Jt_ and Mikecash, and spamming.

I"m taken a break from these forums, hopefully for good.

Despite how many good members there are, I don't really like these forums. How many times now have I threatened to leave? Too many.

So I'll just call it a break. The forums would be better without me, and my terrible spamming anyway.

Like jt_ said, "GCL has no focus." Gee, I guess 9 hours a day is no focus. Recently I've been focusing on more stuff at my level.

Here's what my friend says, he's been studying japanese for 1 year now:
Well I think a lot of people stop trying because of kanji
Chibi Tenshiko (10:49:18 PM): But, anyone who says that most people fail are full of it.
Chibi Tenshiko (10:49:28 PM): The people who fail are the people who don't care, you know?
Chibi Tenshiko (10:49:58 PM): And even if someone never becomes completely fluent, they can still live in Japan and kepe trying. I wouldn't listen to whoever said that.
Chibi Tenshiko (10:50:16 PM): I know people who have lived in Japan for years and still sometimes have trouble conversing in Japanese
Chibi Tenshiko (10:51:51 PM): My biggest problem was writing too.. I think that's definitely where most people give up. But the writing system in some ways can be the easiest.. because you can just look it up and see how to write something and then you're all set. People like to say Japanese is harder than it is!!

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Mikecash seems really fluent. Almost boastful. And yet, he's given me helpful advice, and some advice has literally pushed the boundarys between critism and constructive critism (being polite here)

Jt_ is very helpful, and I agree with everything he says except for the "lack of focus". This is pretty much a flat out insult to me..

Plus, many people mentioned I should be banned for the spamming.

In the words of the wise mikecash:
"So far, I haven't seen a single teenager who lived in japan, or didn't give up on japanaese. I'm sure GCL will be the same way."

Thanks for the encourgement, buddy.

So, I'm better just going at my own paste, and getting a tutor. The nonsense about not putting what people said to use is just nonsense. Absolute nonsense. I've learned alot here, but people get aggreviated, or some some BS like I'm not learning from what they say because I repeat mysel fa few times. This is so far from the truth..

Even Elizabeth has put me on ignore now. (from the PM's)

To people that I really like:
PachioPro, you make the great posts. You have the best advice. Your last post literally had me in tears. You are just that great.

Elizabeth, thanks for all the help.

jt_ thank you

Macimao, thanks for the 'reality' check about japan. Ive learned alto from you

Frank D.White, you are the most caring, humorous person I know. God bless you for peopling out others.

GoldCoinLover said:

I"m taken a break from these forums, hopefully for good.

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How many times does this make that you've said that? You normally go on to make about another zillion posts the very same day you say it.

Mikecash seems really fluent. Almost boastful.

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I don't think you could find enough examples of my posting anything in Japanese to justify either of those two statements.

You have no way to assess my proficiency. And if you have some samples of me being boastful, I would like to have them pointed out to me.

In the words of the wise mikecash:
"So far, I haven't seen a single teenager who lived in japan, or didn't give up on japanaese. I'm sure GCL will be the same way."

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This blatant misrepresentation of fact pisses me off. Not a single word of what you present as a direct quote from me was ever actually said by me.

I have stated that I have seen no shortage of young people professing to be burning up with a passion to learn Japanese and move to Japan....and that I have yet to encounter one who actually ended up doing it. See if you can understand the difference between that and the first sentence you attributed to me.

Furthermore, in the past I have posted that I KEEP HOPING YOU WOULD BE THE EXCEPTION.

You know....I come home today and find one post where you're saying I'm right and apologizing to me....then I click around and find another one where you're spreading lies about me not only here but to your online buddies elsewhere as well. Grow the hell up already.

Gold,

Some people are helpful, and some are not. Just put the un-helpful people on your Ignore List, as you probably have already done. That should take care of the problem.

'tevs

I suppose I'm not one of the people you "like" seeing as I didn't get a mention. Slightly disappointing since I did try be helpful and answer all your pm's in a timely manner,eh, oh well...:?

Chibi Tenshiko (1028 PM): The people who fail are the people who don't care, you know?

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Actually no, the people who fail are not people who don't "care". Language is a skill and some skills are easier for some to pick up, and not so easy for others . Just as not everyone can be a Steve vai or a Rembrandt, not everyone can pick up japanese to the point of fluency.

I've met many who were unable to pick up skills, and they were very distraught about it. They too, spent hours and hours studying and honing that "skill". But for some reason they could not get it. To say that they didn't "care" is total BULLSH*T. I'm offended in/on their behalf.

hibi Tenshiko (1058 PM): And even if someone never becomes completely fluent, they can still live in Japan and kepe trying. I wouldn't listen to whoever said that.

