Oh yes - my apologies, Raulsen's link is what I was thinking of. Though the shadowing books may be of value as well.
As for the "I've been at this so long" mindset...I've been at this for four years as an everyday habit. But I also know Japanese speakers who have been studying English for three times as long, and are amazed I've come so far in so "short" a period of time. It's all relative.
I had an eye opening experience today. I am in Tokyo supporting an event for work, helping Japanese customers out with labs they are taking for training on my company's technology. At one point, a woman in the training room beckons me over and asks, "Do you remember me?" Turns out she was an exchange student at a local university near my house, and we had frequent language exchanges for about a year until the demands of life caused us to drift apart. Yet here we were, a year and a half later, and fate caused our paths to cross again, a quarter of a world away at a technical event in Shinagawa. 偶然ですね。Thanks to this chance encounter, we've rekindled our friendship.
You see, that's what matters. It's not about how brilliant you are at Japanese in any given moment; it's about the connections you make, and the bonds you forge with other human beings - bonds that make you realize that this seemingly vast, sprawling world is more connected and intimate than you presumed.
In the end, what matters is: are you enjoying yourself? Are you digging the hell out of the fact that you have made a ton of friends in a language that used to be completely alien to you? Do you marvel at the fact that, most of the time, you can make yourself understood to others in a second language? Has your perspective on the world grown because you can see things from a point of view that you could barely imagine holding four or six years ago?
If you can say "yes" to the above questions, then keep on truckin'. You're doing just fine.
As for the "I've been at this so long" mindset...I've been at this for four years as an everyday habit. But I also know Japanese speakers who have been studying English for three times as long, and are amazed I've come so far in so "short" a period of time. It's all relative.
I had an eye opening experience today. I am in Tokyo supporting an event for work, helping Japanese customers out with labs they are taking for training on my company's technology. At one point, a woman in the training room beckons me over and asks, "Do you remember me?" Turns out she was an exchange student at a local university near my house, and we had frequent language exchanges for about a year until the demands of life caused us to drift apart. Yet here we were, a year and a half later, and fate caused our paths to cross again, a quarter of a world away at a technical event in Shinagawa. 偶然ですね。Thanks to this chance encounter, we've rekindled our friendship.
You see, that's what matters. It's not about how brilliant you are at Japanese in any given moment; it's about the connections you make, and the bonds you forge with other human beings - bonds that make you realize that this seemingly vast, sprawling world is more connected and intimate than you presumed.
In the end, what matters is: are you enjoying yourself? Are you digging the hell out of the fact that you have made a ton of friends in a language that used to be completely alien to you? Do you marvel at the fact that, most of the time, you can make yourself understood to others in a second language? Has your perspective on the world grown because you can see things from a point of view that you could barely imagine holding four or six years ago?
If you can say "yes" to the above questions, then keep on truckin'. You're doing just fine.
Edited: 2016-06-03, 9:08 am