Practice in the Language Learning Center

Language Learning Center: (Olin 316):

Few students enjoy going to the language learning center to practice. But dorm room practice often produces unsatisfactory results. Here are some strategies that may help you transform the LLC into your personal "dojo" (道場) or "training hall." Set up a STRICT 50 minute practice routine. In addition to working with the textbook and learning how to write hiragana, katakana, or kanji well, you will need to spend about 20-30 minutes completing homework assignments.

Textbook and Oral Practice (20 minutes)

1) First 3 minutes: preparation and warm-up. Turn to the relevant pages in your ようこそ text. Determine the drill or vocabulary exercise you plan to work on and read the homework assignment instructions carefully. Determine the point of the drill and look up unfamiliar words BEFORE you start.

2) 20 Minute Practice: Do not mumble. Speak loudly. Enunciate clearly! Practice each drill over and over! If you want to learn how to hit a backhand in tennis and you hit only 15 backhands, your basic technique will be weak. Diligent practice will enable you to say sentence patterns smoothly, naturally, and automatically. If you are listening to my voice on an audio tape, USE THE PAUSE button to stop the tape. REWIND the tape to listen to it again. Most lessons on the tape will be approximately 5-7 minutes.

3) Last 3 minutes: Review and note down what you did so that you will be ready for your next practice session. Set a time and date for your next visit to this "training center" and schedule it into your daily and weekly "to do" lists.

Writing Practice (10 minutes):

(1) Spend 2 minutes looking carefully at each model. Note how spaces and shapes are created by the lines. Use your finger pencil to trace over the lines SLOWLY. Write the hiragana in the air. Note where the brush/pencil slows down and where it flows.

(2) Practice writing each hiragana for 2 minutes (writing each one approximately 7 to 15 times).

(3) Review for a minute by looking at the model again and noting how the brush moves. Write the hiragana that you will turn in.

Homework (shukudai) (20-30 minutes)