Patreon Vlog | Teaching in Japan, Learning Japanese, Demonetisation Nightmares

Pumpkin boy! My favourite! 😂

You're being modest, your handwriting isn't shitty at all!

I became a patron so we could lose the Pumpkin😂

Good luck with your Remembering the Kanji journey! It's long and sometimes you'll want to quit, but carry on, and once you finish you'll se that every other area of your Japanese-learning will become marginally simpler once you recognise most kanji ;)

Errol246

Every day I go through my vocab and kanji decks in Anki that I've been using since I started learning 5 and a half years ago. I already passed N2 in Toyko by sheer luck, but recently I've begun studying grammar with the Kanzen Master series, which I add to Anki as well in a separate deck, and I'll also be mining the vocab, reading the dokkai texts and listening to the audio files on my smartphone when I'm on the move. I highly recommend Kanzen Master for your JLPT studies!

Errol246

I'm continuing my progress in the Heisig "Remembering the Kanji 1" book. I'm about 900 character in. I spend the first hour of every work day studying this book and learning some new basic vocabulary words though the "Anki" flashcard software...not sure if my boss has noticed this yet.

Zac Kelsey

I know Japanese from Brown classes and practice at the New York Buddhist Church.

I started learning Japanese three months ago when my friends and I decided to go there for the first time. I just today returned from that first visit, and I was able to mostly get by. My learning until now has been a frantic mess to learn as much as I can, focusing on useful things. Now I'm about to start to retool my learning and start again from scratch. I know what I want to do, but it will be a very large amount of work getting it together. I've been using anki for vocabulary, the "japanese Kanji Study" android app by Chase Colburn for Kanji, and a combination of Tae Kim and George Trombley (Japanese from zero) for grammar. Going forward I want to create 4 new anki decks as follows: One for words I've learned, giving Japanese and answering English, and one giving English and answering in Japanese. Then one with examples of grammar concepts, in Japanese to English, and another in English to Japanese. I want to separate them, so like the two decks in English to Japanese in the morning and Japanese to English in the evening, or vice versa.

I am a beginner just starting out learning Japanese. I have picked up a few phrases and general pronunciation from years of watching anime and listening to j-rock. I am using Duolingo and enjoying it, but it doesn't explain certain aspects. I am going to follow your advice and download Anki and memrise. I will also get the books you suggested too. Thanks for all the advice so far!

I'm doing a japanese course at my university and I'm having a test tomorrow 😥 Unfortunately I'm not able to put as much effort into it as I'd like to, because I have to do my studies in English and Philosophy as well. But I'm trying to establish a routine especially for the vocabulary and the kanji. Anki is very useful! So thanks a lot for that suggestion 😊 And as always: thanks for keeping me motivated and for your great work in general! Greetings from Germany 😊

But it actually is Zee not Zedd :(

Check with your university about study abroad opportunities. They already know the process so that'd probably be the easiest way to go. Then it'd be easier to transfer completely if you decide to.

Thank you for correcting yourself - A to Zee! I nearly spat my afternoon tea all over my computer!

Hello Chris! I’m currently studying pharmacology in the US, but I want to continue and finish my education in Japan. However; I find myself to be quite confused about the requirements to be admitted into a Japanese university as a foreigner. If you had any resources into which you could redirect me or even just give some information about the issue, I would be extremely grateful.

Love the downloadable files to listen to on my commute :)

Haha, god if only!

Abroad in Japan

What I'm currently doing to study Japanese: WaniKani (for kanji), Dogen's pitch accent course and using Anki to study Japanese sentences I find from various sources (Genki/Tae Kim/manga etc.). Oh Chris - btw, you recommended I visit the Warrior Celt in Tokyo - great recommendation! Unfortunately wasn't an opportunity to practice speaking Japanese at the time I went, but a great place nonetheless. The staff seemed to know who you are, so your reputation clearly proceeds you! BTW - for anyone wanting to practice Japanese conversation whilst in Tokyo, there's a cafe in Gotanda called English Only Cafe where a a mixture of Japanese native speakers + English speakers (both of various skill levels) turn up, and you switch languages every 30 mins. Really great idea.

