I have nothing but time: fastest way to learn Japanese?

I have nothing but time: fastest way to learn Japanese? - Printable Version

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I have nothing but time: fastest way to learn Japanese? - Animosophy - 2013-02-19

Hi guys,

Between now and late September (when I start uni), I'll have nothing but free time. I'd really like to know if any advanced learners here would be interested in suggesting a time-effective approach to learning Japanese for someone in my position.

So far, I've learnt both Kana scripts (reading & writing), partially navigated AJATT (got the gist of it), I'm 250 cards into the shared "RTK 1+3 with 2010 joyo kanji" deck, I'm reading Tae Kim's grammar guide, I've just started using the first "Japanese Core 2000 listening + vocab" deck and I listen to Japanese podcasts/music all day. Covering the fundamentals, basically.

It'll be a challenge but I want to "learn" about 90 new Kanji/day while still managing to keep up with reviewing, but I have no idea how to adjust the deck options with this objective in mind.

If there are any other resources I haven't mentioned that might speed up the learning process, I'd love to hear about them.

Thanks in advance!

I have nothing but time: fastest way to learn Japanese? - chamcham - 2013-02-20

After Tae Kim, I'd read "Japanese Sentence Patterns for Effective Communication".

I have nothing but time: fastest way to learn Japanese? - Animosophy - 2013-02-20

Just checked it out on Amazon. I'm definitely buying it. Thanks.

Is it possible to over-review in Anki? I've been spending less than an hour per day on Kanji, but I'd like to increase that to 3 or 4 hours. I'm not completely farmiliar with its interface and the user manual still doesn't make sense to me when it goes over the deck options section.

I have nothing but time: fastest way to learn Japanese? - uisukii - 2013-02-20

Regardless of how "fast" you go, it is still going to need time to sink in, for it to "feel right" instead of having to think about how it is right. But that aside, there is a thread here:

http://forum.koohii.com/showthread.php?tid=5110

Which sort of covers in a general way, from a complete beginner level comprehension, to the point wherein you'd have a good idea of how you study and respond to Japanese (intermediate, I guess?).

I don't really follow that guide, so I cannot personally recommend it, but considering I've no idea what sort of study works for you, or your experience, you might find something worth giving a go in that thread.

日本語の勉強は頑張ろうですよ！毎日、日本語が一番楽しいですね。＾＿＾

I have nothing but time: fastest way to learn Japanese? - tokyostyle - 2013-02-20

Animosophy Wrote:I listen to Japanese podcasts/music all day.

I would switch this to ripped audio of anime/drama/movies you've seen.

Animosophy Wrote:It'll be a challenge but I want to "learn" about 90 new Kanji/day while still managing to keep up with reviewing, but I have no idea how to adjust the deck options with this objective in mind.

Here's stuff in Anki 2 you might consider changing:

1) New Cards > Steps. The default is "1 10". I personally use "30 60" and if you want to reduce your workload you might try a single value of "45".
2) Lapses > Steps. Either set this to the same or add a step. For example maybe "30 60 240" or "45 90" so that you get an extra review in on lapses.
3) Reviews > Maximum reviews/day. Set this to a big number. You're going to have thousand rep days.
4) Lapse New Interval. Something between 15-35%. There's a lot of noise when you learn new kanji groups and you don't want a single lapse blasting your progress back to zero.

Animosophy Wrote:Is it possible to over-review in Anki?

Yes, because it's based on space repetition and not cramming. If you want to increase your daily workload then keep adding more cards. After 3-4 days you should have several thousand reviews per day.

I have nothing but time: fastest way to learn Japanese? - imabi - 2013-02-20

There is also my site. I've really been making tons of improvements on it, and if you have a ton of time, it would be quite advantageous for you to check it out. It is like an open book, so don't hesitate about telling me things that need to be changed. It's still a work in progress, but recent changes have really made it more popular.

Also, listening to Japanese music or audio while you study is also helpful. As you get better, learning Japanese words with not just Eng-Jap dictionaries but also those in-Japanese would be advantageous.

