Nursey rhymes

[BeautifulDirt]

My friend and her sister, a while ago, asked me to teach them Japanese. I thought "I want to teach language one day. I might as well! I haven't got much to do this summer anyway!" So I said "Ok. I'll bring my book and teach you what I know."
So, I went over to their house and started a lesson. I taught them greetings, how to form simple sentences (X wa Y desu), how to count to at least 100, and how to show ownership (noun no noun).
But...for some reason...they didn't get it. I explained it over and over again. I handed them the book to read the section themselves, but, they still don't get it. I taught them how the vowels are pronounced and they still say "namae" like "nah-meh".
Sometimes when I teach people I start to think "How on earth did I get it the first time I read it? I must be smart or something!" because NOBODY gets it. At all.


Well, to my question...
What are some better ways I can teach them? A good way to help them remember and understand? Should I teach them some words and greetings first before moving on the forming sentences? And the different ways to count (people, things)? A person suggested that I use visual aides, so I've started making flash cards with different things they have trouble remembering (good morning, good night -for some reason, no one can remember good night...no one I know at least-)

If you need to know their ages, my friend is 16 and her sister is around...12, I think. I noticed that I may need to do it differently for each of them since my older friend seems to catch on to some things faster than her little sister.


I came here because there are quite a few people on this site that teach English and thought they could probably give me some advice.
Also, on another website, someone suggested some nursery rhymes to me. I was thinking of translating some, but, I feel like my translation wouldn't be good enough (scared I'll mess something up...). Could someone post some translations of nursery rhymes. That person said that those would probably help them get used to the language.

(since right now, my computer won't let me install the IME, Japanese text isn't supported on my computer. If anyone is putting anything up in Japanese -like the nursery rhymes-, please post it in romaji.)

[h2orowe]

Alright, I've never taught a language at all, but I've learned many languages in my day for a few weeks, started grasping on, and eventually lost interest. However, because of this, I've learned how to teach myself in a way that's.. kinda fun I guess? Alright, well if they like Japanese music or something, give them some and have them print out lyrics or whatever and try to sing with it, but have them match the vowels and such. If they like shows, have them watch them and such just to get used to the way it sounds. If you want them to be able to pronounce it right, just spend WHOLE lessons on nothing more than pronunciation. Make sure they do it right, and if they do it somewhat right, make them do it completely right.

First few lessons focus mainly on pronunciation with a bit of like a few greetings and basic things, but then I guess since Japanese is a.. language that has characters and such, teach them hiragana/katakana as soon as they get a grasp of the pronunciation. Move them away from Romaji asap, so they don't get used to thinking of Japanese as a "romanized" (or whatever the term is) language. When they get hiragana/katakana down, teach them some basic kanji, then move on to the like basics of sentences and such. Make sure they learn how to do the strokes properly, too. When I was learning Japanese (which I taught myself tbfh) I didn't learn how to do the strokes properly and that was one of the reasons I just got annoyed with it XD I was like "Fuck it, I don't need to learn a language that wants me to write the strokes in a specific order." so make sure they know that right away.

Give them some books you have or something that are in Japanese, if you have any. Go to your local library and see if they have a used part of the bookstore, then look for foreign languages and see if they have any books in Japanese. My bookstore at our library has a lot of Japanese books, so, maybe your's will (We live near like.. no Japanese. Only Vietnamese and Korean, so I'm sure you'll have some at your's.)

Just try and "immerse" them into the language as much as possible.

[BeautifulDirt]

Thank you!

