Pronunciation Challenge

みなさん、あけましておめでとうございます！

Now that the new year has begun, it's time for a new challenge!

To make this year a great one, why not start with a challenge?

I wish you a fantastic year of improving your Japanese.

How to Participate:

Choose either the beginner, intermediate, advanced, or proficient level, record it, and upload it on the Forum as a reply to the announcement. Please read through the points and practice with a guide audio file and a PDF for pitch accent and intonation.

The deadline is Tuesday, January 21st, at 11:00 PM. JST.

Feedback: I will provide feedback via video on Monday, January 27th on the Forum.

Sentences to Read: Here are the sentences you’ll read. Please choose one, record, and upload it. I added points for you to be careful with, but if there are any other points you want me to check, please let me know.

【Beginner　初級（しょきゅう）】

あけましておめでとうございます。

ことしもよろしくおねがいします。

Happy New Year!

I look forward to your continued support this year.

Points:

The pitch accent of おめでとうございます

The pitch accent of よろしくおねがいします

＊These two phrases are always used from January 1st to around 7th. ことし means “this year.”よろしくおねがいします is a very useful word. You can used it when starting a meeting, or when your lesson starts. In that case, you would say 今日もよろしくお願いします. If it’s a one-time thing, you would say 今日はよろしくおねがいします

今日も（きょうも）： Today too

今日は（きょうは）：Today

【Intermediate　中級（ちゅうきゅう）】

私の今年の新年の抱負は、（　　　　　　　　　　）ことです。

（わたしのことしのしんねんのほうふは、（your new year’s resolution)ことです）

Example：私の今年の新年の抱負は、日本語の勉強をがんばることです。

（わたしのことしのしんねんのほうふは、にほんごのべんきょうをがんばることです）

My New Year's resolution this year is to work hard on studying Japanese.

Points:

・The pitch accent of わたしの、ことしの、ほうふは. They are all heiban. 

・The pitch accent of ことです. こと goes up butです is low.

・The length of the ん in しんねん. Please make sure to pronounce the ん sound long enough.

＊You can record the example sentence if you want! If you don’t know how to make your sentence, please feel free to ask in the Forum.

【Advanced　上級（じょうきゅう）】

私の今年の新年の抱負は、（　　　　　　　　　　）ことです。

（わたしのことしのしんねんのほうふは、（your new year’s resolution)ことです）

Please add one or two sentences after that.

例：私の今年の新年の抱負は、日本語の発音をよくすることです。

毎日シャドーイングを最低10分はしようと思います。

（わたしのことしのしんねんのほうふは、にほんごのはつおんをよくすることです。

まいにちシャドーイングをさいていじゅっぷんはしようとおもいます）

Points:（The same as at the intermediate level)

・The pitch accent of わたしの、ことしの、ほうふは. They are all heiban.

・The pitch accent of ことです. こと goes up butです is low.

・The length of the ん in しんねん. Please make sure to pronounce the ん sound long enough.

＊You can record the example sentence if you want! If you don’t know how to make your sentence, please feel free to ask in the Forum.

【Proficient】

読みたいもの、言いたいことを３〜５文で録音してください。

自分のよく使う表現を練習してもいいかもしれません。

Please record in 3 to 5 sentences what you want to read or say. It might be a good idea to practice expressions you commonly use.

✨For the challengers of the intermediate and advanced levels:

It’s very important to verbalize and share your New Year's resolutions with others to internalize and achieve them. Please take a moment to think about your own resolutions.

By the way, my New Year's resolutions are:

• To improve the subscription site — this site!

• To get my podcast channel on track

• To communicate more with my children

I talk about these in Japanese in my new podcast, so please check it out. English subtitles are also available. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xb2iSWWnrGk

There’s one more resolution I forgot to mention in the podcast episode:

I would like to add 

・To exercise every day

This is for my health. If possible, I plan to walk for 15 minutes every day and go to the gym once a week.

If I put it into an intermediate-level sentence, it would be: 

私の今年の新年の抱負は、毎日運動することです。

（わたしのことしのしんねんのほうふは、まいにちうんどうすることです。）

“My New Year's resolution this year is to exercise every day.”

If I put it into advanced-level sentences, they would be: 

私の今年の新年の抱負は、毎日運動することです。

毎日15分散歩して、週に１回はジムに行こうと思っています。

健康な１年にしたいです。

（わたしのことしのしんねんのほうふは、まいにちうんどうすることです。まいにちじゅうごふんさんぽして、しゅうにいっかいはジムにいこうとおもっています。けんこうないちねんにしたいです）

“My New Year's resolution this year is to exercise every day. I plan to walk for 15 minutes every day and go to the gym once a week. I want to make this a healthy year.”

If you don't know how to make your sentence(s), feel free to ask in the forum.

みなさんのチャレンジ、お待（ま）ちしてます！！

I can't wait to hear your recordings!

いい１年（いちねん）のスタートをきりましょう！

Let's start the year off right!

Fumi