Best Strategy for Learning FAST!

[clevername]

Hello all,

I am taking my first trip to Tokyo in 2 weeks, and have been studying grammar and vocab for the past few weeks using Genki (with a native tutor once per week), iKnow, and a few other sources (Repetitions, Tae Kim, a little bit of Pimsleur, etc). I feel like since I am so close to leaving, that I should focus my efforts on practical conversation and "important" words (unlike the somewhat academic vocabulary in textbooks), but beyond the basic greetings and common phrases. Does anyone have any specific recommendations for ways to (very quickly) strengthen my conversational skills? Much of the time I spend now feels more centered on reading (which is fine, as I am decently fast with kana), but I don't feel confident in speaking and understanding others. I am able to dedicate a few hours a day, but I don't want to waste time learning unnatural speech patterns or barely-used vocabulary. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance.

 

[BrianLewis]

I would spend my time constructing my own sentences rather than studying vocabulary. That's why your studying for the trip right?

 

[nekojita]

If you've only got two weeks, get the tutor to go over pronunciation with you, as well as focusing on set phrases that will be useful in shops/restaurants/hotels/trains where you can swap appropriate words out, e.g. "I'd like (one/two/three of) (this/that/insert noun if appropriate", "When does (thing) (open/close)?", "I want to (buy a/get to)..." . Also something along the lines of どうよみますか？ for pointing at kanji and getting people to sound it out for you.

Listening practice: dates/times/numbers.
Kanji (reading only): days of week (for reading opening times), things that will appear on menus (肉、野菜、魚、定食 etc.)、things that might be useful if travelling (駅、入口、出口、窓口、禁煙).

Obviously, if you have any particular requirements (food you are allergic to or don't eat, etc), learn those. Other things might depend on what you're doing and how long you're there - are you travelling about? If you know you're going to be doing particular things, plan for them in advance - if you're visiting a museum on the next day, plan what you're going to say at the ticket counter.

 

[clevername]

I would spend my time constructing my own sentences rather than studying vocabulary. That's why your studying for the trip right?

At this stage, I'm slowly trying to do that, but it's quite difficult to avoid simply translating English thoughts into Japanese and ending up with something awkward or incorrect.

 

[clevername]

If you've only got two weeks, get the tutor to go over pronunciation with you, as well as focusing on set phrases that will be useful in shops/restaurants/hotels/trains where you can swap appropriate words out, e.g. "I'd like (one/two/three of) (this/that/insert noun if appropriate", "When does (thing) (open/close)?", "I want to (buy a/get to)..." . Also something along the lines of どうよみますか？ for pointing at kanji and getting people to sound it out for you.

Listening practice: dates/times/numbers.
Kanji (reading only): days of week (for reading opening times), things that will appear on menus (肉、野菜、魚、定食 etc.)、things that might be useful if travelling (駅、入口、出口、窓口、禁煙).

Obviously, if you have any particular requirements (food you are allergic to or don't eat, etc), learn those. Other things might depend on what you're doing and how long you're there - are you travelling about? If you know you're going to be doing particular things, plan for them in advance - if you're visiting a museum on the next day, plan what you're going to say at the ticket counter.

Thanks for the good ideas! I hadn't thought about the menu items, but have been drilling on numbers, and time expressions, and am starting to tackle counters. I recognize 駅、入口、and 出口, but will learn more common signage as well. Skritter custom lists would be good for this.

Is there a good resource for common colloquial language, outside of the rather stiff textbook dialogs?