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+--- Thread: www.imabijapaneselearningcenter.com (/thread-8542.html)
www.imabijapaneselearningcenter.com - bcrAn - 2011-10-17
How long have you been studying Japanese?
www.imabijapaneselearningcenter.com - JimmySeal - 2011-10-17
imabi Wrote:So, at least those 'mistakes' are gone.Why did you put mistakes in quotes here? They were mistakes. What's the point in acting like they weren't?
Quote:Lastly, I'm not changing the name of my site. That would be a 100 dollar fee I can't pay,That's your prerogative of course, but you should know - 1. If it costs you 100 dollars to change your domain name, your hosting service is playing you for a sucker, and 2. aside from the alternative-lifestyle undertones, a 26-character long site name isn't exactly the most visitor friendly or eye-catching site name.
But I was never suggesting you should change your site name in the first place. I was merely pointing out something funny I noticed.
www.imabijapaneselearningcenter.com - KanjiDevourer - 2011-10-17
If anything, the misreading of imabi will only make remembering the url the next time easier. And I read it as [kana]imabi[/kana] right away anyway.
Seems like a cool site; bookmarked for future reference. I sincerely hope you'll finish the project!
www.imabijapaneselearningcenter.com - imabi - 2011-10-17
Yes, the misreading is on purpose. The project will take another year and a half. I want to reach 300 lessons.
www.imabijapaneselearningcenter.com - thurd - 2011-10-17
I know everyone tries to be supportive here and I certainly admire the effort you've put into it but I really don't see the point in all of this.
There are TONS of other more polished, better established (older people with academic credentials already, not planned) more in depth resources both free and not. What's unique about this one is that it's created by a 17 year old kid who didn't even master his own native language to a sufficient degree but yet tries to lecture others on intricacies of Japanese grammar.
I'm skeptical about motives here, you could easily have made suggestions to Tae Kim's work or made contributions to multitude of Wiki sites out there where at least some peer review mechanism would be in place.
Why would you even start it? Its not like I'm sitting here thinking: "What does this community need... I know another grammar site/guide/book/mentor". It would make sense if you planned on cashing in at some point, understandable considering the effort but then we get back to my previous point, why would my money go to a non-native kid with no academic and professional connection to Japanese whatsoever for language advice? I already have DoBJG and DoIJG for that, my problem is getting that information into my head and thats when new and interesting tools are very welcome.
www.imabijapaneselearningcenter.com - suffah - 2011-10-17
I commend you for your efforts, but thurd makes some great points.
Believe it or not, English grammatical errors (yes, they are errors) do matter. Why would I want to learn Japanese grammar from someone who hasn't even mastered his own language? It's rather embarrassing, to be honest.
Also, you seem to take the defensive when people offer constructive criticism. You deflect by asking us to send in mistakes, etc. This isn't some homework assignment that your readers are supposed to fix and proofread. How about getting the work proofread before publishing it on your "blog"?
www.imabijapaneselearningcenter.com - imabi - 2011-10-17
Then I guess there's no point doing anything in life because it's already been done before?
I have addressed the errors, for the very few at least that have been directly pointed out. I really don't know why you people are being so strict about grammar on an Internet forum.
Master my native language? The English language has 1 billion + words. So, I don't think that's going to happen. EVERYONE needs to work on their English.
www.imabijapaneselearningcenter.com - Omoishinji - 2011-10-17
I would say that thurd's criticism is a little too harsh. It is so easy for me to be as critical, but I refuse.
imabi Wrote:This place has really skyrocketed my hits. Hope y'all keep helping out. kitakitsune please feel free to send emails for suggestions.The web site seems to be a work in progress, as an individual's project. It will take time for Imabi to work out the problems with the site and correct the various issues. They seem to have not gotten a lot of traffic before this topic as demonstrated by the above comment. The increased traffic does indicate the importance of refining the site.
There seems to be a reading into more that what seems to be. The site seems to have been found by buonaparte. There are no motives here.
One way of improving ones language skills is to teach it to others, even just doing the research is advantage.
