Stuck in a rut with your Japanese?
Be honest, it’s all right. We’re about to get you unstuck and back on track.
The time has come for you to take charge of your own learning experience.
How awesome would it be if you could accelerate your learning, achieve your personal goals and exceed all your expectations?
Well, that is actually something you can do. Take it from someone who is learning on a daily basis.
After drilling yourself routinely with hiragana and katakana practice, along with some basic kanji lessons, you probably felt like you were finally starting the crack the code.
Japanese made even more sense after focusing your energy on learning key vocabulary, mastering essential phrases for polite conversation and expanding your Japanese grammar knowledge. Once you have gotten a grip on those beginning steps, it can be tricky to know how to keep advancing with Japanese.
Whether you are looking to teach yourself Japanese entirely at home or not, read on. The art of teaching yourself a language is easily learned.
How to Teach Yourself Japanese: The Beginner’s Guide
If you are taking classes once or twice per week and think it’s not enough, then this article is for you. If you are out on your own trying to self-teach, this article is for you.
You can learn Japanese much faster and much more efficiently than you are doing currently. There are all kinds of tools out there to help you, and there are some great guides you can follow to have a better learning experience. But the bottom line is this: you can learn significantly more on your own.
Before moving on, let me level with you. While you are trying to learn Japanese, I am learning programming on the side. Learning a new skill is something that I have had to do many times throughout my life and I know very well what it feels like to be a complete beginner.
There are lots of times when you will feel like you cannot possibly ever become good at what you are doing. Right now I am a terrible programmer, and every time I program I am painfully aware of how bad I am. But I know that this feeling is completely natural and in no way determines the outcome of my efforts.
The same thing applies to you, especially as you are trying to learn Japanese through self study. Nevertheless, those moments when you feel that learning is the hardest are usually the moments when you learn the most.
I probably seem crazy for telling you this, but treasure those moments and learn to think of them as a sign that you are doing the right thing.
With this in mind, let’s look at some of the reasons why you might want to learn through self study.
How Do I Learn JapaneseWhy Teaching Yourself Japanese Works
If you study Japanese in a classroom, then you are following a set program laid out by your teacher. This program is most likely designed to teach you grammar, vocabulary and written Japanese.
There are many benefits to this. It’s cool to see yourself progress through several predefined levels. Learning in a classroom means that you have a community of people to practice with. You also get, more or less, the complete package. You get to learn spoken and written Japanese as well as some literature.
But if you only study in the classroom, then your immediate learning outcome is limited. Remember that you are restricted to just following one program. What if you want to learn something outside of that? What if your teacher is covering stuff that you know already? Or what if the level is too high for you to even keep up? Take a look at the following reasons why self-teaching Japanese can take you leagues farther in the long run:
There are many instances where you will be wasting time in the classroom not learning anything. As you get better at Japanese you will see this happen more often since it is more unlikely that the Japanese you learn is suited for exactly your level. On the contrary, you might find yourself falling behind because the rest of the class is moving faster than you bargained for.
This is not your teacher’s fault, it is just a fact that classroom teaching is fundamentally insensitive to the acquired skill level of every individual student. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the one. Self-taught Japanese is different for this very important reason.
This is the most important reason for teaching yourself. You will often feel that you have something specific that you want to learn. At some point after learning a bit of grammar you typically want to start focusing on vocabulary. There are lots of tools which can help you through concentrated repetition. You can set a personal goal that you want to reach using these tools, or you can simply start using them and sit back as you watch your Japanese become better and better at a pace you didn’t dream of.
This is an amazing feeling and you fully deserve it. You decided what you needed to learn and now you are reaping the rewards.
Think of it this way. When you are in the classroom you are not just sitting back and receiving language proficiency. You are actually consciously trying to learn, or at least I hope you are. If you do not work to incorporate the methods of the classroom into your Japanese language skills, then you are not really learning anything, are you?
You are always your own teacher. Sure, it’s very handy to have an attentive professional tend to you and the rest of the class, but in the end they aren’t in charge of whether you learn or not, only you are. Since you are already putting in the effort, taking the next step and becoming more self-reliant just means consciously deciding what you need and do not need to learn at the moment.
