Yes, can you hear the difference in these words? Well the Japanese have a hard not not only saying them, but hearing the difference. I know this because for all the 7th grade classes at Hamura City Jr. High where I have been working, I got to say these type of words over and over again, then they were quizzed on if I said bag or bug, hat or hut, fly or fry, etc. It was remarkable- some of the teachers even got them wrong! I never realized how difficult English was until I started seeing people learn it. Explain to me why Heard and Heart have a different vowel sound? The past tense of Read is Read... yup, you just said them correctly and just now realized they are spelled the same, but one sounds like rEd. So dumb! In Japanese, if a word is spelled out it always sounds like what it looks like. Its beautifully phonetic (once you realize what sounds each vowel makes, "i" sounds like "eeee", etc). So in the word Konnichiwa, both "i"s make the "eee" sound. Kon-eee-cheee-wa. Simple. These poor students...
I have been trying to learn more Japanese. Between a few workbooks of mine, a computer program, and my handy iPhone applications, I'm getting better. I just need to practice it more! It always seems that when I know what to say in Japanese the person knows English. Then the off-base places I work I'm expected to speak English, since I'm the English Teacher! But one of the teachers at the Jr. High said that they non-english speaking teachers would be happy to practice with me. They think its good that I"m trying to learn, and that not enough people try. I have a little notebook that I've been practicing my Katakana letters (The Japanese have 3 alphabets!) so maybe I can sound out a few words at resteraunts and stuff.... but of course, I'd be sounding them out in Japanese, and THEN have to translate from Japanese to English still. Ugh, frustrating!- but Fun. Its a good challenge.
Dereck gets back from Thailand this weekend, and my "busy" work week ends, then it's back to just once or twice a week for a little bit. I like being busy though, especially when Dereck is gone. Helps the time go faster!
Sayonara!
english really is dumb. i really like German. so organized! only a few "irregular" verbs. but like everything it's a lot of memorization and practice, practice, practice! good luck to you and your students!
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