I am impressed by Imabi's work because they are willing to take their time to create a resource for Japanese learning. It may not be perfect, but they have put great effort into its creation.
One doesn't have to master one language to be able to teach others on another language. One doesn't even have to master their own language to teach it to others. This should be obvious. There are times I honestly believe some of you have forgotten how you learned English.
www.imabijapaneselearningcenter.com - imabi - 2011-10-17
At least you're nicer. I put a lot of hours of my week towards making the site better and still will. It will take time, and with school I don't have much of it. That's why I got a lot of work done on the weekend.
www.imabijapaneselearningcenter.com - Omoishinji - 2011-10-17
imabi Wrote:Master my native language? What the **** does that mean? So, I just got a 5 on the AP English language test by being in the room?There are times that people just don't take the time to proof read their comment before posting it. They just don't think how it makes them look. There are several reason why they might of written that. Imabi, for now don't worry too much about it.
www.imabijapaneselearningcenter.com - dyslexicporn - 2011-10-17
imabi, don't listen to all of these haters nitpicking every detail of your site. You got this far didn't you? You've already accomplished more than most on this forum, congrats. Who cares if there's a few mistakes you probably already know it anyways. Don't get discouraged by all the haters on this forum. Keep up the good work.
www.imabijapaneselearningcenter.com - imabi - 2011-10-17
Thanks.
www.imabijapaneselearningcenter.com - ta12121 - 2011-10-17
@imabi
No need to worry about getting older, it will happen. I remember back in 2000 I was in grade 6 and turning 11. Now it's 2011 and now i'm going to turn 23 next year(time seriously went by so fast, it's hard to keep up at times haha)
As for all the negative criticism, don't let it get to you. I've gotten heavily criticized on these forums for those progress reports I gave(for Japanese). Keep up the good work and keep your self motivated, there's nothing wrong with improving things that are already out there(whether it be grammar guides,sites,businesses,etc). It all comes down to whether you enjoy it or not.
www.imabijapaneselearningcenter.com - suffah - 2011-10-17
Omoishinji Wrote:But I did proofread my comment.imabi Wrote:Master my native language? What the **** does that mean? So, I just got a 5 on the AP English language test by being in the room?There are times that people just don't take the time to proof read their comment before posting it. They just don't think how it makes them look. There are several reason why they might of written that. Imabi, for now don't worry too much about it.
Let me know how it makes me look. Personally, I think it makes me look like a straight shooter.
Again, here you go on the super defensive, cursing and getting angry when I tried to give you some criticism. You published yourself on the Interwebs so guess what? We can criticize your work in public, whether you like it or not.
dyslexicporn Wrote:imabi, don't listen to all of these haters nitpicking every detail of your site. You got this far didn't you? You've already accomplished more than most on this forum, congrats. Who cares if there's a few mistakes you probably already know it anyways. Don't get discouraged by all the haters on this forum. Keep up the good work.Where's the hate? People are pointing out some serious issues with his website. Yea, I took a "dig" at him by calling it a blog, but only because I have found his earlier reactions hilariously overblown.
Also, pro-tip, you can get a new domain for less than $10. You can move your hosting over to this new domain for free by changing the name servers.
www.imabijapaneselearningcenter.com - zachandhobbes - 2011-10-17
imabi, you don't need to be so defensive.
You tout your "5" on the AP English test yet you make simple mistakes in every post you make here. "Besides, all of you haven't written perfectly English," in a post defending your own English writing abilities is not heart warming.
Here's some that I picked from your website in just a skimming of your about me section.
1) " Why this is important I don't know." Should be pretty much omitted if not changed to "Why is this important? I don't know."
2)"and knowledgeable of Spanish, " should be knowledgeable "IN" Spanish
3)" So, is your material copyright infringement?" Should be "So, is MY material..." because you use "my and I" for the whole paragraph.
4)"The question should be how did I start." is kind of passive voice, it would be better changed to something kind of like "Questions about its beginnings would be much more fruitful." (or something not as cheesy probably)
5)"It literally took the pocketbook of my parents to allow me to have what it is today. "
You probably meant "It took my parents pocketbook to get this far" or something.
