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Study vs. Immersion – Which is More Important Daily? — 19 Comments

  1. I’m simply terrible at immersing! My seemingly low levels of Anime Comprehension discourage me from digging in on a daily basis———but if I don’t, the situation shall never improve. Reading is better, after finding a couple of manga perfect for my level, following a lot of random people on Twitter and setting everything to Japanese.

    • Everyone is terrible at immersing int he beginning. The only way to get better at it is to do it. Things get better, and better soon though.

  2. What if you do the opposite? For me I’ve noticed that if I spend too much time on the studying I burn out super easily, so I usually spend way more time on immersion, even though I’m a beginning.

    • I think that’s fine. As long as it’s immersion without English subtitles, it’ll help. If you can find yourself enjoying native material even only at 5% understanding, it means that you are in a great position to continue moving forward.

      • Absolutely haha I’m talking watching anime/gameshows (without subtitles of course, usually rewatching stuff that I’ve watched with subtitles years ago) and reading some very low level manga like Yotsubato, that sort of things!

  3. I definitely count immersion as part of study mode. I call SRS, reading and Anime/Drama my daily intake of Japanese. I’m about 50/50 SRS and immersion though, so I could definitely be immersing myself more now that I am 2000+ sentences in.

  4. Immersion is definitely part of my everyday routine. I have tv shows I regularly watch without subtitles (just variety shows with idols the dialogues are usually pretty simple) and it constantly reinforces things I’ve learned. The shows I watch usually have a lot of writing (like explanations and remarks) on them in weird fonts etc, and it’s just this exposure to the real deal outside of my study material that really makes things stick. (I’m not gonna talk about the dramas I watch with English subtitles because that’s not immersion or study, that’s just for fun).

    If you are a beginner it’s okay but not that important to immerse. Study as a beginner, reward yourself with immersion when you get tired for the day (if you enjoy it) but do not make immersion your main study method (yet). When I was beginner, I used to ask myself why wasn’t I improving faster. Then I realized I was immersing 90% of the time and studying maybe 10%, that didn’t work for me as a beginner.

    • Idols make for good studying. They usually talk in a simpler manner and use the same type of language repeatedly. “Immersion idols.”

    • I don’t know how much love the webapp Showroom is getting in the learner communities but you should definitely check it out. It’s very idol heavy and very amateur heavy. The nice thing about that is they often read and respond to their chat feed during broadcasts.

      A friend of mine did a broadcast from both days of EDC Japan and it was super fun to watch her and say hi to her fans and have them say hi back!

      • I have showroom on my android phone. I don’t watch it as often as I watch twitch or niconico though. But yes it is a great app! On twitch sometimes the gamers I watch invite people to play with them. I’ve chickened out every time but what a great way to practice! Just play games and talk.

  5. What is better to spend immersion time on while still at a lower level — reading manga vs watching shows? I’m still at a low level despite working on the expert cards and would like to get better. I have 44 hours in my immersion player so don’t need to add new material for passive listening so wasn’t sure whether it’s better to spend more time reading rather than watching new shows.

    • If you are lower level (for example, still in Jalup Beginner, or just starting Intermediate), I would put the emphasis of immersion on listening, and then build up the reading more over time. Of course, if you find reading manga motivating and fun, even at an early level, then continue that as well.

  6. I wrote this in response to some of the questions above,and how I feel about immersion’s role in general.

    Immersion is one of those topics I’m really passionate about. I agree with this article but it kind of ends at the point of beginner.

    Here is what I think about how to best AVERAGE your study time over the course of a week. By average I mean, you don’t need to be so regimented about how you divide your immersion time. These recommendations are about making sure you’re allotting time for each skill to be a BALANCED learner.

    This table is a great visualization of the above
    http://japaneselevelup.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Immersion-Chart.png

    At those low levels you should spend roughly 75% of your study time in anki (0-1000 JP-ENG), 25% immersing, break it up between reading (includes JP subtitles) and listening without any subtitles(raw).

    Intermediate learner (2000-3000) – 50% in Anki, 30% reading, 20% RAW listening (no subtitles, JP or ENG).

    Advanced learner (3000-#5000 monolingual): 30% Anki, 40% reading , 30% RAW listening.

    Expert (5000+): 10-20% Anki 30-40% reading, 30-40% raw listening.

    These percentages aren’t to be followed exactly. I made them up to illustrate how your study habits should evolve in order to keep your skills balanced over your development.

    Start = Study most
    Middle = Read most, study second, listen third,
    advanced = read most, listen second, study third
    expert and beyond = listen most, read second, study third.

    That’s what a typical learner’s curve will look under the immersion method. However, depending on preferences, your skill balance may vary. In that case, adjust these ‘ratios’ as needed for YOUR skill balance.

    The big take-away. I see lots of learners ignoring raw listening practice. I was pretty guilty of this myself. It’s by far the least rewarding short-term, and the most difficult to stay concentrated on long term.

    Don’t fall into that trap. When you get to the advanced-expert level, raw listening really needs to a be a main focus if you plan on getting fluent in listening/speaking (as the two are directly linked).

    • Yes immersion is deep, and changing throughout months and years of studying Japanese. I focused on the earlier parts here, because it’s the biggest decision most people face. But thanks for expanding on it later on with your own experience.

  7. I count immersion as study because it’s an excuse to watch TV. ^.^ If I didn’t count it as study, I’d feel guilty watching television in the afternoon. Now I can say it’s not because I’m a lazy housewife, it’s because I’m an intellectual! ^.^

  8. I’m level 28 and terrible at immersing.
    Anki has a the charts, and streaks and is so convient. XP navi helps by getting me some charts for immersion I try to get 1000 immersion XP per month (approx 1 chapter or episode/日). I’ve never hit that goal π_π
    In stead of spliting study/immersion/engagement I split study/reading/listening.
    I think AJATT recomened 1 hour (or about 100 XP) max of study XP/day. And reading and listening should be about even. so (in XP) 55/50/60 is OK. My mix is more like 130/15/0
    I just bought the whole series of Hayate the Combat Butler. 頑張り!

  9. I think immersion is much more important than just studying.
    So I usually think in a Japanese language way while I am speaking Japanese.
    And I like to practice speaking and listening rather than writing and reading.
    Because I can be much more immersed in communicative situation and learn better.

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