How to Study Japanese Over the Summer
20. Jun, 2008
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Well, it’s that time of year, isn’t it? Some of you are getting out of school for summer break and some of you haven’t had to go to school for decades. Some of you took Japanese classes at school, and some of you are self-taught. Either way, summer makes it really easy not to continue studying your Japanese (or anything, for that matter). I’ve thought through some tips to keep the study-love going during the lazy season.
Don’t take a break
This is an easy trap to fall into. “I’ll just take a couple of weeks off and then I’ll really study after that.” WRONG. Though this may actually work for a few people, it’s best not to take a break and stick to your schedule. For every day that you don’t practice, it gets a little bit easier to not study the next day, and then the next day, and then pretty soon you’ll be taking the entire summer off. A whole summer is a long time not to practice something, especially something so forgetful as language (not to mention the kanji. Oh god, the kanji!). Don’t stop studying just because it’s summer, but also…
Don’t Overdo it!
When people get inspired or motivated, they often tend to burn themselves out as well. Don’t start the summer with the expectation that you will study four hours a day. A few exceptional people might be able to do this. You and me, you know, the “normal people,” can never do this. Make a schedule, take scheduled breaks, just don’t overdo it. It all depends on you, but I’d suggest studying 30 minutes a day, five days a week. Yep, that’s it. Better yet, if you only have thirty minutes to do something, most likely you’ll find more efficient ways to do it, or you’ll study harder during those thirty minutes. Thirty minutes a day will be tough enough for most people. It’s not the actual studying that’s hard, it’s sticking with your schedule, no matter how short it is.
An Opportunity for Review
When you start your “summer studies,” it might be good to take this opportunity to review, especially if you are formally taught Japanese in your school. Whether you understood everything or not, it’s good to go back and solidify your knowledge. One of the Japanese professors at my university had to take Japanese 1 twice when he was in college, due to transferring schools. Although he was a bit peeved to take the same class twice, he came out a much better Japanese student in the end. That first year is really important when it comes to pronunciation, how you read, how you write, grammar, etc., so why not take summer as an opportunity to really get to know those things? You cover a lot of stuff in Japanese class, and it’s impossible to feel really comfortable with everything. Spend a couple of weeks going over your previous lessons. Become a pro in stuff you’ve already done! A good site for Japanese review (and learning) is the cool frood over at TaeKim’s Guide to Japanese. Everything is nicely laid out and there are plenty of examples.
Have a Little Fun!
Pshhhh, it’s summer, enjoy yourself a little. I know I promote all this “studying stuff” and it doesn’t seem that fun, but that’s what you have to deal with when you want to learn another language. Still, there’s opportunity to try new things and study “differently.” When you’re in school, it’s hard to come up with the time to do anything except your homework (that and socializing, working, etc). Now that it’s summer, you probably have a little extra time. Why not try something else? Here are some “alternative” Japanese study methods that will give you a new view on Japanese studies. Check them out!
Lang-8: I’ve been pimping Lang-8 for a few weeks now. It’s a great service for people who want to practice reading and writing Japanese. It’s kind of a language social networking website. The premise is pretty simple. You write journal entries in the language you are learning (i.e. probably Japanese), natives in that language will correct your journal entries for you, and finally, if you’re a nice person, you’ll help some people who are learning your own native language. I’ve learned tons since using the site 6-8 months ago. You can read more about it in my article over here.
Start a Blog (in Japanese): It has never been easier to start a blog. You can get a blog for free over at wordpress.com, blogger.com, or livejournal.com. I’m a big WordPress fan, but all of those will work (and are very easy to set up). I have a blog in Japanese over at Koichiben.com, where I talk about American culture and the English language (kind of the Bizarro version of Tofugu). If you start at the beginning and read all of the articles, you’ll see a vast improvement. I’m learning new things every time, and I even get the articles edited first via the kind users at Lang-8. I know a few other people who have blogs in Japanese, and it’s been very helpful to them as well. If you can get people to visit it, then it’s like you have to update it every once in a while, which means your Japanese has to get better. I don’t know about you, but I enjoy blogging, so blogging in Japanese only seemed like the natural thing to do for practice, and almost any level of Japanese learner can do this, as long as they have some basics down. Heck, you can even throw some ads on there and attempt to make some money from it (though, don’t expect more than pocket change unless you become ridiculously popular).