How to Stay Motivated While Teaching Yourself Japanese
There are too many language learners who leave behind their language whenever they leave the classroom. We have a tendency to think that a service is being performed for us when we enter the classroom and that we just have to receive that service once or twice a week until we somehow learn the language.
Well guess what, that’s not how learning Japanese works. Even if it did work that way, would it really be motivating?
When learning a new skill, what keeps you motivated is feeling the rewards of applying yourself. This is easy enough if you live in Japan, since you will keep noticing that you understand more of the language that surrounds you.
For me, nothing compares to when I suddenly discover that I can say something I had no idea I was able to say. I once asked a Japanese clerk to put my groceries in my backpack for me (my arm was broken at the time). I was surprised that I even knew how to phrase that, and at the same time I felt I had learned a neat trick: “I can now get people to put stuff in my backpack!” What an amazing ability I had discovered!
Motivations differ, but when it comes to learning it is always some variant of the above: finding the rewards of your efforts. Since you are learning on your own and since you are applying yourself, this will also increase the general confidence you have in yourself. You are actually learning to be someone who can set a goal for what they want to learn and then stick to it. This is incredibly rewarding for you as a person.
How to Choose Japanese Language Learning Resources
First of all, you should use a diverse range of resources. Some of the tools you will use are going to help you train your vocabulary, while some will be able to train your grammar. Some of them are going to be authoritative reference points for you while you learn, while others will be the actual methods you use for learning.
When it comes to learning, everyone have their own preferred methods. There are some people who learn well by dedicated repetition. Others have to learn through rhymes or through narratives. The first thing you ought to do is find out what works for you. If you are looking for something to supplement organized teaching in the classroom, then chances are that you don’t find the learning methods applied in the classroom to be as effective as they could be.
My advice to you is this. Whatever material you choose to use, you have the advantage that there is no time limit and no due date for your homework. Your teacher isn’t watching you! Therefore, apply yourself as much and as thoroughly as you can. Learn things well enough the first time around that you wont have to go back and revise later.
An Overview of Japanese Language Learning Materials
These are the different tools that I use for learning Japanese. Some of them I use more than others. I don’t intend to tell you which ones work best, that is something you have to find out for yourself. But by giving my description of some of them, this will hopefully give you a starting point.
1. Books
Most people choose between one of two Japanese language book series. They are 「みんなの日本語」 minna no nihongo (Japanese for Everyone) and 「げんき」 genki (vigor). If you are attending a Japanese class, you are probably already using one of these books. The general consensus is that both books are pretty good, but if you are serious about learning Japanese, and if you are ready to set aside a good portion of your time on a daily basis, then minna no nihongo is the book for you. Even if you decide not to learn from it, it is a very good reference for the Japanese language.
minna no nihongo is extremely thorough. It teaches you how to apply its lessons in many different cases, even the uncommon or unexpected ones. Having looked at genki I feel that the book doesn’t really aim to satisfy my curiosity about Japanese. If I am wondering about some obscure application of Japanese grammar the answer is almost always more likely to be in minna no nihongo.
That being said, if you don’t have that much time to commit to learning on your own, then genki might be the book for you. Its exercises are shorter and less involved. It teaches you what you need to get going with the Japanese language and doesn’t demand many hours per week. It may be much easier to stay motivated with genki.
2. Subtitled Movies
Did you know that many Europeans learn English through movies and television? As American culture has spread rapidly over the past several decades, so has the English language. As a nonnative speaker, I myself learned English primarily through American movies and TV series. With subtitles on, I could eventually figure out how words fit together and formed sentences. Sure, I had English classes in school too, but by the time those started I had already learned the basic stuff.
When you learn via this method, depending on how much you know already, you will keep thinking about different ways in which the words of the subtitles fit together. Most of the time, you come up with some ideas that turn out to be wrong – but that’s alright. When you finally do get the right idea in your head it will stick. Moreover, you will have learned some of the ways in which the language doesn’t always work as you would expect.
You may decide to not spend that much time learning via this method. I wouldn’t say it’s the most efficient, but it’s probably one of the more entertaining ones. It’s a fantastic supplement to any other language learning methods. Think of it as a puzzle that you will be better at solving over time.