I have nothing but time: fastest way to learn Japanese? - Aspiring - 2013-02-20

Animosophy Wrote:Is it possible to over-review in Anki? I've been spending less than an hour per day on Kanji, but I'd like to increase that to 3 or 4 hours. I'm not completely farmiliar with its interface and the user manual still doesn't make sense to me when it goes over the deck options section.

Go to options and edit "steps(in minutes)".
The original setting is "1 10", or 1 minute ->10 minutes.

One possible setting:
1 5 25 125

Edit:oops I didn't see tokyostyle's post.

Anyways...
nest0r highly emphasizes efficiency in his blog
http://darkjapanese.wordpress.com/
[preface]

Although I can't articulate his ideas very well, to summarize...
1.)After or during RtK, try to fully utilize its mnemonic aspect to learn words. This is the fastest way to transition from L1->L2--through gradually increasing your "schema" of the language.
2.)Learn sentences that have either 0 or 1 new word[s]. / use MCDs. With i+0, you reinforce what you already know. With i+1, what you already know reinforces that single word.
3.)Gradually transition from basic study material (such as grammar basics or easy shows) to more complex native materials.

Nukemarine's guide emphasizes the same idea.
Gradually increase difficulty, and build on what you already know.

I have nothing but time: fastest way to learn Japanese? - Hashiriya - 2013-02-20

whatever you are studying, keep this on in the background the entire time (unless watching something else) http://www.fengyunzhibo.com/space/japan.htm

I have nothing but time: fastest way to learn Japanese? - Animosophy - 2013-02-20

@uisukii: thanks, although the guide says it's best suited for people who only have 1-2 hours/day to spare. I'm trying to get at least 1000 hours in, between now and September (~5 hours/day).

@tokyostyle: I've adjusted my settings. I'll see how I like it Smile

I do have one other query though -- today I tried adjusting my kanji deck settings in a way that'd allow me to separate review cards and new cards but it didn't work. Instead I've settled with using Custom Study to alternate between reviewing ahead of schedule (or forgotten cards) and studying 20 new cards at a time. If there's another (better) way for me to do what I'm trying to do, I'm all ears.

@imabi: Wow, I really like how the lessons progress in your Beginners section. I think I'll be using your site alongside Tae Kim's since it helps me to read the same things in different ways. Very greatful Smile

thanks a lot.

@Aspiring: Danke for the summary. I'll be looking into MCDs when I'm literate enough.

@Hashiriya: ahh I don't know what to look at D: it looks like an online stream for Japanese TV (is it?). Could you give me a rundown of the site and the various channels? I'd really appreciate it.

I have nothing but time: fastest way to learn Japanese? - uisukii - 2013-02-21

^Nothing stopping you from doing more than 1-2 hours worth a day though, is there? Ah, that doesn't really matter. Hope you find a nice groove in your studies. 頑張って下さい。

Will be interesting to be able to compare yourself to now and then.

I have nothing but time: fastest way to learn Japanese? - ryuudou - 2013-02-21

http://japaneselevelup.com/2012/08/18/power-leveling-1-speed-learning-japanese-in-record-time/

I have nothing but time: fastest way to learn Japanese? - Hashiriya - 2013-02-21

yes it streams Japanese TV live... The important thing is to listen to Japanese constantly to get your ears used to it. Listen to any channel that you mildly find interesting. Don't get discouraged if you don't understand hardly anything for awhile... it'll take a little time, but eventually you'll start comprehending stuff.

I have nothing but time: fastest way to learn Japanese? - Animosophy - 2013-02-21

uisukii Wrote:^Nothing stopping you from doing more than 1-2 hours worth a day though, is there? Ah, that doesn't really matter. Hope you find a nice groove in your studies. 頑張って下さい。

Will be interesting to be able to compare yourself to now and then.

Thanks

I'm definitely excited to see how much I can learn in these last few months of freedom lol

ryuudou Wrote:http://japaneselevelup.com/2012/08/18/power-leveling-1-speed-learning-japanese-in-record-time/

YES!! I've been looking for something just like that! ありがとうございます! I can't work to my full capacity without clear objectives. Now that I've seen that, I know what to focus on.

