Language Learner

おはよう！

今朝４時半です。

After having 'sahur', you cannot go straight to bed, right? So I'm looking for something to do. Actually I've got lots of things to do, especially with the due dates coming next week.....got to work extra hard. Anyway, before I do that, I really want to post something today. Haha, since I'm in the mood of studying, let's post something academic.

Do you know the difference between second and foreign language learner? I know they are different but before this I didn't bother to find out. But, since I'm back to school and had to do assignment on them (SLA is one of my field of study)....I got to say that the Second Language Acquisition class I attended last year was a good learning opportunity for me. 

Second and Foreign Language Learner

It is important to note that learning a target language as a second language and learning a target language as a foreign language are different in context and situation. Thus, the motivational orientation and the factors affecting learners’ success in acquiring the target language also differ for each group (Oxford, 2003). Second and foreign language learning are often not distinguished clearly in many studies of language acquisition, thus, “foreign language acquisition is often considered to be a subcategory of ‘second language acquisition” (Matsumoto & Obana, 2001, p.60).

A second language learner is a person who is living in a target native-speaking community or country and learning the language as a second language, while a person who is not living in the target native speaking community is known as a foreign language learner (Matsumoto & Obana, 2001; Oxford, 2003; Oxford & Shearin, 1994). The learner of a second language has more opportunities to use their skills in the target language inside and outside the classroom. Thus, they are exposed to more motivational and instructional advantages (Matsumoto & Obana, 2001; Oxford, 2003; Oxford & Shearin, 1994).

In contrast, the foreign language learner learns the target language in an isolated environment with less opportunity to practise the language outside the classroom (Matsumoto & Obana, 2001; Oxford, 2003; Oxford & Shearin, 1994). The Learner of a foreign language is exposed to the target language through class activities only. Therefore, efforts have to be put into designing and exposing learners to authentic language input to increase motivation and language acquisition (Matsumoto & Obana, 2001; Oxford & Shearin, 1994).

References:

Matsumoto, M. & Obana, Y. (2001). Motivational factors and persistence in learning Japanese as a foreign language. New Zealand  Journal of Asian Studies 3(1), 59-86.

Oxford, R. (2003). Language learning styles and strategies: Concepts and relationships. IRAL 41, 271-278.

Oxford, R. & Shearin, J. (1994). Language learning motivation: Expanding the theoretical framework. The Modern Language Journal 78, 12-28.

Let's Learn Japanese Part 1

こんいちは、

日本語を勉強しましょう！

Today, I would like to do a little introduction on Japanese language. Do you know that Japanese people use three different types of characters or alphabets for writing? They use HIRAGANA, KATAKANA and KANJI (chinese characters). For a start, today I'm going to introduce you to Hiragana. The materials that I put in the post today (charts and videos) are not mine, I get them when googling the internet. Anyway, hopefully they can assist you in learning basic Japanese.

Well, let's start!

Hiragana is used to write native words for which there are no Kanji to represent them.
Below is the Hiragana chart:

These basic characters can be modified in various ways.

1) Inserting "dakuten":



2) Small version of the hiragana for ya, yu or yo:

3) Small tsu ( small っ):

The "small tsu" (っ) indicates double consonants. The consonant after "small tsu" will be doubled when the word is pronounced. For example this word - きっぷ (ticket) --> it will be pronounced as KIPPU. The consonant that comes after "small tsu" is ぷ(romaji: Pu), therefore the consonant 'P' is doubled.

PRONUNCIATION

To give you a clear idea of how to pronounce the letters of Hiragana, view the video below. You can find other videos in youtube too if you have time to browse. Anyway, check this video out:

WRITING

I'm sure afte you learn to recognize the characters of Hiragana, you would want to learn how to write. You cannot simply write Hiragana, there are certain stroke orders that you must follow. Below are the videos that show you how to write them correctly:

 

Hope all these will help you to learn Japanese.

がんばってね！

はじめまして

おはよう！元気か？ブログできたよ！＾－＾

This is my first time writing a blog. What do I want to write...hmmm...as I've described, this blog is going to be a combination of everything that I know and love in life.

My interests include:
Leisure:
~ Korean and Japanese Dramas
~ Kpop and Jpop
~ Collecting recipies
~ Browsing for Kids Learning Sites(readings, maths and educational games)

Academic:
~ Second and Foreign Language Learning
~ Japanese Language Learning and Teaching
~ Curriculum and syllabus

Wish I could write some of these in the next post...

じゃあ、また書くね！