Start a Vlog (in Japanese): It’s also a good way to get people to visit your blog, if you do that as well. That’s pretty much how I built Koichiben up. One of the disadvantages to only blogging in Japanese is the lack of speaking practice. Starting a Vlog along with your Blog will help round out the experience a little bit. Another option, if you don’t want people to see you would be to start a podcast in Japanese.
Plan a Trip to Japan: You don’t even have to actually go (though that would be awesome). Just planning a trip to Japan will help you learn some Japanese, get you more familiar with the geography, help you understand how trains work, teach you about Japanese money, and tell you about some of the history of the country. It might even inspire you to study Japanese harder, since you might end up wanting to actually take this trip you planned someday. This isn’t Japanese study persé, but it is surprisingly educational if you take it seriously. There are a bunch of websites out there about traveling to Japan. I think the Tofugu team primarily used Japan-Guide for our last trip. Still, to find the really cool places, sometimes you have to delve into the Japanese website world and poke around. This is where the education really begins.
Get Familiar with Culture, Current Events
Do you all know what an RSS reader is? If you do, then you know how amazingly convenient and addictive they can be. I use google reader to organize all the things I want to read on the internet. Basically, an RSS reader lets you subscribe to websites (this website, included) so that whenever they update with new content, you’ll get it sent directly to your reader. This means, you can read all your favorite blogs in one place (or, sometimes, only parts of them). If you haven’t, you should subscribe to Tofugu’s feed! Anyways, enough self-promotion.
There are tons of websites out there that do Japanese news, culture, etc. Tofugu, believe it or not, is only one of them (ZOMG, what?). There are a bunch of other sites that cover cool Japanese things, and you can subscribe to all of them via RSS. Here’s just a few of my favorites: RockingInHakata, PinkTentacle, WhatJapanThinks, and NihonHacks. Also, there’s this sweet website that is like a Digg website just for Japan-related things: JapanSoc.
I always think it’s important to learn culture when learning language, but I’m going to save that for it’s own article sometime. Just let it be known that there are many aspects of the Japanese language that make absolutely no sense unless you understand the cultural background, and by cultural background I don’t mean anime, in case you were hoping. Anyways, learning about the culture and reading up on Japan’s current events will help paint a realistic and well-rounded picture of Japan, which in turn will make you a better language student. Very abstract, but I really believe it!
Figuring out a Schedule that Works for You
Actually, figuring out a schedule is the easy part. Sticking with it is difficult. There are so many ways to figure out and stick to a schedule, but only some of them will work for you. I’m not here to tell people how to schedule their time, but maybe you can help. How do you schedule Japanese study time? How do you stick with it? Let us all know – the more the better. I don’t think there’s one “best” way, so the more ideas we throw out there, the higher the likelyhood we’ll figure something out that works for somebody!
Anyways, I wish you all the best of luck in studying your Japanese this summer. Tofugu will be right there with you, getting angry if you don’t study, so don’t slack off too much.
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I agree with some of the comments above: getting started is the key; once I’m started, I can roll on for a few hours, I just have to say ‘turn off Twitter, turn off email, turn off Mixi, and get to work!’ :)
Maybe it is just good to be humble overall, maybe the more often you are humble the more second nature it becomes. You’re good at being humble though. At first I was worried that you hated yourself, but that doesn’t seem to be the case ^^.
