Summary: I'm still fighting my way through Mr. Itoi's book. It is packed with a lot of essays, which are sometimes abstract or use similes and metaphors, so excellent reading practice. I just have to struggle to stay focused on it after a long day at work, but I'll get through it. Pretty interesting read overall so far. I think the biggest thing on my mind right now (and everyone else's) is our test results. As of this recording, JEES hasn't announced the exact date when they will be sending out the results, but I'm guessing it will be around February 9th or so. That's when they typically make it out to the mailbox. For the latest details be sure to check the JEES website. They might have a more specific date by the time your reading/listening to this. At the moment, they are just reporting a tentative mid-February. Another big goal of mine for February is to do more speaking in Japanese. I feel like my speaking skills have fallen by the wayside a bit recently and it is time to sharpen them up so I can actually, you know, use the language. I'll be going through a couple of different activities to see what works and what is practical. Use or Lose It Which leads me to the topic of today's podcast, use or lose it. Just to give you a little background. When I first came Japan millions of years ago, I had a tutor that I met with twice a week. Not a teacher, but a tutor. We did a lot of chatting in Japanese, which was very hard at first because my Japanese was pretty bad, but gradually over time it became a lot easier to cope with. What also helped was having to ask and answer questions in Japanese and working out different situations. If you are in Japan, I highly recommend getting a tutor. There are usually volunteers in your area that will help you learn Japanese. You just need to ask around or contact your local city hall, they will sometimes know where to go as well. Nowadays About 3 or so years ago though, I became a chronic workaholic. This prevented me from meeting up with a tutor or my regular exchange group that I met with on another day. So, recently, I haven't had that much speaking practice. Only the occasional visit with in-laws and a semi-daily chat with my wife. I do have plenty of Japanese exposure. I listen to a lot of people chatting in Japanese and read numerous emails, memos, and newsletters all in Japanese, but I don't actually use the language. I can say that I get plenty of input, but not a lot of output experience. It's not the end of the world, but it certainly isn't helping things. This has been exacerbated by the fact that over the last year, I've been really focusing on passing the N2. And, I'll probably continue to focus on passing the N2 if I didn't make it this last December. So, instead of doing any kind of speaking or writing practice, I've been doing a lot of reading and listening exercises in order to prep for that test. Time to Get Back into the Groove I've started going out of my way to try to strike up a conversation with people these days. Even if I know all there is to know about something in the store. I take the time to try to ask a few simple questions about it or bug a clerk to give me a few recommendations instead of meandering around the store looking for something. The biggest thing to remember is that talk is free. You don't have to buy anything after all, and often times clerks are pretty bored and happy to help (that is if you go when it isn't busy). Another big goal of mine for February is try to hunt down a good exchange partner online. Somebody I can simply chat with on a regular basis in Japanese to get my conversation ability up. I've always found that this alone is a big help. The person you are chatting with doesn't have to be a full-blown Japanese teacher, just be willing to help you out and be patient. I'll try to report back on what I find out, or what I don't. I'm sure there will be a lot of failings along the way.