Just remember to actually learn Japanese when watching movies.
When searching for movies, try to find some in which they speak real-life Japanese instead of the unique speech style used in most anime. (That beings said, it is quite possible to learn Japanese through anime programs if you employ the right tactics). As for some movie recommendations, a few of my personal favorites are: Yojimbo (1961), High and Low (1963), Ikiru (1952) and Spirited Away (2001).
If you like animation and Japanese traditional culture, I can definitely recommend any works by Hayao Miyazaki.
3. Japanese Television
This is probably for those of you who have already learned a bit. A lot of Japanese TV consists of debating panels who collectively discuss news stories, interview guests or reporters, and so on. The discussions are spoken in fast-paced everyday Japanese, because it’s intended for Japanese people. It’s pretty difficult to understand even if you are already familiar with the language for the simple reason that it’s so fast.
However, this may be what you actually need to practice your listening skills. If you can follow what people say on talk shows, then your Japanese listening skills are already very good. Try tuning in to your favorite show once in a while during breakfast and see if you can keep up – you might as well.
No matter what kind of television programs, cartoons, movies and other videos you enjoy watching, there will be something suited to your interests in FluentU’s Japanese language video collection.
You’ll discover tons of new Japanese vocabulary through cartoons, sitcoms, drama series, commercials and other video content here.
Don’t worry about your skill level being an issue when it comes to understanding the language. FluentU makes native Japanese videos approachable through interactive transcripts.
Tap on any word to look it up instantly.
You’ll see definitions, in-context usage examples and helpful illustrations. Simply tap “add” to send interesting vocabulary words to your running vocab list for later review.
And FluentU has a learn mode which turns every video into a language learning lesson and gets you to actively practice your newly-learned language.
I encourage you to check out the cartoons on FluentU. You’ll get to see the exact numerical quantity of Japanese vocabulary that can be learned from each clip. You might be surprised at how much great information they all have to offer!
Access FluentU on the website to use it with your computer or tablet or, better yet, start learning Japanese on the go with the FluentU app for iOS or Android devices!
4. Memorization Tools
By far one of the most successful methods I have tried has been the use of memorization tools. Lots of tools have been developed to assist with spaced repetition, which is a memorization technique that is extremely useful for vocabulary development.
There are plenty of guides to how spaced repetition works, so I will be brief. When you are learning a new language, one of the major concerns is being able to remember all of those words. You might intuitively think that you just have to write or say the same word over and over until it is committed to memory, right? Wrong. Human memory doesn’t work like that at all!
It is much more efficient to remind yourself of the words you try to learn with some space between each repetition. This way, you are only reminded when you actually need to be. There are a few different schemes of doing this. Generally people who follow these schemes tend to practice for 10 to 20 minutes each day using software such as Anki.
During my first two months in Japan that’s all I ever did, and just by learning many, many sentences by heart I was able to hold very basic conversations after the first month. I should clarify, I didn’t just learn one sentence for every occasion, I learned the meaning of each word and how to use it over time by seeing it in different contexts. Best of all, your brain does this almost automatically!
I still learn a ton from using these memorization techniques, and I learn very quickly as well. But the most important thing about it is that the things I’ve learned are now stuck in my head. You could wake me up in the middle of the night and quiz me – I would get everything right.
Another interesting choice is to learn by mnemonics. By associating newly learned words with some word or rhyme, it is much easier to learn. It is odd that our brains work like this, but this is the reason why the Greeks were able to remember the Iliad by heart – they sang the entire thing!
For memorizing kanji use visual mnemonics instead. These are not always obvious, but many people find it easy to remember kanji by associating their appearance with a familiar shape. The kanji 人 (person), for instance looks kind of like a walking person. Similarly, this one 大 (large), looks like that person holding out his arms as if to say “It’s at least this big.” For more reading on this topic there’s an excellent book called Remembering the Kanji written by J. W. Heisig.
I want to emphasize that the point of this exercise is not to make the mnemonic make sense – most kanji you will learn are much more difficult to organize in this way – but just to have some way of remembering.