I definitely think that review is helpful. I’m frequently reviewing vocabulary because I find it’s the first to go. :(
hmm.. this post didnt end up in the right spot…
but.. yay for being humble
i think that its hard for some native ppl to learn their native language ^^
honestly.. my broken ebonics vs correct grammar, as high as it may be.. so totally suck, the only thing that seperates me from someone not from here is my confidence when aproaching words to interact with others.. i dont have to use the right words all the time, but theres little reason to do that.. there are things i can say to certain ppl in a certain way.. that if i say to others, the same exact way, they wouldnt understand a word.. understanding the difference between conversing between age/gender, age/race, gender/racial preference, social status/cultural interests, etc etc.. that has alot to say about speaking natively.confidence and knowing when to take your vernacular handbook and toss it out the window and just be relaxed and at the drop of a dime change it yet again if the situation calls for it., that takes a lot of understanding and reasoning from a native speaker alone.. maybe you CAN imitate accurately enough to fool ppl in low pressure situations.. but be interrogated having to embody multiple points of views mentally and render yourself to expression beyond just speaking and writing.. but body gestures and movements.. a person can NOT break the facts and habits behind what formed their squishy little brains first without their being a special reason for it. to clam to be a native speaker is somewhat insulting to anyones language without a person throwing theres whole self into first trying the falsify their authenticity amoungst a groups or groups of ppl that live a totally different life than that whom wants to claim native.. if your super young.. yea.. possibly. i think you can do a good transition between then.. but you are bound to say things a bit awkwardly no mater what.. if you think in english, and translate it to what fits.. or visa versa then that alone says something about your nativeness… and if you discard your original background and culture for anothers.. just to reach this lvl to communicate.. then something is very wrong with you…
koichi laying down the law right there
definitely should learn to read first / at the same time. There will be people who tell you otherwise, but they are probably illiterate :)
Being able to read / write will really help with grammar, too. Gives you a good idea who the structure of the language stands up, and overall will give you a much deeper foundation.
okay cool.. and im not very knowledgeable but Kanji is the same but different from another way of writing japanese?.. but it seems kanji is more difficuly to learn i think.. if i chose to learn this.. then would anyone understand what i write or would that be like a foreign language to japanese ppl whom use the other system of writing.
let me know if im not making sense
In my opinion 30 minutes a day … not very much I prefer to learn more.
Nice article
Before I started learning Japanese/Chinese, I had never studied before in my life XD (considering the American school system, it’s never been really necessary) it’s kinda hard to get used to it. A study tool I recommend to everyone is the Declan Japanese software series, it includes Declan’s Japanese Dictionary, Declan’s Japanese Flashcards, Read/Write Hiragana, Read/Write Kanji, and Read/Write Katakana. You can either buy it (expensive) or find it for free on torrent or usenet. Also if you’re looking for vocabulary lists, you should check out http://www.rippasama.com, it has a lot of lists, for beginners as well as more advanced learners. ^^
whoops… accidentally managed to post the same comment twice XD not sure how to delete though.
umm . . . In a previous post Koichi covered the importance of learning Kanji. In japanese things may be spelled the same in hiragana, but they have different meanings. So Kanji is more precise than hiragana. For instance, bridge, chopstick, and edge are all ‘hashi.’ In order to know the difference different Kanji are used. I hope I explained that right. I’m pretty new to Japanese myself. Hope I was of some help. Also try looking for the post. It might be of more help ^^
Thanks I’ll check it out
how much free time do you have online >.<.. i was thinking of starting a little japanese learning group soon, obviously to benifit myself, my selfish motive.. but in all im sure alot of ppl would have good info to include as well as recieve, just from this area alone.
i think its feasible
hmm . . . Well, during the summer I have a ton of free time on the computer, but I have a lot less time during the school year. But if you do start one be sure to tell me, I’ll try to see if I can find the time to join. It sounds fun!
YAY! 4 Fun!!!
you much more awesomer than correct grammar will allow me to express
hmm . . . i’m not sure what your saying . . . so confused
im saying ill be sure to tell you.. and thanks for volunteering to be a part of it
Oh . .. okay ^^
Oh, Koichi, being responsible and trying to get us in the studying mood. Well, it worked XD.
thanks for the tips you have inspired me to study more japanese this summer
I have been putting off learning Japanese again since I took my final exams this year. Just starting to get into the books again. Lang-8 looks like an excellent site, thanks for that.
