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I often hear English speakers speak Japanese with strong accent or intonation but I think I can understand their problem. It’s just reverse way of my difficulties when I learned how to speak English. We (the Japanese) will suffer from English accent and intonation. English speakers would suffer from the flatness of our language. (I don’t know how to explain this linguistically but I believe you know what I mean after you watch my video.) ^_^;;;

As a native Japanese speaker, I would love to make videos with natural Japanese pronunciation and intonation for those who are now studying Japanese so you can avoid copying unnecessary accent or intonation. One of my European friends once told me he picked up how McDonald’s was to be pronounced in Japanese (with Kansai dialect) from how American guy who was calling it in a video or somewhere. But unfortunately it was not correct. At first I didn’t get what he was trying to tell me at all. After I told him the true one, he was so much surprised how different the one he heard in the video was, and of course he was able to pronounce it perfectly.

Now you know the problem. If you ever have to communicate in English in Japan, and when people do not seem to understand it very well, please slow down. Please use a simple and short sentence. You could even write down on a paper. If you speak too fast and words are sounding to be connected each other, that’s what most of us don’t understand! If you speak like I did in the video (how I spoke in early days in the U.S) that would be so kind to us. (lol) Just kidding, never mind that. :p

What kind of hardships or difficulties did you go through (are you going through) when you learn Japanese? What kind of Japanese videos would you like me to make for you? As a native speaker, I sometimes don’t really have an idea what you want to know about our language. :p

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“I am too tired to do homework today.”

Do you know how we learn this “formula”?
We learned it as “Too -To koubun”.
“amarini XX nanode ~~dekinai”
XX= after “too”
~~= after “to”

We memorized it in that way, so we can insert whichever word (adjective) into XX and (verb + object and ect.) into ~~.
I think such way was basically confusing to me. Well, I basically dislike formulas.
It just made me confused to sincerely follow our education system to learn English. I was saved by a radio English education program, because by listening to the language, I was able to learn it naturally. It needs no formulas, it’s simply spoken and understood as it is.

Since my English grade was so terrible at first, my mom was worried so much that I might not be able to go to high school. (lol) She kind of watched me studying with the radio program in the morning before I went to school and in the afternoon after I came back from school. She also started to record the program so I can even listen to it while I was wearing my school uniform. I was a drowning girl who needed to clutch at a straw, because I wanted to go to high school. (lol) I was serious. I didn’t want to screw up the high school entrance exam with my poor English, while my Japanese grade was very good.

While I kept listening to the radio program, I noticed the radio program is more progressive than our English classes. I started to learn things that I had not learned at school. So what happened next? My knowledge advanced. I had already known what I learned at English class for the first time. Then my English score soared! Before I knew, English grade had become even better than my Japanese! What a surprise! People didn’t believe that I didn’t even notice the difference of Be-type of verb and all the others! I think listening worked out. It was more natural and easier to me than memorizing formulas and SVO, SVOC, SVOO…whatever.

Another example.
“Do you mind opening a window?”
At school, we memorize it as “mind + ~ing”, “mind + ~ing”, “mind does not take ‘to do’”
Listening to the radio program, my ears simply remember the whole sentence as it is. This is the way I like!

Through this experience, I noticed that I like to learn a foreign language by listening to how it’s spoken naturally, I kept listening to English after I happily entered high school. 2 weeks before the exam, I used to ask my English teacher to lend me the audio material that was made along with our English text. (Usually it was a cassette tape or a CD with the English text being read out and recorded, and our English teacher usually had it. ) I only listened to it until the English exam date instead of music all the time. Then I could even memorize it just like I memorize a song. At the exam, I had to fill out prepositions and some new words in parentheses, which was the easiest task to me! Most of the classmates suffered from the exam and asked me the secret to mark the highest score in the class. It was so simple. I listened to the tape or CD for 2 weeks and memorized everything very naturally. I shared with them this way but nobody actually tried to do the same thing and just kept asking me the same question next semester.

Before I graduated from high school, it crossed my mind that I want to be able to speak English good enough to have smooth communication with foreign people. Yes, as you see our English education totally lacked or disregarded our improving speaking skills! There was no speaking test at all! Never!!

I chose to go to a Japanese university that has an exchange student program between a collage college in the U.S. I decided to improve my English-speaking skills in the U.S. This post is to be continued to How I learned English (3) where I will share my hardships and struggles in the U.S. Stay tuned!!

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Mori Girl seemed to have started in 2007, although for me, I only noticed it in late 2009.

Mori(森) means Forest, and Mori Girls are dressed as though they live in the forest! It’s a very ‘earthy’ natural kind of look.

What appealed to me is actually not the things they wear (they do remind me of Dolly kei, just that Mori Girls are more specific ‘dolls’. Haha!), but their simple, relaxed, happy lifestyle!

As quoted from this pretty blog about Mori Girls, “Mori Girls choose to live their lives on their own terms, stopping to appreciate the little things that others overlook amidst the hustle and bustle of daily life.”

And from wikiHow, “Mori Girls intakes the world by their hands as they enjoy drinking tea and exchanging clothes with friends, traveling by plane, bicycle, or just walking. They have an eye for European culture like in Ireland, France, and Germany. Mori Girls are also fascinated by taking pictures. Although shy, they are sweet young ladies with proper manners and a lovely style.”

Mori Girls are often dressed in earth colours, and are usually covered from head to toe in soft, cushy knit hats or fur caps; wrapped in warm scarves; layered in one-piece dresses and long skirts; wear tights and pretty leggings; have the loveliest footwear; and deck themselves in vintage accessories usually gold in colour.

Their hairstyles and makeup also portray a pretty and natural girly look. You can go the Yu Aoi way, with long straight black hair, and face almost free from makeup. The point is to look clean and bright.

Yu Aoi

Or you can go another way with cute short bangs and a short bob cut/ short softly-curled hair/ long straight hair/ long hair with soft curls/ long curly hair. These girls usually emphasize makeup on their eyes and cheeks. They have beautiful lashes and rosy pink cheeks. It’s a very cute look and I think it rather suits Japanese girls with fair skin!

Mori Girls also appear to like chilling out at cafes, crafting, shopping for zakka, taking pictures, reading storybooks (particularly fairytales) and strolling in beautiful places.

Their lifestyle seems lovely, but I wonder if it can be really done. I like how they aim to enjoy life, and at the same time, take good care of the Earth and appreciate every tiny thing that Mother Nature offers.

The room interiors of Mori Girls that I happen to find on the internet sometimes are also lovely like the girls themselves! There’s a Scandinavian feel to a typical Mori Girl room. I just love it! It’s simple and clean and bright and just really welcoming. How I wish to have a room like that!

Would you want to try Mori Girl style? In fact, what do you think of Mori Girls? I find that it might be difficult for this trend to really catch on. But more than just a trend, I think this is a lifestyle and way of thinking. I really like the idea though. I’ve always liked the idea of living a natural way in a forest with all the lovely forest animals, though I understand that this is a too-idealistic description of the forest. Haha!

Kirin’s opinion:
Thank you Apple for another interesting post!
Mori Girl has been definitely one of the most popular fashion styles in recent years over here in Tokyo. I think its natural and relaxed look is supported both by men and women. As for myself I don’t dress like this but I’ve never been uncomfortable when I see Mori Girls. Their impressions are good as well. Are Mori Girls only for women? I wonder if I’ve ever seen Mori Boys by the way. There are both Gyaru and Gyaruo (male version of Gyaru) so I wouldn’t be surprised if I see a Mori Boy someday. (lol) Hey Apple, don’t you think the Hattifnatte cafe is suited for Mori Girls?

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