My method: 1) Name the sound files as the transcription of what is being said. 2) Put it on my ipod. 3) Walk around and listen. Easy.
The boring details:
I put my ipod into repeat one song mode. I then repeat the phrase until I have it memorized and can say it along with my recording (I just figure the people around me with think I'm crazy or using a bluetooth headset with my cell). When I think I've got it, I shut off the ipod and say it alone. If I "pass", then I go to the next one. To review, I have a big playlist with all my old sound files.
How I make the files: I gather Japanese from various places: movies, emails, books, etc. Some phrases are formal, some are informal, some are colloquial. I then enlist a Japanese speaker of the same sex as me, born and raised in Tokyo or the surrounding region, and have that person say the sentence once slowly and clearly, then once at full speed.
So far I have around 90 sentences or so. I find that any word contained in them is burned into my brain in such a way that I can easily recognize it the moment anyone says it. I can also say the phrase pretty close to how a native would, sometimes spot on. I often select personally meaningful phrases, things that tend to come up in conversation for me, so the sentences are extremely useful. I feel a little bit guilty when I use one, but no one but me knows that it is something I've practiced and practiced. There is also a lot of cross-over - I can take bits of sentences and mix them together pretty easily.
About the file naming - luckily, it is possible to make some long, long file names these days. That way, I can practice kanji while I look at the screen if I want, too.
I think this has advantages over doing it with a spaced repetition program, namely that I don't have to be at a computer to practice.
The boring details:
I put my ipod into repeat one song mode. I then repeat the phrase until I have it memorized and can say it along with my recording (I just figure the people around me with think I'm crazy or using a bluetooth headset with my cell). When I think I've got it, I shut off the ipod and say it alone. If I "pass", then I go to the next one. To review, I have a big playlist with all my old sound files.
How I make the files: I gather Japanese from various places: movies, emails, books, etc. Some phrases are formal, some are informal, some are colloquial. I then enlist a Japanese speaker of the same sex as me, born and raised in Tokyo or the surrounding region, and have that person say the sentence once slowly and clearly, then once at full speed.
So far I have around 90 sentences or so. I find that any word contained in them is burned into my brain in such a way that I can easily recognize it the moment anyone says it. I can also say the phrase pretty close to how a native would, sometimes spot on. I often select personally meaningful phrases, things that tend to come up in conversation for me, so the sentences are extremely useful. I feel a little bit guilty when I use one, but no one but me knows that it is something I've practiced and practiced. There is also a lot of cross-over - I can take bits of sentences and mix them together pretty easily.
About the file naming - luckily, it is possible to make some long, long file names these days. That way, I can practice kanji while I look at the screen if I want, too.
I think this has advantages over doing it with a spaced repetition program, namely that I don't have to be at a computer to practice.
