Ch 5 Kanji Poster 山川田人上中下小日本

Chapter 5 - Kanji Poster
山川田人上中下小日本



Learning the Kanji... the fabled and feared path awaiting anyone learning Japanese as a second language. It's funny: during the introductions phase of any Japanese class, students will share why they want to learn Japanese with a smile. 
"I want to watch Anime without subtitles!"
"I want to read Manga!"
"I want to travel to Japan!"

That smile quickly fades when they talk about learning the Kanji:
"So hard to learn..."
"There are over 2,000 required for fluency..."
"They don't seem to stick..."

Being a Japanese student myself, I am no different. The idea of learning thousands of anything seems difficult to find purchase on any American experience.

Trying to think of a parallel, I googled "How many Pokemon are there?" 


The answer is 893, far short of the 1500-2500 kanji that are "required for fluency". But the point remains: if my nieces can recite every form and evolution of them, surely I can learn hundreds and hundreds of Kanji, right?

Throughout my pursuit of learning Japanese, I try to intercept negative thoughts that could potentially stand in the way of forward progress. After all, I'm here to learn this. I want to learn this! I want to travel to Japan and be able to speak it! So it will do me no good to repeat to myself "This is so hard..." along the way. Why subject myself to cognitive dissonance during my hobby time?

Yes, Japanese is difficult for Americans to learn. But that's precisely why I signed up for it! I wanted to be challenged, to be stretched, to have my cultural beliefs and mind transformed by this culture that is so separated from my own!

So when thinking about Kanji, I tell myself that I am uncovering mysteries. I am learning things that my peers know nothing about. I am deciphering, learning, decoding and recoding how my brain works. 

The Kanji we have learned so far are simple. One distinct 'picture' with just few strokes. It's reassuring for those who are trepidatious. We can do this! 

These starter Kanji are fun as well because if you practice the stroke order, it starts to feel natural. Not totally sure why that matters so much, but I know it matters a LOT because every app, site, youtube video, and teacher I've had mentions it early and directly.

More mysteries to uncover in the future!!!

 

Comments

  1. AnonymousMay 5, 2022 at 5:33 PM

    I totally agree with you on the 'pictures' feeling very natural. Once you figure out how to help your brain out, it helps so much! Side note, I can't get over how gorgeous your handwriting is!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. SpringerMay 6, 2022 at 11:26 AM

      Eri -- thank you for the blog comments. My poor blog posts were just sent out into the void and ignored until you came along. PS that is the first time anyone has ever told me my handwriting is gorgeous! Or anything other than unintelligible! :D

      Delete
  2. Wolf JCCCMay 15, 2022 at 2:25 PM

    I love the comparison you did to Pokémon! Honestly though, if people can learn almost all of every single Pokémon then they can learn Kanji! I think when something looks difficult, it can cause people to avoid it and want the easy way out. You just got to get out of your comfort zone and do it!

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