On Thu, 4 Mar 2004 14:36:43 +0900, "Ryan Ginstrom"
<ginstrom@hotmail.com> wrote:

>
>"Ken Yasumoto-Nicolson" <ken_nicolson@hotmail.com> wrote in message
>news:6afefaef.0403031931.1a190445@posting.google.com...
>> "Ryan Ginstrom" <ginstrom@hotmail.com> wrote in message
>news:<c241p3$1pa6ee$1@ID-101276.news.uni-berlin.de>...
>> > If it's any consolation that was probably the last of them. Now it's on
>to
>> > the BBQ parties.
>>
>> Grrr!! This weekend's going to see 0 degree weather again around
>> Osaka.
>
>The weather forecast isn't the greatest here either -- low of 15, high of 17
>with 40% chance of showers for Saturday, the day of our BBQ. But we'll
>soldier through somehow. Probably end up inside, with the grill on the
>balcony by the door.

Bastard! And yes, we did have snow today!

>> then for the JPT2 test, I picked up KanjiLab round
>> about last September
>
>How is that? I recently tried out Kanji Gold, but their quiz system leaves a
>lot to be desired. You can get the kanji right as long as you know at least
>1 reading -- but I almost always know at least one reading for the joyo
>kanji. It's the other ones that trip me up.

Well, you can't beat the price, but you must download a separate file
with just the joyo kanji in it. I also had to manually add a couple of
dozen extra sample words for some of the readings that weren't in the
dictionary file.

The way I used it was to first cut the input kanji DB to the 1006
basic kanji, then once all these were mastered, I pasted in the
remaining ones.

One thing to note is that you learn to read the kanji in context
and/or from the English gloss, although the guys in s.l.j say that
reading in isolation or producing from memory is as important.
However, if your prime goal is to just to be able to read more (or
look up the dictionary faster!) then it's a great program. The way is
brings learnt words back into circulation is reaaly great for
reinforcement.

>I could always try taking the JLPT again next year, this time actually
>studying, and trying to ace it. But it was tedious enough the first time.

I failed as I should have learnt 170 or so conjunctions and verb
endings from an awfully dull book, but I have little motivation for
that sort of thing. Resitting level 2 should allow me to pass, and if
I put in the effort I could maybe get level 1, but I don't really want
to study just for a test, I want to get real skills!

>So maybe I'll just give up on the tests as a motivation for improving my
>Japanese, and find some other route.

I understand the subtitles better than the spoken J on most
entertainment shows...

>> Also, rather
>> than sleeping or playing games on my handheld, now at meetings I bring
>> my dictionary and try to read the slides, looking up words I don't
>> recognise, etc, etc.
>
>The first steps down the road to true hen-na gaijin status.
>
>Are you planning to be with your company (Melco?) in Japan for the
>foreseeable future?

It's MEI - and yes, unless I somehow get something promising in the
translation line, but I don't know the first thing about that
industry! Next year I should be applying for me life sentence - I mean
my Permanent Residency thingie...

Ken