Over the past few weeks, I have been trying to improve my command of Japanese kana - hiragana and katakana characters. I started out by first reading the rōmaji versions of dialogues, then studying the kana versions. However, the notes, practice sections and quizzes are all in rōmaji. One problem I notice with this approach is that, since what I have assimilated is in rōmaji, I recall and, in a sense, think in rōmaji - a "translated" form of Japanese.
Also, I am able to read the dialogues in rōmaji much more quickly/easily than in kana. Although this may seem "natural", it is not right.
[It is no wonder that some students continue to pronounce the rōmaji 'r' the same as they would the English 'r' - not to mention English speakers in general. Thus, English-speaking Reiki masters (teachers) typically mispronounce the word "Reiki". See An Overview of Reiki.]
In the past, after taking foreign language classes (e.g. French in college, decades ago), the "if you don't use it, you lose it" syndrome naturally came into play. This time, I want to not only retain what I learn, but hope to continue to improve over time. Classes will only take me so far and, frankly, I can't afford to continue this way for very much longer - financially, we have other priorities. I will need to be able to improve my reading ability enough to continue with self-study.
Yesterday, I visted two bookstores before purchasing the Kana Version of Volume II, currently three courses away. In retrospect, I am glad the rōmaji version was nowhere to be found. In reading the introduction and looking through the contents, I clearly realized how deficient I am with kana. I went back to the bookstore and also purchased the Kana Version of Volume I, our current textbook. In these, no rōmaji is used - just hiragana, katakana, and the beginnings of kanji (Chinese characters). How's that for longer-term planning?
Raymond T. Kaya
Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
www.reikialoha.com/raymond