6)"The great edit sweep of June 2011 made some lessons literally have a new face." Passive voice and you use 'literally' again which is always a weird word to have. Not to mention you make "The great edit sweet" seem like it was a historical event... which is kind of weird as well.
"In June 2011, the edit sweep changed the face of the lessons drastically."
7)"The simplification project of October 2011 has caused the editing out of over 20 pages"
"The simplification project of October 2011 caused over 20 pages to be edited out."
8)"Classical Japanese is not hard, it's just that many can't find anything about it. The internet is full of resources however. The problem is is that these resources are almost all in Japanese."
Couldn't this be condensed into one sentence for better flow?
"Classical Japanese is not hard, but resources are almost all in Japanese."
I'm not trying to be a huge dick here, but I'm just pointing out that there are in fact lots of things that could be improved in your English grammar (and I haven't even looked at your lessons yet where that would be projected onto potential learners). The more professional and tidy you make your English, the more likely that people will take it seriously.
A 5 on the AP test doesn't mean that everything you write should be praised by the Gods of English and that you're never wrong.
For the record, I am also 17. I got a 5 on the AP English test too.
www.imabijapaneselearningcenter.com - IceCream - 2011-10-17
Hey. Your site seems good, and you've obviously put a lot of effort into it.
However, i don't think you should take other's criticism like it's just haters hating. It isn't. Your English IS stilted, and the mistakes ARE pervasive. It's not something that your readers are going to be able to correct, because there are too many of them. The amount of work you've put into building all those chapters shouldn't go to waste because of poor English skills. So, since you're at school, make use of it and go and ask for help from your English teacher!!
btw, i'm not trying to say you're stupid!!! Obviously, you aren't. But you do seem to be writing in a style you're not accustomed to. One thing i'd really suggest is that you stop trying to write in a way that you think sounds "good", and think more about what your readers are getting from each page. Your primary concern should be that the reader understands everything, and that it is explained in the clearest way possible. If you find yourself thinking "this is a nice phrase" or "this sounds clever", take it out!! Because that's where your English is coming off as unnatural.
It really is important, as many people are naturally going to question whether they can trust your Japanese grammar skills if your native language isn't presented perfectly. That makes sense, right?
Ok, now for something else. On your "About Me" page, you ask whether the IMABI site would count as "contributing greatly to your field of study" to get a PhD. I think once you get to university you'll understand more clearly what university study is about, but i'll try to explain a little.
At school, you study a wide range of subjects, with very little depth. Your prime focus is on learning facts, with you only really just beginning to explore topics more deeply by the time you leave.
At degree level (in the UK), you only focus on one of those subjects, and so can focus on it in much greater depth.
At MA level, you tend to focus on one or two areas of that subject, and go even further in depth.
For PhD study, you will generally focus in on just one topic within one area of that subject, and explore it as deeply as you can. What "contributing greatly to your field of study" generally means is to explore a topic that nobody has ever explored in depth before, OR to explore a topic that has been explored before, but come up with an entirely new analysis of it that makes a significant step forward in the way academics think about that topic.
So, a website won't help really. What it will help with is university applications. When applying, you can direct universities to your site, and it will make them look favourably on your application. But really, directing them to a site that's full of English language mistakes isn't going to help at all, it will reflect badly on you. So please take those criticisms seriously.
One last thing... you mention a couple times that you were stuck inside doing that site while everyone else was out playing. The amount of effort you've put into the site really is commendable, but PLEASE don't miss your teenage years putting too much energy into stuff like this. You also learn extremely valuable things from going out and playing and having fun!! You have plenty of time to do things like making websites, so try to balance your time between work and play as well as you can. Universities also value seeing that too.
Good Luck
www.imabijapaneselearningcenter.com - suffah - 2011-10-17
Even though you asked for these "fixes", I'll probably still be labeled as a nit-picking hater. But they really do add up and are particularly distracting for a site that considers itself academic.
