So What Kind Of Person Uses TextFugu?

If you remember a while back (November 2010, I think), I ran a survey to learn more about you and how you use TextFugu. I’m trying to do this once a year. The main purpose is to make sure that the things you find important are important to me as well. Basically just makes sure we’re on the same page, and generally I think we are (which is good).

Now, I know none of you are numbers (and I don’t think that either), but I thought it might be interesting to look at some of this data over the next month or so. That way, you can know what I know, and learn more about TextFugu as well. At the very least, the information is pretty interesting, I think.

Today’s topic is “the kind of person that uses TextFugu.” One of the goals of my survey is to figure out what type of learner uses TextFugu. I think I know that answer in my head, but when you collect information from actual users, it can sometimes be a bit different. I learned a few things, and was correct on a few others. It’s always fun to see what you have right and what you have wrong. I think I have a bit of an advantage over other businesses, though, just through the sheer amount of interaction going on via email and the forums. Continue Reading →

Turning Owls Into Lemonade

It’s been a rough week with Smart.fm shutting down (that’s the main thing we used to use for flashcards and drilling), but it’s finally over. I’m so happy to say that all Smart.fm lists being used on TextFugu are now Anki lists.

I know some of you don’t like Anki as much (and then there are those who already liked Anki better, and have been emailing nonstop trying to get me to switch over since forever), but I hope you give it a fighting chance. First off, it’s a little different in how it tests you. Instead of choosing a correct answer, you have to come up with the right answer in your head, display the answer, and then tell it how well you actually knew it. If you’re honest with yourself, then this method is actually way better for long term retention. If you’re not honest, and you keep telling it you know things you don’t… well… I think you’ll know what will happen (so be honest!). Continue Reading →

The Shaft! Smart.fm Is Closing Down

Do’h. Smart.fm, a service that is used pretty heavily in TextFugu, is getting shut down. It makes me a bit angry, and it’s okay if it makes you a bit angry too. But, it’s totally my fault for relying on something that isn’t my own product, so I’ll take the blame for this one. The important thing is getting this fixed (quickly).

Current users will still have access to everything until March 31, 2011. New users, however, get the shaft, which means TextFugu has to transfer over to something really quickly, otherwise they’ll go to Smart.fm and wonder why they have to pay to play with flashcards. Luckily, a lot of the early stuff has Anki decks, so that should keep everyone covered for at least a week or two.

Here’s the plan I think moving forward, I think, though. Continue Reading →

Here’s What 2011 Looks Like

Hey Everyone! Wow… it’s pretty much 2011 now. What an awesome year it’s been (and what an awesome year it will be). I hope all of you had an excellent year as well. I’m sure you’ll have a good 2011 as well :)

Anyways, here’s the plan for 2011, TextFugu-wise. I don’t really like super long term goals, but these are some general things I’m hoping to get done in 2011 for you. As always, I’m really excited for everything. Continue Reading →

How To Count To 100,000,000,000

As you might know, while I go back to revise and remodel the older chapters, I’m filling in gaps that I’ve found / discovered (mostly thanks to you guys) by creating new lessons in Seasons that already exist (i.e. Seasons 1-3). The first of those lessons shows up late in Season 1, and it covers counting and numbers.

As I was writing later chapters, I started realizing how important it would be to know numbers (and how many opportunities there were to practice numbers as you learned new things). I also realized that learning numbers here would be a good stepping stone to get you to Japanese Counters (which are pretty nasty, to be honest), another thing I’m planning on putting into a current Season… I’m thinking #3.

So, enjoy this new chapter! You’ll learn how to count to 100,000,000,000 (a ridiculous number you’ll never need to use… don’t worry, we don’t spend much time on that number), then learn a couple ways you can use numbers in real life (to practice the numbers as well as to learn something useful and new along with the numbers). Continue Reading →

So How About Those New Lessons?

Hey all. I just wanted to send out a quick thank you for all the patience, as well as the requests for the “new stuff.” Totally understandable, you deserve it. Here’s the answer, which includes what’s been going on in my mind, as well as what’s going on in the next couple weeks. Next few weeks should be good for all of you wanting new things.

Updating The Old Stuff (But Why!??)

So, the reason (as many of you know already) why there haven’t been new things (except new kanji, there was) is because I’ve been going through the old stuff. Not only have I been changing all the old stuff over to the new “little victories” style, but I’ve also been rewriting a lot of things, making better study lists, creating new worksheets, and more with them. This is my own fault, I think, but the more new stuff I write, the better I get at this Japanese textbook writing thing (practice, you know?) so I end up wanting to bring everything up to the new “par” level. It’s dangerous, I know, and I need to fight that urge, for all your sakes :)

Continue Reading →

You Know That Audio Thing?

Some good news for those of you that have ears!

I’ve (finally, sorry, it’s harder than it looks!) tracked down a couple people to record audio for TextFugu, so as soon as I get all of the preliminary stuff squared away you’ll be looking at… no, you’ll be hearing all kinds of new wonderful things, in your ears, and such.

There’s not much else to report on besides that, but you should be hearing some more news on this soon. Right now there isn’t much audio with anything besides vocab, but as soon as this gets going you’ll start seeing more audio popping up on the old and new stuff.

La la laaaaa ♫！！！

What Do You Think? A Lesson About Thinking.

As things get back into normal (at least for new content), I’m really excited to put out the first “new-style-new-lesson” ever. Season 4 is all about making the things you say and write longer and more “natural.” People don’t talk in small. short. sentence. bursts. So it’s pretty nice to spend a lot of time looking at things like this.

Thinking, of course, is probably one of the most important things you can do when it comes to speaking any language, even with Japanese, which tends to be a culture that doesn’t want you to think too much (or, at least, say things out loud that make you stick out too much). Still, if you don’t think, then nothing important ever happens, so I thought it was about time you learned how to express yourself a bit.

Check out “What Do You Think” live on TextFugu now.

In other news, thanks for all the feedback on the new design. I think I’ve gotten most of the bugs worked out, but if not feel free to let me know in an e-mail so I can figure things out and get anything fixed. I even think some Internet Explorer problems have been taken care of, which is great, because I don’t have Internet Explorer, so that makes it a little harder to test nice and quickly.

Also, you can see some of the new style “little victories” style chapters showing up in Season 1 and Kanji 1. More chapters will be converted over the next few weeks along side the new stuff, so look forward to a lot of new coming up soon.