During cycle 1 I completed most of my plan but I don't think I was as efficient as possible. In these past weeks I've learned what works for me and what doesn't. I definitely need to go to office hours with Sato Sensei at least once a week and work with Shibata Sensei on my intonation and pitch. When I got my written midterm back felt a little disappointed because I made many silly errors on it and I know I can do better. In high school I was so used to studying on my own and learning the material but with Japanese it is all about getting as much help as possible. Going into the second half of the semester I am going to get more help in every aspect of the course since I have the determination I just need to take advantage of the resources I have.
I felt that the oral exam went well. Wolens san and I practiced very hard for it and I felt that in the situation we did a great job with both the rehearsed and impromptu portions of the oral exam. I think that they were moments with awkward pauses. I could have had several reserve questions on deck to alleviate this. Fluency was an issue for me since I think I'm practicing the speaking portion enough. I think if I practice saying the words and phrases we learn I can get better. Also there were many starts and stops in my part of the presentation and I know that can be fixed. Overall I think I did a good job but I am no where near meeting a real Suzuki san and having a conversation with him/her since I need more practice.
Don't worry about your midterm - even with the silly mistakes, I feel like so long as there are no glaring conceptual errors, you're doing fine! I actually had quite a few careless errors as well, but there's no use beating yourself up over it. At least your oral exam went well!
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