- Go through at least 50 new kanji/day
- Immersion materials: check (thanks Hashiriya ^)
- Finish my own 1000-card J-E sentence deck before June (avg. pace of 10 cards/day)
- Finish Imabi's Beginners guide alongside Tae Kim's

I think these 4 objectives cover everything. I'll drop the Japanese Core 2000 deck for now because it feels like I'm skipping a step when I go through it.

Thanks again, everyone. Brb.

I have nothing but time: fastest way to learn Japanese? - Stian - 2013-02-21

If you got nothing but time, you could easily double the amount of sentences. When I first started out last summer, I added 25 sentences* and 30-40 kanji every day, and I had other stuff to do as well. Smile

*I had to type these because I used a crappy scan of Genki I and the paperback of Genki II, which means that you could add that amount much faster than I did.

Just be careful and don't burn yourself out completely. Wink

I have nothing but time: fastest way to learn Japanese? - howtwosavealif3 - 2013-02-21

since you have all the time in the world ALSO look into stuff that interests you that's in Japanese.

I have nothing but time: fastest way to learn Japanese? - Aspiring - 2013-02-21

Hashiriya Wrote:whatever you are studying, keep this on in the background the entire time (unless watching something else) http://www.fengyunzhibo.com/space/japan.htm

I love you.

"時間があるから成果があがらないのだ"
http://urayashi.blog.so-net.ne.jp/2009-08-04

...Because you have time, results do not improve.

Restrict your time, if possible. Timebox, create deadlines, etc.

I have nothing but time: fastest way to learn Japanese? - tashippy - 2013-02-21

Aspiring Wrote:
Hashiriya Wrote:whatever you are studying, keep this on in the background the entire time (unless watching something else) http://www.fengyunzhibo.com/space/japan.htm
I love you.

yeah me too. muchas thankyou

I have nothing but time: fastest way to learn Japanese? - quark - 2013-02-21

Hashiriya Wrote:whatever you are studying, keep this on in the background the entire time (unless watching something else) http://www.fengyunzhibo.com/space/japan.htm

This is awesome! Thanks for posting it!
Time to hook a computer up to the TV...

I have nothing but time: fastest way to learn Japanese? - tokyostyle - 2013-02-22

Animosophy Wrote:@tokyostyle: I've adjusted my settings. I'll see how I like it I do have one other query though -- today I tried adjusting my kanji deck settings in a way that'd allow me to separate review cards and new cards but it didn't work. Instead I've settled with using Custom Study to alternate between reviewing ahead of schedule (or forgotten cards) and studying 20 new cards at a time. If there's another (better) way for me to do what I'm trying to do, I'm all ears.

The Custom Study button is best solution. There's lots of ways you can use it but your solution sounds similar to what I do.

I have nothing but time: fastest way to learn Japanese? - ryuudou - 2013-02-23

Animosophy Wrote:
uisukii Wrote:^Nothing stopping you from doing more than 1-2 hours worth a day though, is there? Ah, that doesn't really matter. Hope you find a nice groove in your studies. 頑張って下さい。

Will be interesting to be able to compare yourself to now and then.
Thanks I'm definitely excited to see how much I can learn in these last few months of freedom lol

ryuudou Wrote:http://japaneselevelup.com/2012/08/18/power-leveling-1-speed-learning-japanese-in-record-time/
YES!! I've been looking for something just like that! ありがとうございます! I can't work to my full capacity without clear objectives. Now that I've seen that, I know what to focus on.

- Go through at least 50 new kanji/day
- Immersion materials: check (thanks Hashiriya ^)
- Finish my own 1000-card J-E sentence deck before June (avg. pace of 10 cards/day)
- Finish Imabi's Beginners guide alongside Tae Kim's

I think these 4 objectives cover everything. I'll drop the Japanese Core 2000 deck for now because it feels like I'm skipping a step when I go through it.

Thanks again, everyone. Brb.

No problem! Good luck.