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nonsmoker
Joined: 20 Apr 2007
Posts: 352
Location: Exactly here and now.
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 Posted: Tue May 01, 2007 2:32 pm Post subject: Japanese ability and applying to schools. |
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Hello. I am seriously thinking about teaching in Japan. I want to hopefully get there by the end of this year. I'm in the USA right now. I've been actively studying Japanese so I can feel more comfortable once I do get there. I'm just wondering whether or not it would be wise to inform places I'm applying to that I know a little bit of Japanese. From what I've been hearing, there are some places that want people who don't speak Japanese at all so that they can only focus on speaking English with the students. Is this true? Should I or shouldn't I reveal to potential employers of my Japanese ability?
Thanks,
R.D. |
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Glenski
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Posts: 12844
Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN
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| Posted: Tue May 01, 2007 10:02 pm Post subject: |
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Just how much Japanese ability do you have? Spoken and written, that is. Do you have a JLPT score to show for it?
Most people coming here have a smattering at best, and that's not enough to ward off any potential employers. Many would actually relish the fact that they don't have to babysit a teacher through daily life affairs.
I wouldn't worry about it. |
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nonsmoker
Joined: 20 Apr 2007
Posts: 352
Location: Exactly here and now.
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| Posted: Wed May 02, 2007 12:18 am Post subject: |
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Nono, I have nothing to show for it. In fact, I'm a beginner  . I don't plan on even looking for jobs in Japan for until the end of this year. But I do have a certain fondness for the Japanese language and I enjoy studying it. I memorize about 6 Hiraganas a day to prepare myself for the day when I will have to tackle the Kanji! O well the way I look at it, I'd rather take some time out of my busy schedule and learn some of the language now before I land in Nihon and end up in a totally alien land without knowing the language. |
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shuize
Joined: 04 Sep 2004
Posts: 1270
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| Posted: Wed May 02, 2007 1:04 am Post subject: Re: Japanese ability and applying to schools. |
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| nonsmoker wrote: |
| I'm just wondering whether or not it would be wise to inform places I'm applying to that I know a little bit of Japanese. |
| Quote: |
| Nono, I have nothing to show for it. In fact, I'm a beginner . I don't plan on even looking for jobs in Japan for until the end of this year. But I do have a certain fondness for the Japanese language and I enjoy studying it. I memorize about 6 Hiraganas a day to prepare myself for the day when I will have to tackle the Kanji! O well the way I look at it, I'd rather take some time out of my busy schedule and learn some of the language now before I land in Nihon and end up in a totally alien land without knowing the language. |
I think you're pretty safe in reporting that you effectively don't know any Japanese. |
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Hoser
Joined: 19 Mar 2005
Posts: 694
Location: Toronto, Canada
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| Posted: Wed May 02, 2007 1:09 am Post subject: |
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| LOL! |
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JonnyB61
Joined: 30 Oct 2006
Posts: 216
Location: Japan
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| Posted: Wed May 02, 2007 1:35 am Post subject: |
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I hate to pee on your parade Nonsmoker, but it doesn't matter how much hiragana you learn, it won't prepare you for learning kanji.
Don't want to dampen your enthusiasm but they are 2 totally different scripts. Kanji is Chinese, hiragana isn't, I'm afraid.
Best wishes
JB |
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Sweeney Todd
Joined: 29 Apr 2007
Posts: 71
Location: The Dosshouse Down the Mile End Road
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| Posted: Wed May 02, 2007 1:44 am Post subject: |
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Got to agree with JonnyB here.
I lived in Hong Kong for a long time and when I came to Japan the only writing I could understand was the kanji. Hiragana and katakana are way different. I've been told by Japanese teachers that hiragana is the one to start with so it seems you're doing things the right way round anyway.
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JimDunlop2
Joined: 31 Jan 2003
Posts: 2286
Location: Japan
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| Posted: Wed May 02, 2007 2:49 am Post subject: Re: Japanese ability and applying to schools. |
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| nonsmoker wrote: |
| I want to hopefully get there by the end of this year. |
IMO, within your timeframe, it won't make a lick o' difference whether you tell employers or not.
A recent newspaper editorial I read recently, written by a language school owner focused on qualities they look for when hiring a foreign teacher, and knowledge of Japanese was not among the most important, although having an active interest in Japan and its people/culture certainly was. That will carry you a lot farther than actual Japanese ability -- although feel free to mention to employers that you've been preparing for your arrival in Japan by studying the language so you won't be hopelessly lost when you get here -- nothing wrong with that. But I don't think that will give you any significant edge in the job application process. |
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canuck
Joined: 11 May 2003
Posts: 1921
Location: Japan
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| Posted: Wed May 02, 2007 3:39 am Post subject: |
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| JonnyB61 wrote: |
I hate to pee on your parade Nonsmoker, but it doesn't matter how much hiragana you learn, it won't prepare you for learning kanji.
Don't want to dampen your enthusiasm but they are 2 totally different scripts. Kanji is Chinese, hiragana isn't, I'm afraid.
