Sentences That Hold Hands: Soshite, Sorekara, Demo, Dakara
๐ฏ Today's mission briefing
We are learning to turn separate Japanese sentences into connected text โ choosing the right connector for the relationship between ideas, dropping information that is already obvious, and reading four new kanji by their parts.
You'll know you've got it when:
- I can choose correctly between ใใใฆ, ใใใใ, ใงใ and ใ ใใ, and explain what each one signals to my reader
- I can start a new sentence with a connector (rather than jamming it into the middle like English) and drop a repeated ็งใฏ when the topic has not changed
- I can read and write ๅญฆๆ ก, ๅ ็, ๅญฆ็ and ๅ้, name a component or radical in each, and give the reading I need for each word
The robot and the human
Connects to what your guest already knows and makes them curious. Activating prior knowledge is one of the strongest predictors of new learning.
Two learners hand in a self-introduction. Both are 100 per cent grammatically correct. Read them and decide, in about four seconds, which one you would rather receive as a letter from a stranger. Learner A: ใใใใฏ ใตใ ใงใใใใใใฏ ๅไบใใใงใใใใใใฏ ใชใผในใใฉใชใขใใใงใใใใใใฏ ็ฌใ ใใใงใใใใใใฏ ใญใใ ใใใใงใใLearner B: ใฏใใใพใใฆใใตใ ใงใใๅไบใใใงใใใชใผในใใฉใชใขใใใงใใ็ฌใ ใ ใใใใงใใใงใใใญใใฏ ใกใใฃใจโฆใYou didn't need four seconds, did you. Learner A is not wrong โ a teacher marking sentence-by-sentence would tick every line. Learner A is justโฆ a robot filling in a form. Learner B sounds like a person, and the difference is almost entirely two things: Learner B drops the information you already know (that we are talking about Sam), and Learner B uses a connector โ ใงใ โ to tell you how the last idea relates to the one before. That is the entire skill of this unit, and you can start using it today.