Translation

Some of you have been posting Japanese translations of portions of what you are reading. This is OK but it is not necessary. Occasionally, if you are not confident about how to interpret something, you may want to try to translate it and then ask me what I think of your translation. In most situations, though, I do not think it will be necessary for you to fill your blogs with translations. I think it is better to post notes about new words you come across and to write comments about what you read, preferably in English.

It is not necessary to translate something in order to understand it. If, for example, you are reading a story about a boy and his pet and you can clearly imagine what is happening in the story, you are understanding the story very well. In such a case, translating the story into Japanese probably isn't necessary; it's probably better to spend your time studying in other ways.

As you read materials, try to imagine the contents without translating them into Japanese.