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This information is wrong. Learning hiragana and katakana are the elementary building blocks for Japanese written ability. More so hiragana, because as you progress, it's important to be able to sound out the new kanji. Many Japanese books also use furigana, which the knowledge of hiragana helps. Furthermore, every foreigner should know katakana because of the amount of foreign words in Japanese, that a foreigner already knows.
By starting with hiragana and katakana, a student learns the correct order of the strokes and gets used to something completely different.
Hiragana and katakana can be learned in a weekend. It's that easy. My recommendation is Kana Can Be Easy.
The next logical step is starting to tackle kanji. Good luck. |
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furiousmilksheikali
Joined: 31 Jul 2006
Posts: 1660
Location: In a coffee shop, splitting a 30,000 yen tab with Sekiguchi.
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| Posted: Wed May 02, 2007 3:51 am Post subject: |
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My recommendation is learn the hiragana and katakana in class and use train timetables and coffee shop menus respectively to reinforce your reading of them. Whether hiragana and katakana can be learnt in a weekend is one thing but no one is a competent user of these alphabets after such a short time; they require quite a bit of practice.
The mnemonic books always looked stupid to me so I avoided them. |
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furiousmilksheikali
Joined: 31 Jul 2006
Posts: 1660
Location: In a coffee shop, splitting a 30,000 yen tab with Sekiguchi.
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| Posted: Wed May 02, 2007 3:55 am Post subject: |
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| By the way, as other posters have pointed out, you have next to no Japanese ability at the moment. Your enthusiasm for the language will be appreciated by future employers but you certainly don't have anywhere near enough ability to put them off. |
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Sweeney Todd
Joined: 29 Apr 2007
Posts: 71
Location: The Dosshouse Down the Mile End Road
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| Posted: Wed May 02, 2007 12:16 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| This information is wrong. Learning hiragana and katakana are the elementary building blocks for Japanese written ability. More so hiragana, because as you progress, it's important to be able to sound out the new kanji. |
Anyone who thinks that learning Hiragana or Katakana will open the door to understanding Kanji is in for a nasty shock. They are as different as chalk and cheese.
Jonny B was more right than wrong. |
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canuck
Joined: 11 May 2003
Posts: 1921
Location: Japan
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| Posted: Thu May 03, 2007 6:31 am Post subject: |
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| Sweeney Todd wrote: |
| Anyone who thinks that learning Hiragana or Katakana will open the door to understanding Kanji is in for a nasty shock. They are as different as chalk and cheese. |
I'm sorry you have to be so thick, but honestly...
Sentences in Japanese are often hiragana and kanji together. Japanese children learn hiragana first. Hiragana is the first step for written Japanese. |
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Sweeney Todd
Joined: 29 Apr 2007
Posts: 71
Location: The Dosshouse Down the Mile End Road
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| Posted: Thu May 03, 2007 7:49 am Post subject: |
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Everyone is entitled to their opinion Matey!
There's no need to get personal and / or insulting, but seeing as you started it, here goes.
Looking at your Avatar, which one is you? The pig or the thing with 2 snouts?
Back on topic, Japanese students may well learn Kanji after learning Hiragana but, learning Hiragana doesn't prepare them for learning Kanji. It can't, they are different! |
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canuck
Joined: 11 May 2003
Posts: 1921
Location: Japan
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| Posted: Thu May 03, 2007 9:18 am Post subject: |
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| Sweeney Todd wrote: |
Looking at your Avatar, which one is you? The pig or the thing with 2 snouts?
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Which one is you? Maybe you should lecture me on an ebonics or bad grammar lesson rather than a hiragana debate. I was just about to change my avatar too. However, to answer your question, neither.
Looking at your avatar, which one are you? The one, the six or the zero.
| Sweeney Todd wrote: |
Back on topic, Japanese students may well learn Kanji after learning Hiragana but, learning Hiragana doesn't prepare them for learning Kanji. It can't, they are different! |
Maybe I shouldn't have used the word thick...naive would have done. Obviously you have very limited knowledge in the Japanese language. Please do not try to influence the OP was misinformation.
Question: Do writing Japanese hiragana/katakana characters follow the same rules as writing kanji? Yes or No?
Learning kanji to read is essential to mastering the Japanese language. Many Japanese words do not have kanji. To be able to read fluently, one must know both hiragana and kanji. Being able learn new kanji in the context of a sentence is very helpful. Furthermore, when learning Japanese, many books use hiragana instead of kanji, especially if the reader is not expected to know know the kanji or the kanji is very difficult to write. If you've ever studied the Japanese language, you would realize this.
Please don't give the OP misinformation. It's stupid.
Hiragana derived from kanji and is an essential building block to written Japanese. Master hiragana first, and tackle kanji afterwards is an excellent rule to follow.
| Sweeney Todd wrote: |
Anyone who thinks that learning Hiragana or Katakana will open the door to understanding Kanji is in for a nasty shock. They are as different as chalk and cheese.
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Absolute hogwash.
Last edited by canuck on Thu May 03, 2007 9:23 am; edited 1 time in total |
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