5. Conversing in Japanese
Your best teachers will be the native speakers of the language. Don’t be afraid to ask questions and remember the context in which you ask so that you will find it easier to recall later.
Having conversations in Japanese should, at a certain point, become your most important method of practicing. You may already do this in class. If not, then hurry up and start doing it on your own.
The reason why this is so important is that, as you try to speak Japanese, you are forced to be creative. You are forced to invent new sentences that you didn’t know existed yet!
Don’t believe me? Chris Lonsdale explains how he learned Chinese to the point of fluency in six months in his TEDx talk. Conversational practice was all that he used.
When you use your language creatively, you will find it easier to remember words and sentences and there is a simple reason why. Human beings have always found it easier to remember things that they learn in a context where it is useful to them. When you are able to successfully convey something using a particular word, you will find that this word sticks and becomes easier to remember.
Another reason why it is so important to learn this way is that you can put your knowledge of the language to the test.
Finally, after all your effort, you may at last find yourself trying to think in Japanese. You may just realize one day that you have been trying to formulate your thoughts in Japanese. This is when you know you are applying yourself, so congratulate yourself!
That should be enough advice to get you started. In this blog post I have linked to other articles which go into more detail with some of the things I write about. Finally, I want to wish you good luck. If you’ve read all of this, that probably means you are dedicated and have the motivation to do well. Now, you just have to look forward to getting way ahead of the rest of your class!
If you liked this post, something tells me that you'll love FluentU, the best way to learn Japanese with real-world videos.
This is meant to be a practical, step-by-step guide on how to learn Japanese.
Specifically, it’s about the best way to learn Japanese.
I could write for pages and pages as to why I think this is the best, fastest, cheapest, easiest, most boss and awesome way to learn Japanese. We could probably rename this guide, “How I Wish I’d Studied Japanese.” Anyways, though, I’ll let the guide speak for itself.
The steps in this guide sometimes overlap, become some of them take months to complete. That said, you should start them in the order they are written. Or do whatever you want, actually. The best way to learn Japanese for me is probably a little different than the best way to learn Japanese for you, yeah?
Because there are only two things that matter when trying to master a language:
That’s it. Two things. I mean, I can do at least five things. The other day I learned how to make takoyaki. Boom. Six things.
Two more shouldn’t be a problem.
We are swimming across an ocean. But that’s chill.
If we have fun swimming, we’ll never get tired.
Which means we’ll never quit.
Which means we’ll reach that faraway shore.
Fight-O, homies!
Also, to keep getting the latest updates on Japanese study hacks, J-lessons, and other language food, feel free to sign up for the (usually 1 email every month or two) Nihongo Shark newsletter.
じゃあ…
Update: I have recently published the official NihongoShark.com guide to learning Japanese. It’s a 400+ page PDF beast and, in short, the true “best way” to learn Japanese (if you ask me and some smart people I know): The Hacking Japanese Supercourse.
Step #1: Listen to Audio Lessons
Specifically, sign up for JapanesePod101:
This is the best resource for learning Japanese. Period.
How to use JapanesePod101 Effectively
I remember back in the day, listening to one of their Newbie Lessons, I tried out one of the episodes from their Advanced Audio Blog series. I was so discouraged. I’ll never understand this kind of Japanese, I thought.
But now it’s no problem. I kept swimming. Well, I quit a few times. But, eventually I kept swimming. Now I almost never have problems catching native-speed Japanese.
Thank you, JapanesePod101.
Step #2: Use Smart Flashcards
Most people agree that the best way to learn Japanese somehow incorporates Anki.
Anki is a type of software (and app) for remembering things.
Basically, intelligent flashcards.
Download it here.
Every time you encounter a word you don’t know, add it to your Anki deck.
Step #3: Learn Hiragana and Katakana
Explaining is draining. So I’ll let Tae Kim do it:
By the way, Tae Kim is a beast. And a total grammar sage. Here’s his grammar book on Amazon:
Please buy 7,000 copies using my Amazon affiliate link. Because I’m poor.
Anyways, learn to read and write both Hiragana and Katakana (within your first week, if possible).
There are many ways to learn them.
