: See this thread for advice . I think you should actually write (as in by hand) your answers, homework or assignments because in the actual HSC exam there is no computer for you to use.

Q:How can I repay boredofstudies for their help during my HSC?
A: You can submit your Japanese notes here or by answering the questions of other members in this forum (and others)

 

[pLuvia]

Nice work there. By the way how did you go in Japanese? I got a shocker of a mark but higher than what I expected lol 85 Pfft, japanese sucks

On top of all those links you put, you might like to put this link from the Biki
You see I compiled it earlier in the year
http://www.boredofstudies.org/wiki/index.php?title=HSC:Languages#Japanese

 

[nandayo]

Get a Japanese Pen or e-mail friend through e-mail or MSN, the time difference isn't too bad, and it's a great chance to make a nice friend, have a 'contact' in Japan - and get really good advice from a native speaker. Your Japanese teacher will probably be connected to an organization that does this.

 

[pLuvia]

Someone posted this thread earlier and it has a link to all the syllabus vocab on an online flash program plus some other words may deem useful to those who use the computer a lot

Here's the link to the thread
http://community.boredofstudies.org/65/japanese/126612/free-vocab-resources.html

Here's some more to add if you like

During exams/assessments:

For writing you will be penalised if you write under the recommended ji limit but you will not be penalised if you write over it, but don't write too much over the limit as this will/may increase your mistakes in the composition and waste your time when you could have gotten a better mark with fewer ji. This applies to both Continuers and Extension level)

For listening section, in the Continuers course you will be required to do a listening HSC exam on the same day as your reading and writing HSC exam but in the Extension course there is no listening exam for the HSC. But you will have listening assessments throughout the year. My advice try to get the gist of the passage, try to take down key words, if you don't know a word try to write it down and check it in the pause you have or after the exam in the remaining time. Write fast, and don't use white out or erasers, just cross it out if you do a mistake, time is of essence in this section

For speaking in the continuers course you will be required to have a conversation with a HSC marker for 10 mins (isn't long when you actually do it). The marker asks you questions you have to answer it to sustain a natural conversation (although you are not allowed to ask the marker questions). If the marker asks you a question like "what are the ingredients in laksa?" anything that may seem out of the syllabus or too hard to answer, when they mark you speaking exam they will exclude it from the mark allocation. If you don't understand a question, ask for them to repeat it in japanese say like "mou ikai ogenai shimasu" or "kuri kaishite kudasai".
Listen to the standard packages, especially the exemplars ones and try to distinguish the highest level from the lowest level

In the Extension course you will be required to write two 2 min speeches in 10 mins, you will have speaking assessments in the year to help you practice this. They will be on the issues of Overcoming personal difficulties, Impact of technology and Group vs individual. So rougly try and spend 5 mins on each speech and every year the questions are ambiguous so when you do your assessments in the year don't throw away those notes!

 

[zangetsu.xo]

ありがとう!!

 

[tOnnyAyye]

i need help studying for japanese continuers. my marks are decreasing and im trying to put an effort. I did really well from year 8 to year 10 but somehow i did bad this year. Anyone can help me with suggestions that will improve my Japanese skills.

Thanks

 

[cadd1ct]

It is also important to practice all your homework (which will probably be the same style of writing tasks as the HSC exam), especially from the 2nd term of your HSC year onwards under exam conditions i.e try to finish each piece of writing within an allocated time:

150ji 20 minutes
400ji x 2 40 minutes each
Comprehension 40 minutes
Listening will be roughly 40 minutes

This is not as important in continuers as most likely the average students will most likely finish with time to spare, meaning you can allocate more time to other parts of the exam that you are weak in.

However, in extension this is not the case. You have 2 hours and will be under heavy time constraints. The 3 examinable parts should be divided equally but in my opinion since creative is only 400 ji you can attempt:

Comprehension 40 minutes
Creative x 400ji 30-40minutes
Essay x 600ji 40-50minutes

As you can see extension students are not only expected to write harder content but also expected to write faster. Personally I aimed for a 40 minute finish for each essay I wrote just in case I get a difficult creative question and needed more time to plan.

I think the vocab and grammar advice is pretty solid already so didn't really want to repeat. Just want to add that vocab is remembered when you use it... so don't specifically open a page of vocab and try to memorise every single word (although that works for me sometimes and with others as well), rather just practice writing and the vocab you accumulate will be engrained in to long term memory.

Also extension speaking assessment has now changed from 2 2 minute tasks to 1 3 minute task with 7 minutes preparation time... so maybe somebody needs to update that .