Fluency is the holy grail of language learning. Everybody knows that, even the dudes that aren’t learning a language. In fact, that’s the only thing anybody starting Japanese cares about. Man, they didn’t start learning Japanese so they could have all the fun of reading grammar books all day! And nobody decides to learn a language so they could spend an hour a day reviewing … Continue reading →
I used to be a bit of an OCD. When I played video games, I always thought I had to do every single thing there was to do. The first time I played a Pokemon game, I took it seriously. I really did catch ’em all. I remember walking through fields for hours to find a rare Pokemon and slogging through the caves to get … Continue reading →
When you build something from the ground up, with absolute control and micromanagement over every minor aspect, an unfortunate habit tends to rear its ugly (but well groomed) head: Perfectionism. It’s natural that you want your study method and every factor that goes into your general study equation to be perfect. Flawless efficiency. I imagine you desire something like this: But you may actually be … Continue reading →
While studying Japanese is for the most part your own private and personal world (especially in the beginning), it is human nature to compare and compete. You want to know how others are doing. You want to know how you are doing compared to others. You want to know how long it took them to achieve what you are trying to achieve. Now I love … Continue reading →
A good way to start off the new year: let’s tell you why your New Years resolution will fail, and all your efforts to become fluent will be futile. Is this the first negative article on this site? Is this a sign of bad things to come? Am I going to tear you down? Come on. Would I do that? No . . . but you … Continue reading →
Fully immersing yourself in Japan’s culture is absolutely key to mastering Japanese. Japanese culture is amazing. It is wild. It is weird. It is deep. If you have yet to visit Japan, you will be in for one of the best adventures of your life. If you get the chance to study abroad for a semester, take it. If you can live and work in … Continue reading →
How often have you been asked “How are you studying Japanese?” only to get stuck in an annoying conversation with someone trying to explain your methods. Multiply this irritation when you are talking to someone who is a Japanese teacher or a Japanese person who studies English. Unless you are talking to close and understanding friends or family, you want to avoid this exchange at … Continue reading →
With the internet, the amount of Japanese resources at your disposal is now endless. This is good. In this context, more is better. You can be as picky as you want with what you use. However, with the expansion of precious Japanese material throughout the internet came along a fake form of studying Japanese. It looks and even feels like you are studying real Japanese. But you are not. … Continue reading →
