You’ve probably accepted by now that you are going to fail, multiple times, as you move forward learning Japanese. But how you fail changes all the time. There is a never-ending supply of failure variety. I think it’s useful to look at the way you fail (die) in video games, because it creates a nice parallel to failing at Japanese. Here’s a major list of … Continue reading →
Adam, you’ve gone soft. You used to be hardcore. You’d tell people they must learn all the kanji first. You’d tell people they must create their own flash cards. You’d tell people they must immerse as much as possible every moment of every day. You’d tell people that if they did this, they too could become fluent in less than 3 years. What happened to … Continue reading →
I don’t get it. Japanese has a habit of making me say this more times than I can remember. Things go smoothly until they don’t. It’s easy until it’s hard. When I first learned about the “give” and “receive” verbs (もらう, くれる, and あげる), I thought “how bad could they be?” Who knew that they would be a thorn in my side long after I … Continue reading →
I studied Japanese. I got good. I got fluent. Because of this, when I talk with Japanese people who don’t know me, I often get an inevitable 4-question barrage which I don’t particularly like answering. Here are those 4 questions and what to expect. 4. Why can you speak Japanese? Umm… because I studied it? I ponder for a second whether this is rude. I … Continue reading →
Ever have a nice period of things just going well with your Japanese? You smile with pride as your vocabulary grows and your grammar expands. You are able to do all kinds of things you couldn’t do before. You can pick up TV shows and books and actually understand them. You are on a positive streak. Many good things keep happening. Then one, and just … Continue reading →
Quit? It’s January 1st. It’s the start of a brand new year of unstoppable Japanese progress. To make sure you continue this through 2019 and don’t need a new resolution in 2020 to start studying Japanese again, there are three enemies you need to keep track of. Three “Quit Monsters” that can strike the moment you let your guard down. Who exactly are they and … Continue reading →
There is a trend to raise Japanese’s difficulty status to a magical language of eternal struggle. So extreme a language that even the people born into the language can’t fathom it. I first heard this comment from a Japanese person many years ago, who was telling me why it was cute that I was studying Japanese, but why I didn’t stand a chance. No matter … Continue reading →
I starting studying back in 2005. Information was limited. Textbooks were limited. Tools were limited. No smartphone. But 2005 still puts me in the modern era of studying Japanese. I still had the internet, and that of course is one of the biggest educational game changers of human history. There are people who studied Japanese in the 1990s and 1890s and I’m glad I wasn’t one of … Continue reading →
