If you broke down the entirety of Japanese studying into just two elements, it would come down to: 1. Flashcard studying (Jalup App, Anki, textbooks, etc)2. Immersion (enjoying native Japanese entertainment) You probably already understand that first comes flashcards. But then what? 1. When do I start immersion?2. What’s the best balance of time between flashcards vs immersion?3. How does this balance change over time? … Continue reading →
Flash card goals are straightforward. Review till 0. Learn 10 new cards a day. This is studying. Set your targets and meet them. Then you try the same thing with immersion. Watch one j-drama a day. Read three manga chapters a day. Watch two episodes of anime a day. Something feels off, but you can’t figure out what. Fun converted to obligation Most of you … Continue reading →
I watch a lot of American TV shows dubbed into Japanese. Why? Why not? For the most part I have never had a problem with the quality of Japanese dubbing. Sometimes the voices aren’t the best choice for the characters. But nothing that makes me say “I’m not watching you.” However, Netflix has one dubbing problem, which absolutely baffles me and I just can’t forgive. … Continue reading →
Textbook learning: check. Immersion learning: big question mark. When you finally reach for your first manga or anime, there is no bigger question than whether you should choose something based on whether it is interesting to you or whether you can understand it. How you answer this will significantly affect your desire to study. Are you choosing the right answer for yourself? In a perfect … Continue reading →
If it wasn’t obvious from posts like this, I am a huge Audible Japan fan. Unfortunately the time has come for me to move on to something else. Recently Audible Japan changed from a subscription system to a coin system. While this was a big shock, I actually was viewing it as a positive change in the long run. It would end up costing me … Continue reading →
I’ve talked repeatedly how the path to fluency hinges on a race to immersion – getting to enjoying real Japanese before you burn out on too much studying. However, just because you reach immersion doesn’t mean it’s all clear sailing from there. Far from it as you’ll feel a constant tug-of-war with understanding and not understanding whatever you are trying to enjoy. Recently, I’ve seen that … Continue reading →
If you talked to me 13 years ago I would rave about how unbelievably amazing anime was. If you talked to me 11 years ago, every J-drama in existence knew my face. 7 years ago I read enough manga and novels through Kindle to help boost Amazon’s quarterly profits. 5 years ago, I could tell you about every new local trend or restaurant in Japan … Continue reading →
Audible Japan – my number one resource for listening to and shadowing Japanese for the past few years. My alarm went off this morning and I open Audible to continue listening to 自分に「ダメ出し」をしてしまうあなたへ, which I’ve been enjoying lately. I’m interrupted with a dreaded app message: “Audible Unlimited Listening is Ending.” A horrible feeling in my stomach took control. What? No. Wait. You aren’t going to… … Continue reading →