It's not a big deal to make grammatical errors on a message board. Who cares? But a language learning blog....
Here's just the first couple of paragraphs from your homepage. Let's take a look-see.
imabijapaneselearningcenter Wrote:IMABI is divided into Beginner's, Intermediate, and Advanced.Maybe I'm extra anal, but there's either a mistake or a poorly worded sentence in every single line in those two paragraphs.
IMABI is divided into Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced [levels].
Each level is filled with lessons that deeply delve into the Japanese language like no other place online nor textbook.
Each level is filled with lessons that deeply delve into the Japanese language like no other place online or textbook. <--Rephrase this.
You may contact me through the "Contact Me" button, my member's page, or by posting on the forums or blogs.
You may contact me through the "Contact Me" button, my member's page, or by posting on the forums and blogs.
You may also contact me by e-mailing to: imabimaster@gmail.com. <--- I don't know the AP rules, but this just doesn't look right.
You may also contact me by e-mailing me at imabimaster@gmail.com.
You may also email me at imabimaster@gmail.com.
You may also follow IMABI at Facebook! Please join today to make this the best place online to learn Japanese!
You may also follow IMABI on Facebook! Please join today to make this the best place online to learn Japanese!
www.imabijapaneselearningcenter.com - zachandhobbes - 2011-10-17
I agree with what icecream and suffah pointed out, especially icecreams point on "staying inside all day."
I'm a hard working student (or so I like to believe) with various hobbies including Japanese, but I still like to go out and be with friends and spend time doing relaxing things, because that's part of life, I think.
I'd also like to point out that grammar mistakes aren't always just typos or even idiom usage, or punctuation issues. It can be sentence structure, passive vs active voice, etc, which are very prevalent in your writing (at least in your intro and about me section).
www.imabijapaneselearningcenter.com - ta12121 - 2011-10-17
zachandhobbes Wrote:I agree with what icecream and suffah pointed out, especially icecreams point on "staying inside all day."Have to agree with that point as well. It's good to have a social life and being active as well as having fun. It's necessary to have a balance for this.
I'm a hard working student (or so I like to believe) with various hobbies including Japanese, but I still like to go out and be with friends and spend time doing relaxing things, because that's part of life, I think.
I'd also like to point out that grammar mistakes aren't always just typos or even idiom usage, or punctuation issues. It can be sentence structure, passive vs active voice, etc, which are very prevalent in your writing (at least in your intro and about me section).
www.imabijapaneselearningcenter.com - imabi - 2011-10-17
Too much to read and so little time.
1. I ain't changing my website name.
2. Stupid English grammar. I will fix those typos.
3. Who said I stay inside all day?
4. I'll try to brush up the non-lesson pages for English syntax errors.
5. I never called anyone a hater. Although some of it is overblown.
6. I have little time to edit.
7. Can you people not get hyperbole?
8. I hate preposition.
www.imabijapaneselearningcenter.com - bcrAn - 2011-10-17
If you don't mind me giving you some advice, why not posting a video explaining your project to newcomers and more importantly demonstrating your Japanese ability. That would make you look more convincing and surely gain more followers / supporters.
www.imabijapaneselearningcenter.com - imabi - 2011-10-17
That's a great idea. I'm kind of waiting for a video cam.
www.imabijapaneselearningcenter.com - ta12121 - 2011-10-17
imabi Wrote:That's a great idea. I'm kind of waiting for a video cam. Apparently I'm getting one when I turn 18 next month. Then, I'll make video versions of the lessons.Make sure it's 720p HD quality or 1080p(I'm planning on getting a digital camera that supports those qualities, it will probably cost 200+)
www.imabijapaneselearningcenter.com - imabi - 2011-10-17
Thanks for the tip.
To all: I have spent the last three hours editing really hard to get things right. Please help through email if you have the time.
www.imabijapaneselearningcenter.com - Tzadeck - 2011-10-17
With some polishing, the site will be a more complete version of Tae Kim, which has been a huge resource for a lot of people.
I approve.