Deafblind in Japan: My 5 Week Journey
A deafblind traveller shares how she prepared for five weeks in Japan, navigated transport and used Japanese in everyday conversations.
Language: Japanese
When projects don’t go as planned (Biting off more than you can chew)
Benny looks back on an overambitious Japanese project, what disrupted it and how to adjust when a language-learning plan stops working.
Japanese project conclusion: Wrapping up the learning part & getting ready to travel
From the mission archive, Benny wraps up two months of Japanese study, reviews his progress and prepares to use the language while travelling.
Benny’s travel plans for Japan [video] – any advice?
Watch Benny discuss his 2013 travel plans for Japan, including where to go, what to do and how he expected to use a JR Pass during the trip.
Benny’s Japanese: Skype conversation over the half-way point [+ new language discussion channel]
This week, I can finally do what I had wanted to do last week and give you a full example of how my conversations tend to be going, right now a little after my half-way point in the Japanese project!
At this stage, I can handle straightforward question-and-answer exchanges pretty well, but my grammar and vocab still need serious improvement and will continue to be my focus over the next few weeks. I’m also not so confident about explaining a concept for a few minutes, and I did a really poor job of describing what “Couchsurfing” was, especially when my lack of important vocab held me back.
As well as this, my accent and pronunciation need lots of improvement. I’m aware of such issues, but they will definitely take the back seat to higher priorities for now.
Very quick look at Benny’s current Japanese level. Suggestions (with whom, about what) for longer upcoming video updates?
Watch a brief snapshot of Benny’s Japanese level during his mission, then see what he planned to practise in longer video updates.
First month learning Japanese: How things are going so far, initial impressions of Japanese, and Burning Questions for Benny
From the mission archive, Benny reviews his first month learning Japanese, the setbacks he met and the changes planned for month two.
English words in Japanese: Music video with Japanese learners
Watch a Japanese music video built around English loanwords, then learn how Benny used writing, correction and rehearsal during his challenge.
Formal Japanese for Beginners: Polite and Plain Speech
Learn when to use polite or plain Japanese, how dictionary forms differ from casual speech, and why context matters more than one fixed rule.
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