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Yeah you can still move to japan and try, But I wonder who will be flooting the bill.

Why would or should any employer hire someone who can't speak the local language well, over someone who is completely fluent?

Just curious...Why, whenever someone is going to leave the forum do they choose to post about it? Why not just leave? Unless....you are really going to hang around and read what others choose to post about you!
GCL...quit the pity trips! You don't know anyone here personally so don't take the criticism so hard! At least you are studying Japanese...many people on this board don't...and never will!
You say you are studying 9 hours a day...No need to tell everyone about it and then post 10 threads asking ten different questions that in no way relate to one another. You are trying to study too much too fast! Back it down a bit. From what I have read of your posts you are way ahead of yourself. Most Japanese classes will not even introduce Kanji until the 3rd quarter (or level 3 class) It never hurts of course to introduce things early, but at a gradual pace!
You say you know all of the hiragana and katakana, can you spread them out on the floor randomly and locate them when called out? I think that Damicci supplied you with great links here...
The GCL's question thread.

If you are really gone...I am sorry that you are that weak minded and thin skinned...life will truly be hard for you!

If not...keep working hard and forget all of the criticism, but also lay off on the multiple posts asking tedious questions that you should be able to work through alone. Slow yourself down a bit and work at a pace you can handle.

Goldcoinlover -- personally, I have no objection to you, but I wish you wouldn't single out people for slagging off the way they've behaved towards you. You already make use of 'ignore', so just ignore them. Argue however much you want with them in private!

I am also curious to know why a rubber ducky, a bunny rabbit and three
cocks appear in that post. Gee, the use of emoticons really does add a new dimension to the good old Freudian slip!

Kinsao said:

Goldcoinlover -- personally, I have no objection to you, but I wish you wouldn't single out people for slagging off the way they've behaved towards you. You already make use of 'ignore', so just ignore them. Argue however much you want with them in private!

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That's the only issue I take personally with this whole episode as well. It's obvious your difficulties with life go deeper than how to go about studying Japanese or even the various personality conflicts here, so please try to stop yourself from acting out and taking your emotional baggage where it doesn't belong. I know that is easier said than done and for that reason if nothing else perhaps a break (hopefully temporary ) is the best solution for now.

Most of all, take care of you and do come back as soon as you feel ready !

Moved to "Community", since not really related to "Learning Japanese".

Nicky said:

I suppose I'm not one of the people you "like" seeing as I didn't get a mention. Slightly disappointing since I did try be helpful and answer all your pm's in a timely manner,eh, oh well...:?
Actually no, the people who fail are not people who don't "care". Language is a skill and some skills are easier for some to pick up, and not so easy for others . Just as not everyone can be a Steve vai or a Rembrandt, not everyone can pick up japanese to the point of fluency.
I've met many who were unable to pick up skills, and they were very distraught about it. They too, spent hours and hours studying and honing that "skill". But for some reason they could not get it. To say that they didn't "care" is total BULLSH*T. I'm offended in/on their behalf.
Yeah you can still move to japan and try, But I wonder who will be flooting the bill.
Why would or should any employer hire someone who can't speak the local language well, over someone who is completely fluent?

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Hey nicky, man, don't fret. I really appreciate all your posts, sorry I Forgot to mention you.
Anyone can learn a language if they put their mind to it. For some people its harder than others (for me particlesis hard), but with alot of patience, persistance, and practice, anyone can learn it.
I don't really want to put people on ignore. I feel like I'm missing out. Then other people respond to it and I don't know what they are talking to.
Plus, mikecash is a good guy, he just ignores me now. Which is disappointing.
Why do I need to make a thread saying I've leaved, etc? I hate myself. I really do. Its hard to like other people sometimes when you don't even like yourself. Plus, all the members here that hate me. Or are extremely frusterated.I feel like I can't make one thread a day without being critized. Look at my REP Level, 2 stars. That shows it all right there.
I feel like I need otehr peoples support because my self esteem is so low.
I have all the hiragana memorized. IF you name one, I can pick it out. I'm working on katakana but I'm not rushing it.

Most distressing, and most importantly, I feel like everyone here is singling me out, telling me that I haven't learned anything in 2 weeks. This really hurts me. Everyone else, on AIM, anywehre else, says I've learned alot more than they have in 2 weeks. I have slowed down, but I know alot more, and I wish people would at least acknoledge that.

Who said you haven't learned anything.
EVERYONE is saying your not focusing on ONE aspect.
You are trying to study 234621894628364 different aspects of the language instead of sticking to one.

