Whatcha thinking about now?

[Spiny Norman]

Re: Whatcha thinking about now?

You are a human being. Human beings chat. It can't really be that difficult.

I can chat anywhere, I joined this forum because of an interested in Paganism...which is hardly ever discussed. Oh well.

[Jembru]

Re: Whatcha thinking about now?

Just waking up to the news that Bowie has passed away. Very sad.

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I can chat anywhere, I joined this forum because of an interested in Paganism...which is hardly ever discussed. Oh well.

As a long-time member, I have to disagree! We just don't talk about the pagan 101 stuff you find in bookstores, because we assume one another to have learnt the basics already until a statement is made to the contrary. Maybe try leaving the sub-forum that is by design, there for non-pagan discussions.

Don't forget that if there's a topic you want to discuss that isn't already here, you can always start a thread yourself!

[Medusa]

Re: Whatcha thinking about now?

Oh my god. David Bowie. I saw him in concert at Dodger Stadium. I'm so gutted. Today God is indeed dead. :='(:

[anunitu]

Re: Whatcha thinking about now?

I just woke up to see about Bowie on the news...shocked to say the least.

[Briton]

Re: Whatcha thinking about now?

Spiny, there are well over a thousand threads, a dozen sections and many sub-sections, all about paganism, and plenty of space to start a new thread in the S.A.F.E Zone for newbies (which includes me) who don't know what to do or where to go, along with many threads which are purely written articles with links to external sources. There is plenty of stuff for everyone

[Eofor]

Re: Whatcha thinking about now?

Listen.. can you hear that? That's the sound of Pagan Forum members groaning in unison 'don't give her an excuse to talk about Japanese!!'. Lol.

I can totally understand about the focus on reading. This was standard just about everywhere until fairly recently and even in universities there still isn't nearly enough focus on speaking. Even the Japanese proficiency test, the JLPT ignores speaking and writing (it kind of has to because it's electronically marked, but it means that some students that pass N1, the highest level, can't hold down a conversation, or if they can, their Japanese is unusual and robotic because spoken and written Japanese are so different).

I'm self-taught though, so I got to pick and choose what I learnt. For the longest time I only knew the kanji used in the textbooks I originally studied from (under 300 characters), and any that came up so frequently that I couldn't help but pick them up by proxy. Words like 勉強 (benkyou) 頑張る (ganbaru) and 大丈夫 (daijoubu). Otherwise, I got by using rikaikun to read online. My study was heavily conversation-focused. I learnt vocabulary in context, learning short phrases rather than isolated words, I practiced speaking via the 'shadowing method', I kept a video journal where I recorded myself speaking on various topics, and of course I hung out with other Japanese speakers.

In 2014 I realised I was finally fluent enough to hold down a conversation without much difficulty. But because spoken and written Japanese are so different, to take my Japanese to the next level I needed to focus my study around authentic texts; reference books, textbooks, novels and magazines written in Japanese for a Japanese audience. Besides a handful of textbooks for Japanese elementary school kids, I couldn't really access the above material until I learnt all jouyou kanji once and for all. So I spent most of last year memorising kanji and studying from books aimed at Japanese kids who are still learning kanji.

My Japanese is still a work in progress, but it's a wonderful feeling to finally be able to pick up a novel or magazine and just read it!

I'm not embarrassed to tell people I'm an advanced student now either. When I couldn't read and write, I always felt like a bit of a fraud!

(Sorry for not replying sooner)

The huge focus on reading and writing might be good sometimes, but I don't think it's the best option when you're learning a new language. Not being able to learn kanji (it happened to me for some reason) can be very discouraging for most students. If written language is the only thing you teach about Japanese, it's likely that these students will drop out. However, if they are more willing to learn spoken Japanese, they can be stimulated since not everything is lost.

The classes I took (in Kumon, maybe you've heard of them) were ONLY written Japanese. Sometimes they asked me to answer some oral questions, but that was all. I dropped out because I couldn't learn some kanjis and they were forcing me to do so. I don't blame them, but the point is that there was no encouragement for me to learn. Memorising kanjis is exhausting, at least for me. When I started English the same thing happened. However, as it is an universal language, I was immersed into it, so I had a chance to speak and hear. With German, though, I choose a school focused in spoken German, so I'm learning way faster than the others.

Yeah, sometimes I feel sad when I can't read something in German or even when I don't know a word in English, but then I realise that I'll never be a native and even if I were I wouldn't know everything. I don't even know some things in Portuguese, why would I be an expert in foreign languages, right?

[Näre]

Re: Whatcha thinking about now?

Yeah, sometimes I feel sad when I can't read something in German or even when I don't know a word in English, but then I realise that I'll never be a native and even if I were I wouldn't know everything. I don't even know some things in Portuguese, why would I be an expert in foreign languages, right?

I can relate to what you said about German. (Sorry to hijack the discussion between you and Jembru! I just want to talk about languages now that there's an excuse!)
I have had so many opportunities to learn German properly but well, I guess I will always be on the basic broken German level. (I'm not a big fan of learning things systematically, especially when it concerns German which has been in my life since I was 6.)
But well, everything can't be perfect...