Step #4: Learn All of the Kanji
This is priority #1.
Try to learn the meaning of all of the general use kanji characters in four months. The longer you take to learn them, the more likely you will quit studying… that is, fail to learn Japanese.
It’s OK to take a long time to learn them. Just. Don’t. Quit.
If you do about 25 new cards per day, then you’ll learn all of the kanji in less than 100 days. And you will want to hug everyone once that happens.
Super motivated people: Do 25 new cards per day.
Moderately motivated people: Do, uh, less than 25 new cards per day.
Just make sure Kanji is always new card priority #1. For example, you probably will have a few different Anki decks, like this:
Study Priorities
So, in the picture above, I would do the cards in this order:
A couple of things to note. My study priorities have not changed, even though I’m studying two languages. It’s always review cards first, then new cards (with the exception of kanji).
Also, since I’m not studying any grammar at the moment, my 1001 Español deck has new cards set to 999 per day. That’s because I always learn as many words as possible per day. For most people, #8 in the list above would not be 999 cards.
Very Important:![]()
Do EVERY review due every day.
No matter what. Even if you phone it in, tap the buttons until Cards Due = 0.
Trust me.
Step #5: Lay Your Vocabulary Foundation
Download this deck on Anki.
Read the installation instructions, then start studying it.
Maybe shoot for 20 new words a day? Remember that kanji take priority.
Anyways, study it. All reviews every day. New cards whenever time allows.
If you don’t like the layout, feel free to change it in your Anki program’s card settings. This deck is also an option.
Step #6: Learn Basic Grammar
Pick a grammar book series and read every lesson, do every exercise.
Option #1: Minna no Nihongo, 2nd Edition
If you ever go study at a language school in Japan, they will almost certainly use these books for the intro classes.
Option #2: Genki Series
I prefer the Genki Series, but really either one is fine. I did both, and both of them were helpful.
Boom.
Step #7: Start Speaking Japanese
If you haven’t already, start using the sentences you practiced in your grammar textbook exercises.
Not in Japan? No worries. You can still practice Japanese.
Take a Lesson
From what I’ve seen, italki seems to be the most (cost-)effective place to take lessons for any foreign language. I’ve heard so many great things about it. And, really, since it’s online, it’s a chance to speak Japanese every day no matter where you are.
Watch Video Lessons
I’m a little hesitant to put this here, because it’s a passive learning resource (i.e. it’s not technically speaking practice), but I’ve heard lots of excellent things about UDemy.
Get a Language Exchange Partner
There are a lot of Japanese people on MyLanguageExchange.com.
If you’re in Japan, this is also a very easy way to meet new people and make friends.
You can also chat with people on Mixi, I think. But I’ve never tried it. Also, navigating the site might be hard for beginners.
Step #8: Super-Power Your Grammar Skills
Get all three of the books from the Dictionary of Japanese Grammar Series.
These books are simply awesome.
(Sometimes these books are not available on Amazon, but usually you can find them on White Rabbit Japan Bookstore.)
Step #9: Stop Using English
If you manage to finish Steps #1-8, then you could almost certainly pass JLPT N1. In other words, you’re fluent. You could work in a Japanese company. Realistically, I’d say it’s feasible to complete all of steps #1-8 in about 2 years. If you study a lot, maybe less. If you don’t study a lot, maybe longer.
Anyways, somewhere in the midst of those steps, please stop using English!
Then, if you haven’t already…
Step #10: Go to Japan
If possible, live there.
Enjoy Life… in Japanese!
You’re a boss.
I know for me, more than anything, learning Japanese has given me confidence.
The other day I told a friend I was going to start learning piano.
“Did you play as a child?” he asked.
“No,” I said.
“Then you might not be able to,” he said bluntly.
Once upon a time, I might have given up right there. People tell us we can’t do things that they believe themselves incapable of doing. And it’s tempting to falter when we encounter their lack of faith. Because it’s hard to have faith in yourself.
Japanese can be that thing that you always look back to, though.
I’m pretty sure I can learn piano, I thought. I learned Japanese. Even after everyone said it was too hard. Even after all the times I told myself it was too hard.
