The Return of Tetsu: 9 Months of Japanese | Vlog #33

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Make sure to press “CC” to activate English subtitles!

This conversation was a lot of fun. I’m happy to welcome back Tetsu and speak with him in Japanese (for the first time).

Watch my original video with Tetsu here (with a much different lesson format):    • iTalki Lesson with Tetsu | Vlog #11  

In the past 2-3 weeks, I feel something has ‘clicked’ with my Japanese. I've leveled up and I'm starting to see a glimpse of more flexible and fluid conversation (though I still have a long way to go).

One of my favorite moments (around 9:30) was trying to describe a particular roller coaster. I didn’t expect to talk about theme parks here, much less have the vocabulary for it. Although I struggled, I’m happy that rather than switching to English, I stayed in Japanese and found another way to say it. This skill is ultimately a huge part of what makes one ’fluent’ (albeit I am still far from that).

As a non-native speaker of another language, you will always have holes in your vocabulary. But if you can develop flexibility with the words you do know (through grammar, and a bit of creativity), you have a chance of expressing yourself in a variety of settings. Developing this flexibility will be a big part of my focus in the final 3 months of this year.

VIDEO CONTENTS:
0:00 Shawn intro
0:48 Tetsu intro
2:45 日本語で Conversation begins
3:27 Tetsu’s trip to America
5:38 Cedar Point + Roller Coaster Tycoon
9:30 the craziest ride I’ve ever gone on (and my attempt at describing it)
10:52 my previous trip to Japan
12:58 my upcoming trip to Japan
14:23 Tetsu’s recommendations for celebrating New Year’s Eve in Japan
18:19 wrap-up

MY LEARNING IN NUMBERS:
Vocabulary: ~2072 words
Kanji Characters: ~1019

Study Time: 452 hours (71%)
Flashcard Creation: 134 hours (21%)
iTalki.com Lessons: 13 hours (2%)
Miscellaneous: 32 hours (5%)

Total Time: 631 hours (2.25 hours / day average)

SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS:
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Instagram:   / japaneseinayear  
My music channel:    / scrowdrlrr  

MUSIC IN THIS VIDEO:
https://sungazermusic.bandcamp.com/re...