I know what you mean! Ever since my exams back in April, I haven’t opened a single textbook. I’ve been reading alot on mixi and sending messages in Japanese. But because I haven’t practiced my Japanese, I forgot how to write over 20 Kanjis, but i can still read 90% of the 310Kanjis I’ve learned in the past 2 years…..SO no more breaks for, a 30min study session is an awesome idea!
wish i had read this 2 weeks ago when i decided to take a 3 day break when i was hangin out at my friends and ended up takin a 2 week break that left me lost to where i left off at
For me fluency in a foreign language is about being able to clearly and correctly communicate your thoughts in the target language, to be able to quickly and accurately read in the target language, and to be able to listen to a foreign speaker and to be able to accurately understand the conversation. Does it require native level fluency to the point that your own speech patterns are indistinguishable from a native speaker? Absolutely not, though it would be a lofty goal. I studied Arabic at the Defense Language Institute at Presidio of Monterey a long time ago, and after studying Arabic for 6 hours a day, five days a week for 16 months, I can assure you that I was nowhere near a native speaker. But, I was able to communicate on a wide variety of subjects and understand most of what I heard (assuming the speaker was not trying to talk in a subject that contained a lot of specialized, unfamiliar vocabulary). Learning a language is about bridging the gap between two cultures and trying to meet others on their grounds. Most countries have a low opinion of Americans, and think that most Americans “expect” them to speak English. When you attempt to speak in their language, you build instant rapport. I have experienced this first hand with speaking Arabic in the Middle East, and also speaking Korean here in Korea. Just my two cents on the comment of “native fluency”.
I’m just beginning learning Japanese and look forward to the new experiences that will bring.
Haha, trouble concentrating on Japanese? It’s like the opposite for me. I’m supposed to be doing math, but I end up doing Japanese the entire day. The worst part is that only one of my friends (that I have regular contact with) is trying to learn Japanese, and she gave up on hiragana, katakana, and kanji. In fact, she has decided to start learning ‘later.’ That means I haven’t had a lot of practice (I’m not allowed to buy stuff, including books, online.) and I forget a lot… but I’m going to start using that Lang-8 site now.
What you really need is a guide on how to pull away from Japanese and do boring stuff… like conic sections.
heh, if I had to choose between math and Japanese, I’d be practicing Japanese a lot more I think :)
i studied japanese in college, but only for a year (boo) so i'm still at a very low level and i think that i've gotten lower than that since i havent studied since i left college almost 5 months ago!! *fail*
but i really want to learn it! and i know that i cant through osmosis, though that would be freaking awesome if i could!! anywho, i really appreciate your blogs and vlogs cuz i've learned a lot from you and are using your resources. i did just randomly come across it as i was searching youtube for japanese lessons and your panda hat and the title “learn japanese while watching anime NOT!” really intrigued me and i havent gone back since. and i'm so glad that i havent! ive watched your koichiben vids as well and i really want to be able to understand that so i'm going to try to do some hard core studying!! (sorry this is soooo long! it wasnt intentional!! ^_^)
i studied japanese in college, but only for a year (boo) so i'm still at a very low level and i think that i've gotten lower than that since i havent studied since i left college almost 5 months ago!! *fail*
but i really want to learn it! and i know that i cant through osmosis, though that would be freaking awesome if i could!! anywho, i really appreciate your blogs and vlogs cuz i've learned a lot from you and are using your resources. i did just randomly come across it as i was searching youtube for japanese lessons and your panda hat and the title “learn japanese while watching anime NOT!” really intrigued me and i havent gone back since. and i'm so glad that i havent! ive watched your koichiben vids as well and i really want to be able to understand that so i'm going to try to do some hard core studying!! (sorry this is soooo long! it wasnt intentional!! ^_^)
Just the kind of blog I need. ^_^
Just the kind of blog I need. ^_^
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