Looking back at both my prior stipulated goals, in addition to the progress I have made in Japanese this semester, I believe it is time for me to update my goals for the class. I will keep my list shorter this time so it may be more focused and realistic.
Goals:
- Foremost, I want to be able to speak more fluidly and without long pauses
- I have noticed this is probably the biggest problem I'm having in the course currently, and it made me perform poorly on the oral exam while doing very well on the written.
- I want to be able to understand fast speakers of the language
- I can understand the words we have learned when they are spoken at a slower rate (as in class by most of the teachers), but when spoken at a natural speed it becomes too fast to keep up with or understand.
- I want to continue to develop my knowledge of the language
- This includes grammar, vocabulary, and idiomatic phrases. I already feel as if I'm doing very well in this area and want to continue doing so.
Methods:
- For the first goal, I believe the best method to improve my fluidity in speaking is to attend office hours with one of the teachers and simply speak in Japanese for an extended period of time.
- Doing so will make me feel more natural about speaking the words that I have already learned, and my confidence will be increased resulting in more fluidity.
- Secondarily, as a supplement, I will try to attend at least one Japanese Table to see if it would be helpful for me in this goal.
- The second goal I think will largely be progressed towards through my first method above. In addition, I will try to listen to more of the online spoken dialogue from the textbook website. They often speak fast, and exposing myself to such natural conversation should help me to become more comfortable with it.
- For my final goal, I am already completing the homework on time and attending all lectures. This has been sufficient in achieving that goal.
Thank you,
コルソン