[Jembru]

Re: Whatcha thinking about now?

I can relate to what you said about German. (Sorry to hijack the discussion between you and Jembru! I just want to talk about languages now that there's an excuse!)

I LOVE discussing language learning and hearing how others experienced it, how they overcame challenges and so on. So you are welcome to join in these discussions any time!! Besides, this is in a general conversation thread. If we didn't want others joining in we'd take it to a PM.

...I couldn't learn some kanjis and they were forcing me to do so. I don't blame them, but the point is that there was no encouragement for me to learn. Memorising kanjis is exhausting, at least for me. When I started English the same thing happened. However, as it is an universal language, I was immersed into it, so I had a chance to speak and hear. With German, though, I choose a school focused in spoken German, so I'm learning way faster than the others.

I'm sorry about your experience with kanji. I hated them too. Although if you ever decide to give Japanese another go, I highly recommend using Heising's Remembering the Kanji. It teaches in a logical order where each new character builds on previous knowledge, and you also use mnemonics to help you remember. It's far easier than the method used in Japanese schools.

Yeah, sometimes I feel sad when I can't read something in German or even when I don't know a word in English, but then I realise that I'll never be a native and even if I were I wouldn't know everything. I don't even know some things in Portuguese, why would I be an expert in foreign languages, right?

Absolutely! In fact, with Japanese there is actually an issue for learners of Japanese as a foreign language in that we tend to memorise words that the Japanese themselves don't know so well. You see, in writing, you can use fancy words in Japanese because the kanji will point to the meaning, but in speaking, you can't see the word. For this reason, with the exception of speeches and formal contexts, spoken Japanese tends not to use so many 'jukugo' that is, words written with 2 or more kanji. So while 'insect' can be written in kanji as 昆虫 (konchuu) and all Japanese people know this word, in a conversation they will almost invariably prefer to say 虫 (mushi), which is the basic Japanese (kun) word for 'insect'. Foreign students have little way of knowing which words we read are common in conversation, so we tend to memorise everything. So we'll say odd things and not be understood at times. This means that in a strange irony, those who sound the most 'fluent' when speaking, are actually those who stick to the most basic words and phrases! Not least because they come to mind so much easier, so you don't need to think so hard while speaking.

The point is, certainly in any language the goal is not knowing every last word. When I was using Remembering the Kanji, there were English key words that I didn't understand and had to learn, and I'm a native speaker! In fact, I'd go so far as to say I believe knowledge is only 1 third of what makes a proficient language user. The other 2 thirds being motor skills/muscle memory and the ability to infer meaning even when you don't know every word in a sentence, using what you DO know, and non-verbal cues (and this goes for native speakers too). That's why I think all language courses should be like your German class, and prioritise speaking. When you know how a sentence feels and sounds, it's much easier to then recognise it on paper, than it is to take a sentence from paper and attempt to verbalize it with no prior experience!

[monsno_leedra]

Re: Whatcha thinking about now?

On snow days, teachers wake up, dance around in their jammies, then watch cartoons and eat fruity pebbles.

Don't know I worked for a local Virginia school system for almost ten years. Probably 90 percent of the snow days simply meant students where out and we reported either on time or two hour delay. Very seldom actually got the day off due to snow. If we did get it off more often than not it was due to taking a vacation day vice the school system telling us to take off.

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It would be nice to see more discussion about Paganism here - it is a Pagan forum, right?

I admit I am intrigued when I see statements like this. In part I admit due to tying to figure out how the person is defining "Pagan" or "Paganism" compared against the various definitions and topics presented in the various forums on the site.

Though I'd also add if there are not enough discussions then be pro-active and start some that you wish to have discussed. Some will take off, some will simply die on the vine. Some might even inspire side discussions involving various aspects suggested by the topic.

But most of all consider how your defining paganism and topics of discussion. It's like I find shamanic discussions to be very limited here but then that limitation is due to the limited nature of my focus not due to the sites broad focus.

[Kiesha'ra]

Re: Whatcha thinking about now?

I can chat anywhere, I joined this forum because of an interested in Paganism...which is hardly ever discussed. Oh well.

its not hard to start a thread about what you want to discuss related to paganism, try it and people will most likely join in

[Yorin]

Re: Whatcha thinking about now?

I can chat anywhere, I joined this forum because of an interested in Paganism...which is hardly ever discussed. Oh well.

its not hard to start a thread about what you want to discuss related to paganism, try it and people will most likely join in

Or go to an already open thread discussing some aspect and add to it?


Also, I legit can't choose a card for this deck box. Anyone wanna help me pick? I've got the choices here

[anunitu]

Re: Whatcha thinking about now?

I really like this one.

[iris]

Re: Whatcha thinking about now?

I really like this one.

Me too. I like number 5 too (on my phone... couldn't get the picture over here)

[Näre]

Re: Whatcha thinking about now?

^And me! That pic is gorgeous. Also the first one with the redhead lady.

[Jembru]

Re: Whatcha thinking about now?

Usually I don't like the moon card, but I must agree that that's a nice image. I love her expression. I detect playfulness, although I imagine it wasn't intentional, and probably in the eye of the beholder, which makes it all the more intriguing!