I ,also, am self taught, so I don't know how Japanese teachers teach.
Do the kanji strokes have to be in a certain order? I write in my journal in Japanese and I make the strokes in any order I see fit and they seem fine XD.
Getting books in Japanese would probably be the hardest. I don't own any books that are completely in Japanese and I don't think my library would actually have any books in Japanese (not that it would really do much.Since I'm only teaching them what I know, which does not include reading an entire book. I still have a bit to learn myself.) But...I do have a letter that I am writing in Japanese. Maybe they can work on translating it or something? But that would probably have to be later on since I use alot of kanji (or at least, my opinion of alot).
I'm trying to move them off of romaji as fast as I can, but they can't seem to remember the hiragana and katakana. I've looked online and saw some good flashcards but...I think I'll have to make them instead XD

[h2orowe]

Tell them that if they want to actually learn Japanese, they're going to have to study some of it on their own and not just when you teach them. That they'll have to be serious and suchblahblah, because maybe that's why they're not getting it? Why do they want to learn Japanese? Are they like.. anime fans are just like "yay here's my 30 minutes of Japanese teehee" or something? If they want to actually learn the language, they should buy some books too. I mean you ARE the teacher, but are you getting paid at all (I forgot if you mentioned if you were or weren't) because if you're not, and you're going to this trouble for them, they should at least buy their own books and such if they seriously want to learn the language.


Where do you live btb? Maybe if you live somewhere where it's mostly white your library might not have Japanese books, but you never know unless you check. Also, I'm pretty sure Borders and Barnes and Nobles have foreign language sections for books IN a foreign language. You can check there. They MIGHT have something in Japanese.

If they have computers, too, hook them up with kanji game. http://www.msu.edu/~lakejess/kanjigame.html They can play that for a hour or two a day, and it'll help them.

[Pierrot le Fou]

Singing, singing, and more signing. Kids learn songs really quickly, and mimic the sounds of the song (and the pronunciation) automatically. Struggling to teach them phonetics when they haven't mastered those of their native language is a lost cause in many cases, as they simply don't understand what they're doing.

ETA: They're 16 and 12, not 4 or 5 like I thought. Lost cause -- they're teenagers or close to it! Just forget about it. Too much work.

[BeautifulDirt]

Tell them that if they want to actually learn Japanese, they're going to have to study some of it on their own and not just when you teach them. That they'll have to be serious and suchblahblah, because maybe that's why they're not getting it? Why do they want to learn Japanese? Are they like.. anime fans are just like "yay here's my 30 minutes of Japanese teehee" or something? If they want to actually learn the language, they should buy some books too. I mean you ARE the teacher, but are you getting paid at all (I forgot if you mentioned if you were or weren't) because if you're not, and you're going to this trouble for them, they should at least buy their own books and such if they seriously want to learn the language.


Where do you live btb? Maybe if you live somewhere where it's mostly white your library might not have Japanese books, but you never know unless you check. Also, I'm pretty sure Borders and Barnes and Nobles have foreign language sections for books IN a foreign language. You can check there. They MIGHT have something in Japanese.

If they have computers, too, hook them up with kanji game. http://www.msu.edu/~lakejess/kanjigame.html They can play that for a hour or two a day, and it'll help them.


I live in Portsmouth (virginia that is) in an area that is mostly black. Perhaps they should get some books...but I don't know what books to tell them to buy. I would tell them to get the same one as I have but I ordered it off of the internet and it was expensive (around $40). How does that kanji game work? I wanted to test it but, I couldn't figure it out.

[Faumdano]

I ,also, am self taught, so I don't know how Japanese teachers teach.
Do the kanji strokes have to be in a certain order? I write in my journal in Japanese and I make the strokes in any order I see fit and they seem fine XD.
Yes it matters. There are many, many resources out there for you to find the correct order as well.

Getting books in Japanese would probably be the hardest. I don't own any books that are completely in Japanese and I don't think my library would actually have any books in Japanese (not that it would really do much.Since I'm only teaching them what I know, which does not include reading an entire book. I still have a bit to learn myself.)
There are Japanese specialty stores scattered about the USA order from there or order from amazon.jp .

I'm trying to move them off of romaji as fast as I can, but they can't seem to remember the hiragana and katakana. I've looked online and saw some good flashcards but...I think I'll have to make them instead XD
Try mnemonics: http://mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/nihongo/index.html

[h2orowe]

I live in Portsmouth (virginia that is) in an area that is mostly black. Perhaps they should get some books...but I don't know what books to tell them to buy. I would tell them to get the same one as I have but I ordered it off of the internet and it was expensive (around $40). How does that kanji game work? I wanted to test it but, I couldn't figure it out.
The Kanji game is basically like..