Miles Gard

Glad the Patreon support helps! AIJ videos make the world and internet a much much better place. 😃

Laura Beaumont

Love the idea of the mp3 version man. If you do that with all the previous ones and put them in a post, I'm sure I would not be the only one who would listen to them all multiple times on the go. You have a lot of good tips in your vlogs, never stop!

I'm on a bit of a tight budget at the moment, so I'm using duolingo as my main base for learning Japanese, as well as Human Japanese, and looking things up as I go if I want to expand on things. I'm taking lots of notes, and have a dictionary (Oxford Japanese dictionary and their Grammar and Verbs book) and an audio guide to get some examples of pronunciation. I'm going to try some lessons on italki when I'm a bit more comfortable with the language, to start refining things. I've got a long way to go, but I feel better than when I tried classes, where I struggled to match the pace.

I visited Japan about 4 weeks ago and loved it so much. Currently in the process of applying to the JET programme thanks to inspiration from you! Also looking at other Japan based software/technical jobs or companies which are based in both the UK and Japan, however I will probably need to work on my Japanese a lot more to be considered for those roles. Recently started Japanese classes so hope that helps me to get somewhere - really enjoying it so far! So thank you for your inspiration Chris!

For grammar I highly recommend you take a look at the new website bunpro.jp. Clean and straight to the point, SRS system, Free, JLPT levels and links to other references. They are in the process of uploading their content online with N2 and N1 stuff coming relatively soon.

When will YouTube apply the demonetisation algorithm to the Daily Mail? Can it be done? Let's make it happen.

that bloody sequence xD!!

I am currently in Tokyo attending a language school in order to learn japanese. Just started 3 month ago. It is fun but also really hard. I have so much respect that you managed to study the language on your own. I need the pressure of school and tests to keep myself studying.

So concerning the whole YouTube thing, I'm seeing at least three or four of the people I follow are migrating to Patreon. I'm just starting my creative journey but I STARTED on Patreon. Writing being a less visual medium it made more sense. Right now I wouldn't recommend YouTube as a platform to anyone. I'm rambling so I'll save the rest for my blog. Suffice to say, it sucks you got demonetized, glad you're getting support from here and I love your content.

Bitey Mad Lady

Chris, sorry to hear about the demonetization nonsense. What a PITA. My daughter, who's an avid youtube watcher, says you should definitely appeal all the videos (if you haven't already). She said YT has tried this automated evaluation periodically and its automated systems always suck a$$. Anyway, love the channel and what you're doing with it. I hope it continues for a long time. Learning Japanese? I'm on the north side of 50, so I'm a bit late to the learning Japanese thing, but I fell in love with Japan when I took my daughter to Tokyo and Kyoto last year. Been furiously trying to learn using: lessons at the local community college with "Japanese for Busy People". the "Human Japanese" app, the "Kanji Sempai" app, Anki, and, starting on the 8th, private lessons. I'm returning to Japan next March/April for 3 weeks. If you want a free beer or 5, let me know :).

Please consider making an account on Vid.me ... their revenue system is impervious to that kind of BS. It'd really be nice if more YouTubers had a Vid.me channel also, then we'd have a choice and could spend less time encouraging echo chamber companies that fire people like James Damore.

F*cks saké chris i had to watch that intro on the train and now everyone thinks i'm some kind of pumpkin sympathiser. Good work on stating your case and moving on. You've got a great sense for the direction of the channel.

kieran arstall

I'm a straight noob in Japanese just going through genki 1 right now. And was that lady next to ryotaro his wife? She looks pretty damn sexy!