I now know the value of sticking to something that’s important to me. And I want you to have that, too, if you don’t already.
So I looked at my friend, and I said:
“If I never quit trying to learn piano, I’ll learn it eventually. Maybe in a few months. Maybe in ten years. If I keep practicing, the result is inevitable.”
Just like it was with Japanese. I quit. And I quit. And I quit. But then, I stuck to it. The result was inevitable.
My friend gave me a quizzical look. Then, a few seconds later, he nodded his head.
“Yeah, I guess that’s true,” he said.
Learning Japanese might feel like swimming across an ocean. But you can do it.
Just keep swimming. You will reach the shore.
Before you go burn two hundred hours clicking all the links listed below, don’t forget about the difference between being active and being productive.
Being Productive = Learning new vocabulary, listening to an audio lesson, speaking/reading/writing Japanese, doing flashcards, etc.
Being Active = Reading articles (like this one) about how to learn Japanese, making study calendars, estimating how many words you know, how long it will take to pass JLPT N1, etc.
Being Productive > Being Active
Always, always, always.
But sometimes just being active is pretty fun. So…
NihongoShark’s Posts!
I’d like to think that we’re (slowly) starting to build a good breadth of useful information on this site. In particular, it might help to look at the following post categories: Crusader kings 2 ireland.
Listening Practice
Apps, Programs, and Plugins
Recommended Anki Decks
Other Sites for Learning Japanese
There are a lot of sites just like this one. Most of them have a lot more content than mine.
Just remember, if you’re reading this stuff, you’re not improving. Studying and using Japanese is improving.
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Being Productive > Being Active
You can find more links on the Links page.
The Best Way to Learn Japanese: Final Thoughts
“The best way to learn Japanese” differs for everyone. These are the best resources I’ve found so far. There are certainly more out there somewhere. If you know of some, please let me know in the comments.
Or if you just want to affirm that you’re going for this, that you’re committed to learning Japanese, please leave a comment, or send me a message.
It’s difficult making this journey. And it’s good to have friends sharing the struggle.
Ganbatte, everyone.
Niko
p.s. Free learning awesomeness guide:
Yo! I'm Niko, the founder of NihongoShark. I'm also a Japanese translator, writer, and all-around language nerd.
I created this site to help as many people master Japanese (any language, really) as possible.
Uh, what else? Well.. I live in
Good luck with your studies!
Niko
p.s. If you like my articles, you may very well love my daily lessons.
This article is courtesy of Cody B., Spanish master extraordinaire & learner of Japanese (full bio below).
Since I’m a nerd, I’ve sprinkled my own comments and observations into the article, too. – Niko
When it comes to learning a new language, there are three options:
(1) do nothing, and do not learn a new language,
(2) think that learning a certain language would be “really cool”, but never do so, or
(3) actually follow through and learn the new language.
Today, I will discuss the topic of motivation in language acquisition, by exploring how a lack of it can be severely detrimental, while an abundance of it can be extremely rewarding. Lastly, if you are lacking motivation, I will share with you the art of securing it for yourself in order to guarantee success on your path.
Motivation Is Key
Motivation is the secret to achieving anything in life.
I have especially noticed this concept’s tendency to perpetually reinforce itself throughout my experience learning languages. Between possession and lack thereof, I have found a night and day difference in my ability to retain information, which can feel like a rollercoaster on my track to fluency.
I realize that when riding this rollercoaster, I must position myself on the first hill, always looking forward on my climb to the top. If I start looking over the side, I will feel scared, discouraged, and hopeless. By reminding myself that I was the one who decided to get on this ride, I recall that I did so because I wanted to have a fun, thrilling experience, and when the ride is over, be able to share what a great adventure it was with others. This keeps me motivated, and reminds me that once I reach the top of the first hill, I will have a blast on the rest of the ride.
The first step toward regaining motivation is realization of where you are, and then accepting that fact. Otherwise, no progress can be made. I have wasted days, weeks, months, and years comparing myself to secondary speakers of my target language(s), wondering how on Earth they had achieved their level of proficiency, and all along, I wasn’t realizing that the simple explanation was that they were studying while I was not. I was too busy examining the people in the first car, instead of exploring my own.