Why don't you stick to one?
You ask about te forms particles polite present tenses transitive intransitive. But you have not Stuck to one particular aspect of the language. Your questions and cries for help are all over the board (no pun intended).
You need to focus on one thing at a time. That is where you have no focus.
Your doing TOO MANY things at one time.

FOCUS ON ONE ASPECT TIL IT'S ALL GOOD.
My suggestion would be particle usage b/c you still are messing those up. typo or not, Most people typo a letter or slightly wrong kana because of a missed letter. You completely use the incorrect particle and call it a typo.
Just focus on one aspect. You can do it.

Why don't you stick to one?
You ask about te forms particles polite present tenses transitive intransitive. But you have not Stuck to one particular aspect of the language. Your questions and cries for help are all over the board (no pun intended).
You need to focus on one thing at a time. That is where you have no focus.
Your doing TOO MANY things at one time.

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From what I've observed, this is a critical point of disagreement between GCL and other posters. In any number of threads, GCL has stated he is comfortable with x topic, while other posters disagree. Having no structured way to truly test his abilities, each party continues thinking the way it does. I always found this to be a major obstacle to my own self-study: the lack of ability to truly test myself with an accredited Japanese teacher checking the answers. Perhaps I was spoiled by college classes here and abroad, but nothing replaces a native speaker IMHO. And until GCL is in an environment where he CAN be tested, I don't know if he, or we for that matter, can truly judge where he is.

Most distressing, and most importantly, I feel like everyone here is singling me out, telling me that I haven't learned anything in 2 weeks. This really hurts me. Everyone else, on AIM, anywehre else, says I've learned alot more than they have in 2 weeks. I have slowed down, but I know alot more, and I wish people would at least acknoledge that.

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I think you have learned quite a bit, you know the basics of conjugation, sentence structure and even particle use which is a lot more than I had a firm grasp on when I started (well, I actually begin by getting kanji out of the way first so the grammar part and a lot of vocab didn't start to make sense until a couple years later). As MeAndroo pointed out in his post, though, if you want us to make a good judgment you will have to first tell us in some detail exactly what material you have already covered -- starting from PAGE 1 of the Yan CDs or textbook -- and then, from that, start creating your own sentences, filling in the exercises and reviews in the back, doing the quizzes (if there are any) and basically any other supplementary activities that will help you make sure that you fully understand each lesson.

This will not only keep you on track and in a good sequence -- you can even start a thread called Yan and the Japanese People Lessons if that would help -- it will also keep everyone else aware of your level and what you should know from previous chapters. Jumping around topics so much and taking on stuff too advanced makes it really, really, really hard to tell exactly what you have already studied, what is still too difficult because it hasn't been presented yet, what is a simple mistake (although it is best to proofread first to keep that confusion to a minimum), and what you genuinely don't know but should based on past lessons.

Basically I guess what I'm trying to say is that language book editors are experts in second language learning, online resources are usually not such good teachers. That is because most textbooks are set up with one purpose : to teach proficiency and real-life functional, communication skills. Please trust that the structure that is laid out in your text and tapes is going to be a very good start in getting you where you want to go. If you have trouble with comprehension or concentration, scale back the amount you're trying to jam into your head at once (edit : I'm very glad to see that is apparently already happening).

GoldCoinLover said:

Plus, all the members here that hate me.

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They don't. They're just a bit annoyed.

GoldCoinLover said:

Most distressing, and most importantly, I feel like everyone here is singling me out, telling me that I haven't learned anything in 2 weeks.

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You do know alot. If you've only been studying for 2 weeks (<--I'm assuming) that's awesome. I think what everyone wants to get across to you is that they think you're trying to know too much in too short a time. And not that you haven't learned anything. You've definitely learned a lot.

It's completely normal to have no idea which particle to use in the begining because that's just the way it is. Most of the time I have no idea what particle to use. I'm completely confused 70% of time.

I've already responded to Kevin via PM regarding his comments about me.

Regarding his comments about Mike -- I don't even think this needs to be said, but I just wanted to say for the record that I have never seen Mike boast about his Japanese (I've actually never even seen him post in Japanese, although I'm sure his command of the language far exceeds my own). He's been as patient with Kevin as anyone could be expected to be, and it's a shame that GCL repeatedly chooses to interpret this "tough love" as some sort of personal attack.

Anyway, I just wanted to say a few good words for Mike to balance out all of this negativity.

Meh I tried the online lessons thread, it died ;_;.
Either way. We are only here to help.