I am a beginner in Japanese, but have always had a love of language, so currently I am using Anki, Memrise and Duolingo for a little bit every day to familiarise myself with katakana and hiragana. It's challenging but I enjoy it, I hope it will be useful for my dream trip to Japan sometime in the future! Thanks so much for your various videos on the topic 😁

Lewis

You can double your donation whenever you want. Just select the $5 tier and manually change the number from 5 to 10 before continuing

You promised. You promised I wouldn't have to look at that stupid pumpkin ever again! Liar! Lol Man... I love your vlogs. And I'm glad to hear you're picking up your Japanese studies again. I was under the impression that you were pretty much good at this point, but then that's a naive perspective. You never stop learning a language, even your native one. As for me, I have been watching a YouTuber called JapaneseAmmo. Her name is Misa, and her lessons are quite comprehensive. I have been using books and other sources on and off for years to learn Japanese. Nothing has really made me feel motivated or helped me to actually speak Japanese as quickly as her videos. Her explanations are very comprehensive, so I've picked up grammar points that I struggled with in the past. Now I can formulate some simple sentences instead of just walking around with a sack full of Japanese vocabulary without anywhere to use it. I've also gotten back into using HiNative, exchanging my extensive knowledge of the English language (yeah right) for true native speakers correcting me on my terrible pitch accents. It's wonderful. Keep up the good work! Also, as a side note, I prefer seeing your face to a podcast. It's not as hideous as you think. Lol

Chantal Ward

A to "Zee?" Have you been hanging out with too many Americans, or do Japanese who speak English usually say "Zee" instead of "Zed?" On learning Japanese: Like you I benefit from a ritual. I started taking classes at the local community college in their continuing education department. The classes would be once a week, evening or weekend, for two hours. We used the "Japanese for Busy People" book series. As I got to the higher levels eventually not enough people would sign up and classes would get cancelled, so I started doing private lessons with the last teacher I had from the college who is a native of Nagoya, once a week for an hour, with a regular written homework where I use new words in sentences, and have been doing it ever since. We finished the last JfBP book, and after my first trip to Japan last year I wanted to focus more on improving my kanji, and we've been making our way through an N2 study book. I don't plan to sit for the exam, but it's still a great way to expand my kanji knowledge.

Leo

Seriously look into youscreen, I'm sure a lot of your subscribers will be willing to pay: <a href="https://youtu.be/3Zlav9UjJVs" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/3Zlav9UjJVs</a>

Every time you upload a video it motivates me to actually continue studying so from a person with literally no self discipline, thank you!

I watched Departures, it was an excellent film! Thanks for the recommendation Chris

Thanks for the vlog! I needed the night life video in July before I visited Japan for the first time. But I will take notes for the next visit. As for YT, I am a YT red subcriber so my viewing $ gets in your pocket reguardless of YT polices. Thank goodness. Wishing you the very best and many many more patreon subscribers. You post good content, may you be handsomely compensated.

Amaiaisuru

Patreon patrons RULE! Love the sense of humor and your face in the morning is not as nauseating as you think 😉 as for studying - using WaniKani, Tae Kim, and a multitude of other online sources ... as well as any book I can find at Half Price Bookstore! Second grade level currently

Julie

I bet it's a strange, surreal feeling to have literally thousands of strangers who not only want to see your creative works but willingly want to fund them. Obviously, it's a testament to your skill (and persona). Also, why did you decide to go for native level fluency after all? I realize it might be a little nerve-racking but it'd be cool to see a video in all Japanese. It's always inspiring to see foreigners conquering the language. As for me, I'm using Anki, Kanji Study, Human Japanese, and JSho apps, along with Genki textbooks, Tae Kim, Yuta Aoki's "real Japanese" course, and HelloTalk, as well as a Japanese library and bookstore we're lucky to have locally here stateside. Good luck and God help us all. P.S. You had it right; it's "zee"... 😉

I'm going through genki while adding its vocabs to anki and doing kodansha for kanji. I think I'm gonna run through genki I and start playing some VN in japanese for vocabs though because I can't retain vocabs well enough

What I do to study japanese... well exactly that lol. I study "japanese studies" at uni and we also learn the language there alongside many other things japan related.

Chris, add a $10 option so some of us can double our donations.

