The Japanese Learner

TJL News - May 17, 2009

In this podcast news segment, I reiterate some of the announcements that I’ve made on the blog regarding Kimberly Fraser’s upcoming posts and the podcasting panel at Anime North 2009.

I apologize for the lack of new episodes. At this time, I am putting all of my energy and effort into finding new employment, which has left me little time for producing episodes. I can’t make any promises as to when we’ll be back but I hope that it will be very soon.

If you’re going to Anime North next weekend, drop by our panel and say hi!

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The Japanese Learner at Anime North 2009

The host of TJX: The Japan Xperience has invited Yours Truly to join the Podcasting panel at Anime North 2009.  So, if you’ve ever wanted to meet me in person and you just so happen to be at Anime North, stop by and say hi!

Mike Nicolas from The Anime Roundtable (the official podcast of Anime North) will also be joining us.  Of course, we’ll be giving our own podcasting tips and tricks and taking questions from the audience.  If you’ve ever thought of starting up your own podcast, you don’t want to miss this!

Like us? JapanSoc us!

Like one of our episodes or blog posts? Now you can JapanSoc it!

JapanSoc is a social bookmarking site for Japan-related blogs and news. So when you “Soc” one of our posts, you’re helping to spread us to a wider audience of Japan lovers. Selected posts will display the “Soc It!” button that you see on this post. Click on it and you’ll be taken to JapanSoc.com where you can log in and submit the link.

We’ve also added a link to the RSS feed entries to make it easier for you to share the love even if you’re only following us in your news reader.

The Japanese Learner Blog - Introducing Kimberly!

You’ve heard Kimberly on the show. Now, she’s bringing her insights on learning Japanese and her quirky character to the blog!

Kimberly will be writing posts for The Japanese Learner blog on learning Japanese that should serve as an excellent supplement to the discussions we have on the show.  As soon as I can manage it, I’ll be joining her and together we will make this blog worth a space in your RSS reader!  =)

You can subscribe to the blog using this feed.

iTunes Feed Fixed

A listener wrote in to inform me that the podcast feed doesn’t have episodes any older than episode 3 (Thanks, Quinn!).  This seemed strange to me, so I decided to investigate.

At some point, my iTunes feed started broadcasting this address as the podcast feed URL.  This is the full blog feed served through Feedburner.  There’s also an episodes-only feed being served through Feedburner, which is here.  The latter URL is the one that podcast subscribers should actually be using and it currently has all episodes in it. I’m not sure when the switch happened but I think I’ve fixed it now.

If you’ve just subscribed to the show recently via iTunes, please update the podcast or, if that doesn’t work, delete the podcast and resubscribe.

I apologize for the inconvenience.

Episode 6 - Words, Words, Words

In this episode, we talk about how to start learning and retaining Japanese vocabulary. Vocabulary is a crucial part of any language learning process.  It gives you the “what” to say where grammar is the “how.”  Acquiring a full vocabulary in another language is a long journey, but one which can be very rewarding.

Cast: Enrico Bianco, Kimberly Fraser, Mary Kita, Mike Oetlinger

Related links:
http://ichi2.net/anki (Anki, the spaced-repetition review software)
http://smart.fm/ (Formerly known as “iKnow”. Combines study and review with social networking aspects.)
http://www.kantango.com/ (Create lists of vocabulary words that can be turned into flash cards and written quizzes)
http://buna.yorku.ca/japanese/voc.html (From York University’s Japanese language programme; vocabulary lists broken down into categories)

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Episode 5 - Getting Started with Kanji

In this episode, we discuss how to start learning and mastering the most complicated part of the Japanese writing system, the kanji.  The kanji are the characters that were integrated into the Japanese language from Chinese.  Over time, these characters have diverged slightly from their Chinese counterparts and are now a separate entity unto themselves and are a crucial part of mastering Japanese reading and writing.

Cast:  Enrico Bianco, Jonathan Gardiner, Mike Oetlinger

Related links:
http://www.kantango.com/  (Kantango, mentioned by Enrico)
http://wakan.manga.cz/  (Wakan, mentioned by Mike)
http://www.yookoso.com/pages/kanji.php?file=display&grade=KOTD&date=1
(Yookoso! Kanji-a-Day, includes RSS feeds!)
http://ichi2.net/anki/  (Anki, the free and open source spaced repetition system) 

Related books:
Kanji & Kana, Hadamitzky and Spahn, Tuttle Language Library
The Kodansha Kanji Learner’s Dictionary, Halpern, Kodansha International

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Migration to Powerpress

Podpress couldn’t get with the times and support WordPress 2.6 and 2.7 in a timely manner and I didn’t want to be left open to all sorts of nasty security holes that have been patched up in the newest versions of WordPress.  So, I’ve migrated to Blubrry Powerpress, which is compatible up to WordPress 2.7 and can actually pick up PodPress episodes and include them in the podcast feed.

The only thing that Powerpress is missing is a widget for the sidebar to display buttons for subscribing to the podcast by RSS and through iTunes.  I’ll have to either code my own widget or hard-code the buttons into my WordPress theme.

Here are the subscription links again.  Feel free to use these until I can get the sidebar fixed:
Subscribe by RSS (in your favourite non-iTunes podcatcher)
Subscribe through the iTunes Music Store

Special Episode 1 - Enrico’s Back

In our first special episode, the cast from episode 4 (with Michael sitting in for Kimberly) welcomes Enrico back from his trip to Japan.  Enrico tells tales of his trip and answers some interesting questions.  Also, we comtemplate the idea of opening an Anne of Green Gables themed Tim Horton’s and ponder the Japanese legal system and prisons.

Errata:  I didn’t stay at the Asakusa Plaza Hotel.  I wish I could have afforded such a ritzy hotel.  I stayed at the Asakusa Central Hotel.

Cast:  Enrico Bianco, Mary Kita, Julia Shen, Michael Amygdalidis

Related links:
http://www.japantravelinfo.com/ (Yokoso Japan, official Japan tourism site) 
http://www.sakura-hostel.co.jp/ (Sakura Hostel, Asakusa, Japan) 
http://www.rentafonejapan.com/ (Rentafone Japan, where I rented my cell phone)
http://www.japanprobe.com/?p=6523 (Japan Probe on the foreigner swimming in the Imperial Palace moat) 
http://www.japanprobe.com/?p=6595 (Japan Probe on small hotels and inns rejecting foreigners) 

This episode has been a long time coming but it is finally here!  Episode 5 coming as soon as I can get it edited.  Once again, if you live in the Greater Toronto Area and would like to be on the show, please do send me an e-mail.

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An interesting application of my skills

A friend of mine is a celiac. This is sometimes referred to as a “gluten allergy” and I know at least one or two more people who have it. She’s planning a trip to Japan in the near future and wants to ensure that if she needs to buy food to eat or eat out at restaurants, she won’t be given foods that will cause her to become sick.

…and that’s where I come in. She has sent me a sheet written in Japanese that she found on the Internet which intends to explain her condition, what she can’t eat, and what she can. To ensure that this sheet is accurate, she has asked me to take a look at it.

The vocabulary I’ve picked up alone is well worth the time I’ve spent on it. I’ve even learned some new English vocabulary in the process! Here’s a peek at the vocabulary that I’ve grabbed from working on this sheet:

• 小麦（こむぎ）　wheat
• 小麦粉（こむぎこ）　wheat flour
• ライ麦（らいむぎ）　rye
• 大麦（おおむぎ）　barley
• キビ（きび）　(common) millet (a variety of grain that I didn’t know about previously)
• 膨らし粉（ふくらしこ）　baking powder
• 麦芽（ばくが）　malt