It wasn’t until I examined the first car a little closer, that I began noticing the people there didn’t just miraculously manifest at the pinnacle of the hill, with the ability to ascertain everything around them. I realized that they too, like myself, had once been in my position on the track to linguistic competency. Focused in, I saw that their actions were far different from mine, and in time understood this to be the reason for the respective success and failure.
Simultaneously accepting and arming myself with this knowledge, I became equipped with the tools and weapons needed to build and fight my way to the top of that hill. The famous School House Rock motto “Knowledge Is Power” is a strong message, albeit a little lacking. I discovered through this process that it is not that knowledge alone is powerful, but rather, it is only through the implementation of the knowledge that it becomes powerful. For too long I had the knowledge, but was not implementing it. I knew the steps to take. I had the examples right in front of me, but was not walking forward.
Since this time, I have woken up. I have accepted that there is no substitute for hard work, for time-in, for study and practice, for rinse and repeat until clean. Now, with tools and weapons in hand, I can confidently proceed, assured that as I continue with perseverance, I will inevitably reach the summit, victorious.
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If while reading you see an image of yourself, and now feel ready to finally take your own steps to actualize your dream of being able to navigate your language of choice with ease, please continue, as I venture some suggestions:
First, make the decision: I’m all in.
Commit to this standard, and don’t back away from it. Take emotions out of the equation. Emotions will come and go, but your target language is forever. No matter what happens along the way, the end goal is positive, and it is what you want for yourself. Keep your attention there, and you will never fail.
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Once you have resolved to see the task through to the end, I recommend adopting the following practices: (if you haven’t already)
1. Keep a language notebook
Maintaining a language notebook is the single best decision I have made on my path to acquiring a language.
It allows me to permanently store every piece of new information I discover about a language, creating a repository of material to draw from during my study time. There are a number of ways to use and organize a language notebook. This freedom is greatly rewarding to the imagination, and adds depth of meaning to what you write and how it is written.
Furthermore, a notebook is a physical, tangible thing. It makes learning the language more real. Instead of just thinking about your target language, and vaguely recalling abstract concepts in your mind, you can open your notebook, and see it on the page in front of you, in your own handwriting.
Best machine learning laptop. Jun 13, 2019 1) choose good high configuration laptop 2) choose Normal config laptop + some virtual machine like AWS or Azure I recently came to know that with normal config laptop also we can do a lot with help of AWS or Azure. Is that true? If yes how it works? And what is the price of it? And finally what is the best option for me? Jul 05, 2018 Which Is The Best Laptop For Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence? Kishan Maladkar. With the rise in analysis platforms across every sector, leading big tech companies and startups are integrating Machine Learning and Deep Learning in their existing system. This advancement has led to a major revolution in the hardware. You will not be able to use just a laptop for efficiently training deep neural networks. However, if you want to train lots of small networks, or do some basic training before deploying your training script on a heavy machine, and are hell bent.
As daily connections with the notebook are made, consistency is built, progress is made, pride in accomplishment blooms, and ample motivation to move forward with your studies is secured.
2. Become friends with native speakers
This picture, by the way, is of Rei and I in Jeju… with all of my new Korean cousins! Meeting new family has been one of the biggest motivators for learning a language I’ve yet to experience… along with meeting new friends ^_^
Native speakers are literally your best friends when acquiring a language.
I myself have been guilty of subscribing to the idea that I must or should acquire a certain skill level in my target language before interacting with native speakers. However, I eventually realized that this was the very definition of counter-productivity. As a language learner (especially those who study independently) there is a tendency to separate the language itself from those who speak it. This causes harm to the student by artificially imposing a false reality onto the nature of language.
A language is not a dead, inanimate concoction that you must dully beat into your brain. Rather, it is a vibrant, interesting living entity, full with the ideas, emotions, and stories of those who use it. If a student spends too much time removed from other speakers, they can slip away into apathy, becoming disinterested in their passion for the language, and eventually stopping altogether, by persuading themselves they never wanted it at all.
To save yourself from this fate, actively seek out native (or secondary) speakers. There are tons of great people out there, who are friendly and helpful. Building a genuine connection with speakers of your target language will give you many solid reasons and (the motivation necessary) to advance your current level.