Haha you have a great "morning face", no homo! ;) Never thinking of expanding the "20 dollar tier" ? Or a lot of work doing the video responses i guess?

I'm not exactly a morning person, so I try to study japanese in the evening when I come home - I use some apps like duolingo and memrise, which are ok (and free) but not too great since they don't really explain anything. I've learnt japanese for 3 years in school but I must admit there's sadly not so much I remember. But I still got the books we used, they're kinda cute because our teacher Nojima-sensei made them herself. They're called "nihongo hanaso" :D Now I'm trying to actually talk to japanese people using HelloTalk :)

Sorry to hear about the demonetization video also being demonetized. I hope YT gets its shit together soon. Glad to see that your Patreon following is growing though, and maybe adding some stability (hopefully?). I'm learning Japanese for my own masochistic amusement while I'm in UK visa limbo - currently using a combination of Genki I, RTK, Human Japanese, Memrise, and Anki. Rewatching your videos on language learning helps me procrastinate while feeling minimal guilt when I'm just sick of trying to memorize kanji.

It's more likely you'll get the job if you're under 30, as they believe you can relate to the students better; that said, I knew plenty of people over 30, and they tended to be folks who'd had some kind of teaching background (and were therefore often better). So it's definitely not a no no!

Abroad in Japan

I study at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London one evening a week. We used Minna no Nihongo. I revise vocabulary and kanji using Memrise app. I'm taking the JLPT N5 in December, so I really need to crack on. I really should take advantage of the fact my boyfriend is Japanese more often, but he's to concerned with flattering me to criticise my appalling grammar. I've thought about JET, but as I've spent thousands of training for a career in tech, I'm going to see if I can wrangle working for an international design agency with an office in Tokyo over the next year or two.

Mz. Ultraviolence

Ignore the mistakes in that post... I swear I'm a teacher really!

Firstly, hello! Sorry to hear you've demonetised again. I don't think you need to apologise for talking about it or stop talking about it - it's a pretty big deal. Quick question... is being the, erm, wrong side of 30 a weird and a bit of a no no for the JET program? Is it even more silly being a fully qualified teacher in the UK and considering it?!

I'll still mention it very briefly when it happens, just as I know some people are interested!

Abroad in Japan

By the way. Is there a way to know when your Video is demoneytised? Especially whenyou are not talking about it anymore. Maybe give us a secret sign ;-)

And I loved the opening with the dancing pumpkin 🎃. Snark cubed and so funny

Just curious -- do Japanese celebrate Halloween? I realize it is not part of their culture but like xmas, I wondered if it was another social trope that had crossed cultures?

What i did to learn japanese? Married a japanese.😎🤣 Now she is fluent in German and i still far away in japanese...(as we living in Germany it is good that way) 😁 Thanks for your Video. Enjoyed it. And hope never to see that opening again. Ah, our smallest daughter enjoyed it very much 🤣

Loved the snarky humor in the new demonitization video. I managed to watch it several times, with ads, before it got demonized😱. Will you lose all the income from viewers before they took ads off?

Human Japanese is legendary! It helped me through the first 6 months like some kind of encouraging friend.

Abroad in Japan

I learn during my morning commute to work or in bed as I try to fall asleep. I use Memrise/Anki and work with those. Also just got Human Japanese trial and giving that a whirl :)

I definitely hope this is a phase and not the new standard with YouTube, but I definitely fear the best of YouTube is long dead.

botchpro

Sucks total ass this is happening to you; you're one of the channels that I find it so stupid to demonetize.. I will support you all I can, even tho thats hard with no stable income heh, but you're the only channel that I will make an exception for. Been watching a lot of your videos with my girlfriend lately and we are having a blast with them. Keep it up Chris! &lt;3 Love from Norway

Thanks chris. Can’t beleive it also got demonitised! Would love to know the reason there. Glad patreon keeps you afloat, not enough dry british humour coming from japan as it is!

Mr Fujisawa

Thank you Francisco!

I'll will always support you Chris you make great content !! And welcome to all the new Patreon members