Comments on: Ask Dr. Khatz: Sidetracked in Salt Lake, Part 2

By: Sarah

Sarah — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 11:28:45 +0000

” You have made this English thing such a habit, it literally stays in your head even when you get in a plane, go up into the stratosphere, cross an ocean, get away from America…and still…in your head…there can be English.”

^^ You know what, I’m super confident that following (or rather, adapting) your method would work because I really believe in what you were saying~ I’m Malaysian and my first language was Malay but currently, my primary language is English because I made it that way. When I was a kid, like 7 or 8, I only spoke Malay..then my parents got worried that I couldn’t speak English (its considered a disadvantage) so at one point they only answered my questions if I spoke in English. :p Quite severe, no? Haha. Then I got dorky and got into The Beatles and I watched their movies and documentaries everyday without fail, even though I didn’t understand it. Immersion is really important! But in the case of learning Japanese, its harder because the first Step is Kanji…..

I was totally doubting this method, but after reading this post, I was reminded of what I did previously, so hopefully it’ll work this time too! 🙂 Learning Japanese by watching Arashi tv shows? Haha…i’ll let you know if it works~

By: Ayana

Ayana — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 21:04:44 +0000

where’s the 3rd installment!?? 🙂
impatiently waiting…I mean patient. really I do (or not)

By: Flo

Flo — Tue, 25 May 2010 15:07:42 +0000

I like the idea to put on the front a word or phrase (and why not a sentence?) in japanese that uses the kanji (without it)… I think I will try it. Thank you for the answer Colby.

By: Colby

Colby — Tue, 25 May 2010 06:10:23 +0000

@Flo
I still review my Kanji. My card setup: On the front, English keyword and a word or phrase in japanese that uses the Kanji, but with the Kanji not showing. On the back is the Kanji, and the story associated with it. And I rarely have to read the story. So there’s not that much english involved 🙂

By: Stefan

Stefan — Mon, 24 May 2010 22:10:45 +0000

Great post and finally someone who can put it straightup and plain to read.

By: Dale

Dale — Mon, 24 May 2010 21:27:06 +0000

I love cosplay those people are just so talented with costume design

Looking forward to the next installment

By: Flo

Flo — Sun, 23 May 2010 21:03:58 +0000

Thank you for your answer, Drewskie. I’m happy to see that I’m not the only one to wonder about this.
If anyone else has a different opinion about this, please share.

By: Drewskie

Drewskie — Sun, 23 May 2010 05:28:01 +0000

I always wondered the same thing, Flo. Gotta do those reps though, so just keep some Japanese audio going while you do them and call it even. 😉

By: David

David — Sun, 23 May 2010 03:11:04 +0000

dude khatz you just articulated my urge to get a job at some kind of japanese speaking restaurant/store in my area. im 18 and my parents keep making me apply for jobs and i literally dread the thought of being away from japanese for X hours a day. and then when i tell people that i want to work at a japanese place they always say “your not asian, your white” or something(including my gf). i got some serious cutting off to do…

By: Flo

Flo — Sat, 22 May 2010 14:56:48 +0000

I have a question, if you don’t mind.
In AJATT, you advise us to avoid any english. I’ve already finished Heisig for a while, and I’m in the immersion phase (I try to do everything in japanese). But when I review Heisig with the SRS, obviously the reviewing process involves english (because we have to find the kanji from the english key-word).

So I was wondering how you guys (AJATTers or Khatz) deal with it: do you still review Heisig every day despite the use of english that it involves?
Or do you use SRS just for reviewing sentences?
I really want to know your thoughts about that, please.

By: アメド

アメド — Sat, 22 May 2010 06:01:38 +0000

Interesting, do want to know what happens next. But recently I was thinking of myself what ways can I do to improve japanese, but the answer was in front of me, kick the immersion factor up a notch by not watching anything in English(if possible) and making my computer Japanese,browser Japanese, youtube,etc anything I use. And use more monolingual sources, to adjust my brain into japanese.

By: UnholyBurger

UnholyBurger — Fri, 21 May 2010 23:36:33 +0000

Im liking this series, thanks a lot Khatz. You always seem to post the right thing at the right time for me 🙂

By: zaynah

zaynah — Fri, 21 May 2010 16:07:09 +0000

A week seems like torture to wait! – -‘ I’m so glad I found this sight,it’s like the answer to my language learning prayers!

By: Ayana

Ayana — Fri, 21 May 2010 14:19:10 +0000

btw I stalk your tweets like crazy 😉

By: Ayana

Ayana — Fri, 21 May 2010 14:10:42 +0000

OMG cliffhanger!!! I feel some what like Maddie (at least in the very beginning when I knew 0 Japanese) but I’ve been doing a whole lot better with my immersion. My motivation is still there everyday when I wake up and go to sleep. I even sleep with Japanese audio children stories on and wake up with it still playing. I have dreamed of japanese words and songs that I’ve listened to (even Jdrama shows). It may not be the exact Japanese words though but I get some here and there. I started studying this past January and now I know about 100+ Kanji (just meanings while 20 in pronunciations) and I’m a whole lot better in reading Hiragana. Still need work with Katakana but with this site I tell you, it changed me and I’m sure you get a lot of people telling you that. What you write is the truth. It has helped me get to where I am going now. To me your like a celebrity :-). どうもありがとうございます

By: igor

igor — Thu, 20 May 2010 16:00:49 +0000

Very good. I wonder if Maddie got sick of you soapboxing in her face the whole time lol…jk.

By: Mimi

Mimi — Thu, 20 May 2010 03:03:11 +0000

@Rochella, my niece is growing up in a house where her father speaks both English and Portuguese but the mother speaks only English, so I thought I’d share how things have worked out for her: When she first started talking, she would mix English and Portuguese words together. After a few months, she stopped speaking any Portuguese and only uses English. However, she can still understand all the Portuguese her father speaks to her.

Your daughter may be similar. Or not. Wait and see, I suppose. If you can get her to speak Japanese and actively use it, that would be pretty awesome.

By: Rochella

Rochella — Wed, 19 May 2010 20:42:14 +0000

Sandra, Grats! keep up the work!

Vivian (my baby daughter) gets lots of Japanese around her and I wonder which language she will try and speak first, English or Japanese. Though I think English simply because her Dad doesn’t speak Japanese hardly, though he responds to the Japanese I speak to him in.

I make him take it lol, and he already knows stuff just from me repeating it without giving English translations. So I guess if anything, she’ll at least understand a majority if she doesn’t speak it.

Also reading children books to her at this time is nice. She doesn’t know English from Japanese, and I can get away with my horribleness and slow reading to boot! hahaha! She is happy I think just hearing me talk to her. Win Win!

By: Sandra

Sandra — Wed, 19 May 2010 14:21:04 +0000

I can’t wait a week for the conclusion! I want the Secret… NOW!!! è_é
Thank you for your ispiring blog 😀 (I’m still at kanji 234 in Heisig’s RTK U_U )
Sandra from Italy

By: フランク様

フランク様 — Wed, 19 May 2010 07:47:19 +0000

dude the baby babbling thing was hilarious lmao!! seriously that was the funniest thing I heard (read) today! ^^