Extensive reading in Japanese and Chinese?

Been hearing a lot about extensive reading and comprehensible input lately, and how this is supposed to be the best way to reach fluency in a language.

I think it makes sense that the best way to learn a language is to actually be using it to get your brain processing the meaning of what is being stated whether it be written or verbals communication.

The problem is the two languages I'm trying to learn are both pretty difficult to read. There is an extra mountain to climb with Chinese characters which making reading the language much easier said than done.

I guess the upshot is that if I was studying a language like Spanish, for example, where the characters being used were instantly recognisable, I'd be able to get to the point where extensive reading was a viable option a lot sooner than for a language like Japanese where I still feel after six years of study that reading a short article is a pretty big task.

JLPT N2

I took the JLPT (Japanese Language Proficiency Test) last weekend. There are five levels and I went for level 2—the second toughest level.

I'm pretty sure that I didn't pass, but my long term goal is to pass in December (the test is held twice a year), so this was really just a practice run.

I didn't cram particularly hard for the test, just kept up with my daily anki flashcards on the iphone, and did a bit of reading practice. About a year ago I bought a level 2 past paper text which helps you to identify which parts of the test you are weakest at, and, according to that book, reading is my weakest area, hence the reading practice.

I'm looking forward to seeing the results in September, which will also help me identify which areas I need to work on for the test in December.

New iPhone

One thing that has a good effect on my language learning of late has been my new iPhone. It's my first smartphone and I've had it for a couple of months now. I downloaded the Anki app which has really enabled my flashcard usage to go up dramatically. It's great being able to check your flashcards for one minute or so while you are waiting for the train, or waiting at the pedestrian crossing or whatever. I'd say my use of flashcards has gone up by at least 100% if not a lot more.

家政婦の三田 on pps.tv

Another app that is useful is pps.tv. It's an app for a Chinese website where you can access all sorts of TV shows, movies etc. There is a Japanese drama category and I've been trying to watch a drama series from start to finish. There are subtitles in Chinese and Japanese! On the whole, I keep my eyes on the Japanese subs, and manage to follow what's going on quite well. From time to time though, I take a look at the Chinese subs too and get a bit of study in that way too.

The drama I've been watching is, like a lot of Japanese dramas, wacky as hell. It's called 家政婦の三田 (Kaseifu no Mita; Mita the housekeeper) and it's about a housekeeper who is working in the home of a bereaved family who have lost their mother/wife. The wacky thing is the housekeeper behaves like a housekeeping robot behaving and working perfectly, beyond belief, so much so that she actually creeps people out. It's wacky, but interesting to watch, and I'm looking forward to finding out why the woman/robot is as wacky as she is.

I held out from purchasing an iPhone for quite a while, but I've got to say it's a good purchase.

Explaining skills

Went to my Chinese language class this morning. The teacher didn't turn up, (second time this month that has happened) but not to worry I had a good chat with the other students using Japanese.

Rida san introduced the history of Japan on the blackboard, and then I had a go at introducing a breif history of the UK. Parts of my explanation were in Japanese, parts in English.

There are some grammatical structures that I need to get more used to using to make things easier to explain. I'm sure there are structures, such as the multiple uses of ように, that I know, but haven't yet mastered when and how to use properly. If I spend some time on them, my ability to explain in the language would improve a lot.