Additionally, time spent with other speakers will provide valuable listening and speaking practice, and the opportunity to receive feedback and ask questions.
If you’re ready to take the plunge, you can find lessons on italki or Cafetalk, and you can find language exchange partners on sites like Lang-8, MyLanguageExchange, and HelloTalk. Also you can make friends with fellow students of Japanese in NihongoShark.com’s (absolutely free and awesome) chat community.
3. Build your life around the language
In order to achieve measurable proficiency in a language, it must be truly present in your life.
To facilitate this, it will require somewhat of a lifestyle commitment. There is so much “hidden” time in the day, one can utilize to study a language: when getting ready in the morning, when commuting to work, when cleaning the house, and even when sleeping, if you are so bold. Be inventive. Every moment is an opportunity. By seeing time in this way and taking action, progress in your target language will be virtually unavoidable.
The next time you are talking with a native friend, you will be pleasantly surprised by how many new words and phrases you can pull out of thin air. This feeling is so rewarding, you will be motivated to keep the language with you all the time, thereby constantly progressing.
4. Be systematic in your studies
I have been guilty of purchasing book after book about (or in) my target language, and never looking at any of them.
I find that the idea of having a lot of books causes you to feel like you are making progress, but you end up jumping from book to book so often that you end up with a bunch of small pieces that cannot be made sense of or put together.
In my experience, to make quality progress, one’s method of study must be systematic. I recommend going book by book, and extracting all the new information you can about your target language before moving on to the next one. Furthermore, supposing that the books are ordered by advancing difficulty, make sure you have a solid base in the content of one book before moving on to the next.
Also, studying by topic is extremely useful. Being able to discuss a certain subject fully will ensure that you do not get lost in a conversation, and as you link related topics together, you will be able to increasingly chart and navigate the map of your target language successfully.
Be sure to study areas of the language that are relevant to you in your life. (If you are not a scientist, learning scientific terms which you will never use is a waste of time.) By personalizing your studies, you will maintain interest and enthusiasm in your endeavor, by adding intrinsic value to yourself and the language.
If you are having trouble staying motivated, I hope this article has shed some light on the underlying reasons you may have been having difficulty.
Have you tried any of the suggestions given?
What was your experience?
How do you stay motivated?
Well, Cody, since you ask, here are some of my own tricks for staying motivated…
I usually turn to 4 places for added and continuous motivation:
1) Aspects of the language I love. If you’re drawn to manga, then try to read manga. You don’t have to read and understand a whole manga all at once. Just a page here, a page there. The same goes for anime, literature, YouTube videos, games–whatever it is about Japanese that you find enjoyable, just try to do a little bit of it, and don’t be discouraged when it’s too hard; be excited about it not being hard some day. Learning 1 new word is sufficient progress.
2) Study methods I love. I try very hard to create study patterns that I enjoy. Think about what parts of studying you find boring, a hassle, or intimidating. Something that’s a “hassle” could be looking at your PC, or it could be putting your headphones in–little stuff like that can actually deter studying a lot. It’s like paying more for cut fruit. It’s more expensive, but it’s so much easier to eat that it won’t ever rot on my counter, because I don’t have to cut it! The same goes for the place and time I study–I really want to enjoy these.
3) Discipline & Momentum. These will always be a struggle. But disciple is a skill. So if you work to study with discipline consistently, it will start to feel easier. Also, momentum will increase, which means that it actually does get easier. Building habits and removing barriers is also helpful for this. I talk about these a lot in The Hacking Japanese Supercourse.
4) Listening to inspirational speakers. I often pull the audio from motivational speech tracks on YouTube or from 8tracks.com, then I listen to it when I go for walks. I never expected myself to be into that kind of stuff, but I’ve learned that it’s a great, refreshing way to take a break from work or studying.
By the way thanks for the article! ^_^
Let’s all keep swimming, yo.
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Hey, my name is Cody. I teach Spanish and English to non-native speakers, and write articles about language learning on my blog, based on more than 10 years of experience. I invite you to stop by sometime: CodyのBlog.
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