I just wrote a blog post about immersion and I'm curious whether or not other people have had similar experiences.

http://jeffben.com/unscheduling-language-acquisition/

I'm wondering if you think doing Japanese for 30 mins a day qualifies as *ALL* Japanese *ALL* the time.

Jokes aside, you mentioned having Khatzumoto on your shoulder for the past 5 years and I think I can relate to those thoughts. Especially the part where you said it "resulted in me using passive immersion". That was the most costly mistake I made with Japanese under the influence of Khatz. Set me back a couple years.

shinsen Wrote:I'm wondering if you think doing Japanese for 30 mins a day qualifies as *ALL* Japanese *ALL* the time.

No, I mean I certainly wasn't doing it *ALL* the time. But I'd say for the first year I probably watched a couple hours each day of Japanese while listening to Japanese on my iPod for about 6-8 hours. The second year I wasn't able to listen to the iPod quite as much (probably about 2-3 hours a day), but I still watched several hours of TV/movies each day and started reading some manga everyday as well (maybe 30 min on average).

Well said. Small goals are good. They ensure consistency, and put you in the mindset of engaging in a task for the long haul. And learning Japanese is certainly a long-haul task.

"Full immersion" has just never been an option for me because I have (1) a job, (2) kids, and (3) friends. I still manage to be pretty fanatical; I study and read/listen/write in Japanese anywhere from 3 to 7 hours a day, depending on how much time I have available. I read only Japanese articles, and only watch English media with friends and family. (Off-topic: Go see LOOPER.)

I guess you could say my approach is "A Lot of Japanese, A Whole Bunch of The Time". My goal isn't to become Japanese, but to be bilingual. I don't see why one should feel guilty or ashamed about enjoying one's native language.

Thanks!

gaiaslastlaugh Wrote:I don't see why one should feel guilty or ashamed about enjoying one's native language.

Yeah, I agree completely. It took me awhile to realize that though unfortunately. Partially because I have a tendency to guilt myself into things anyway and partially because this whole project marked the start of me actually seeing what it's like to really really want something.

Sounds like you have a nice relationship with the language going on at this point. I'm hoping to continue with something resembling that now that I can read/watch most things without it being such a struggle. (And I saw Looper. Awesome stuff! )