My mother is determined to come visit me and my in-laws in Japan - once I move there myself - and wants to learn some basic Japanese. As a tourist she could probably manage well enough pointing, but it's mostly for the sake of the in-laws that a little verbal communication, or even the attempt, may impress.
Any tips or advice for this particular scenario? Has anyone experienced teaching an older person, or a complete newbie, Japanese before?
My own thinking is that I should focus on pronunciation - because that's basically non-existent - and then small set phrases and useful single words. Kanji and kana, I'd love to teach but it's probably not of much value for a visitor. Possibly even just get her to the stage where she could pronounce from a phrasebook without getting too many blank stares.
I should perhaps also mention that she's quite ill, so sustained concentration is difficult but, on the other hand, being unable to work she can perhaps chip away at things throughout the day.
Thanks!
Tobberoth
Member
From: Sweden
Registered: 2008-08-25
Posts: 3364
I'm with Jarvik7. Learning a language for real is hard work and isn't going to happen unless the learner has motivation and a lot of time to spare. Instead of making a big project out of it which will lead to nothing, go for something really simple and accessible. Learning some set phrases and expressions is probably good. Once your mother has a grasp of them, both pronunciation, understanding etc, see if she's up to learning more and go from there if she is.
Last edited by Tobberoth (2010 June 22, 5:56 pm)
Thora
Member
From: Canada
Registered: 2007-02-23
Posts: 1691
gavin.schultz-ohkubo wrote:
My own thinking is that I should focus on pronunciation ... and then small set phrases and useful single words. Kanji and kana, I'd love to teach but it's probably not of much value for a visitor.
Sounds like you were already on the right track. 
If she's keen to learn more down the road (Japanese speaking grandkids?) I'd still stick to spoken Japanese using romaji/audio.
You might find this story encouraging. My Japanese homestay parents stayed with my parents in Canada for 2 weeks without an interpreter. My parents were able to use some essential phrases they had memorized as well as create understandable caveman-like utterances when needed. By all reports they all had a great time and laughed a lot. The moms taught each other cooking, and the dads fished and golfed together.
About 3 months earlier, I had given them a list of vocab tailored to the visit, a tourist phrase book with photos, crappy audio samples, and some very basic grammar instruction. They accomplished a decent amount with a bunch of words and 2-3 patterns! Gestures and an old Wordtank filled in the rest, apparently.
I was astonished how well my mom did. She said trying to communicate in a different language was a fun experience - a new one for her. (Dad was, well, less successful.) My mom was about 55 at the time. I can't imagine she spent too much time on it.
I hope your visit goes well and your mom enjoys the challenge too.
rachels
Member
From: Australia
Registered: 2008-06-06
Posts: 110
For a very first exposure to Japanese, I found the CDs and booklets which I borrowed from our local library, of 'Learn Japanese In your Car' to be very useful and user friendly. It starts with, words, quickly builds to phrases and then sentences, concentrating, at least initially, on what is practical for a visitor to Japan. There is a lot of material in it. You wouldn't get through a lesson a day and if you did it would still take months. There is very little explanation of grammar though. As you go along, it becomes necessary to refer to some other source for verb conjugation etc etc. However, I learnt a lot from it, enjoyed it, and because like Pimsleur, you have to speak the Japanese, it helps with pronunciation. Comparing to Pimsleur - I think (your mother) would end up with a much larger vocabulary.