WHAT IS THIS CHARACTER?

SHI, GO, RI, RA, etc

iirc, that is. I haven't played it in ages. (A year or less, lullz.)

[BeautifulDirt]

Yes it matters. There are many, many resources out there for you to find the correct order as well.


There are Japanese specialty stores scattered about the USA order from there or order from amazon.jp .


Try mnemonics: http://mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/nihongo/index.html

Thank you but I'm trying to order as little as possible for this. I'm trying to just use what I can get nearby.

I didn't think it mattered what order. Just that it was readable.

[MNJetter]

My suggestion for pronunciation is to teach them rhythm. One thing that English speakers have just about the hardest time with in Japanese is that each character, even if it's just a vowel, is held for a full beat, and the beats are all spoken more or less with a steady rhythm. I usually use the hand-clapping method (reciting words by saying the sound of each character together with a hand clap, so that the rhythm is clearer).

If you repeat the same word multiple times, steadily getting faster as you go, and finally still saying it in rhythm without the hand clapping, you'll get a clean and accurate pronunciation of a word. Then, even if you're not paying strict attention to the steadiness of the rhythm in conversation later, you'll still remember its approximate rhythmical proportions.

Also, try to find NHK kids' shows on youtube or something, and have them listen to it. It is usually slower and clearer and less complicated than anime or dramas or pop music.

I also recommend, even if you're not teaching symbols, to write words in hiragana or katakana anyway, and put romaji furigana over them.

[BeautifulDirt]

Unfortunately, at their house, we can't use the computer. It would be so much easier with a computer. But I think, I'll see if I an start having them come over instead.

I try with the hiragana and katakana, but, they keep depending on romaji even though I tell them that not everything will be written out in romaji for them. But, I'll keep going!

I think the hand clappng would probably work. I never thought of that.

Thank you! ^_^

Though, what shows do you think I should look for? I don't think I know any NHK shows.

[crabity]

repetition & speed for the stuff you have to memorize.

make them do things over and over again, but in a fun way.
make them race against each other.

[羽之助]

I used Japanese for Young People (http://www.amazon.com/Japanese-Young-People-I-Student/dp/477002178X) and thought it wasn't too bad. Made up some homework to go with it, etc. For the hiragana, I did it in parts. Gave out the whole shebang at first, but only quizzed them on the a, ka, and ga rows the first week. Second week, quizzed from a to ta, then a to ma on the third week, and on the fourth week I gave them a chart with roomaji written on it and said "Ok, write the whole thing." If you're teaching more than once a week, go ahead and increase the frequency, of course.

If you're still in the roomaji stage, why not search online for a word search or crossword creator? I give those to my kids sometimes and they're fun and challenging at the same time. Picture cards work too - just print something out and make flash cards, or print out animal cards and play "Go Fish" in Japanese - "Neko wo katteimasu ka?" "Haaai!" "Iie, otsuri ni itte!"

[stsparky]

I live in Portsmouth (virginia that is) in an area that is mostly black. Perhaps they should get some books...but I don't know what books to tell them to buy. I would tell them to get the same one as I have but I ordered it off of the internet and it was expensive (around $40). How does that kanji game work? I wanted to test it but, I couldn't figure it out.



Google "Japanese Nursery Rhymes (http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&client=safari&rls=en&sa=X&oi=spell&resnum=0&ct=result&cd=1&q=%22Japanese+Nursery+Rhymes%22&spell=1)"
A Carrot (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hr1O8JlAl0)

[Soli]

Teach me instead. ;p

(j/k, maybe. XD I'm no help, sorry)

[BeautifulDirt]

As I've sad before I'm not trying to order aything. But, if I can get it at a bookstore that would be great.

I actually already had the carrot video saved in my favorites! XD Thanks though.