Hi,

okay this might sound a bit weird, but I really need some advice or ideas, so please don't hold back and tell me whatever comes to your mind! Even if you think it might be weird.

The thing is I need MORE time to study Japanese (okay, who doesn't?). I have a full-time job (English teacher, but am German) and spent around 9hours at work every day. Sometimes I have quite a lot of freetime, but am NOT "supposed" to do anything that is not work-related. (EDIT: Maybe I should mention that I work at at REALLY small family run eikaiwa.)
I work in Japan, so I don't know how STUDYING JAPANESE is NOT work-related, but ... anyway.
It's really getting on my nerves that I have to waste so much precious time with basically doing NOTHING // pretending to be busy instead of using that time to study! (And I know there are tons of schools out there that actually support you if you want to study Japanese or / and encourage you to study while having some freetime at work ..)

I'll try to tell you my current situation and also my study plan and then please tell me if you can think of anything that I can do "secretly" and still fits into my study concept.

So right now I'm kind of past 3kyu level. I stopped all of my current studies like vocab and grammar etc. and started to do Heisig a few weeks ago (am almost halfway through by now).
To do so I need my computer / srs program.
I don't work with paper flashcards (and don't suggest I should use those at work, because working those flashcards out will take more time that it'll save me doing nothing at work blah ..).

Anyway .... most of the time I can't use the computers at work, because someone is around watching me. I also can't bring my laptop and use it in a room where I'm alone, because somebody might come in and a laptop isn't something you can hide within a few seconds, right?
Shit, I feel like a small kid doing something wrong. This sucks!
And if you want to tell me I should find another job, thank you I know that, but right now that's not possible, so save your energy for more creative comments, thank you

I thought maybe I can (try) to read some Japanese books (you can always hide a single book pretty fast), but I don't want to do so since I haven't finished Heisig yet.
I don't want to work on Heisig at work, because I can do that more efficiently at home.
I have some grammar sheets (print out), so I studied those, but I'm done with them.

It would be great if I could use a SRS with my cellphone or something like that. (I can't use the internet on my cellphone as it would be waaaay too expensive.)
I don't want to buy a DS Nintendo (if you wanted to suggest that).

So ANYTHING you can think of will be fine. Hope you have some ideas.
Thanks a LOT in advance.

My current plan is to finish Heisig end of September / beginning of October and then start studying the readings (probably using KO2001). I hope to be finished with that around March 09. After that I wanna get all the 2kyu vocab into my brain which will take until around July maybe. And after that grammar, grammar, grammar. I want to take 2kyu next December (maybe the new level between 3 and 2 in July). And currently I'm saving up money like crazy, so that I HOPEFULLY can go to a Japanese language school for 1 whole year starting in April 2010 which will hopefully help me to pass 1kyu.
I don't know if these plans are realistic or not, especially with my work situation right now, but I hope it'll work out somehow.


Thanks for reading

Hm, this is tricky. I had a part time job once that required me to sit with nothing to do while waiting for customers o.o So I brought some language notes and studied grammar, vocab etc. From a distance, I think it looked like I was doing paper work or something. Are notes too much like flash cards for you?
I work 9 hours now too, and I fit Japanese in by reading a book on the bus and at lunch time. Sadly that's the only time I can fit anything in(actually, I can use headphones, but there's a lot of background noise)

1. Have you already studied the Tae Kim's Guide to Grammar? If not, you can print the pdf version and read it while away from the computer. If anyone comes around, you can easily hide it.

2. Do you have an mp3 player? You can listen to some podcasts and audio lessons.

By the way, I think I'm used to studying under disguise.
I have quite a few boring classes at college.

What the hell? Your job is teaching English? So just open up a japanese-english dictionary on the computer and start browsing interesting stuff. Tell them you are researching for work. It's true.

I also second the idea of printing out something like tae kim's guide and reading it.

Hey, I was in the same situation until I recently found a solution.

Here are the options I discovered...

1. if you have an iPhone, iTouch, handheld pc, palm or a mobile phone which runs windows then you're sorted and can just use flashcard software for it to study kanji.

2. I just have a normal, quite new, nokia phone so I just went on my network provider's website and found out the cheapest unlimited mobile internet access package for my phone (?5 a month) and then use the anki mobile study website which is synced with my anki database that I use at home.

- note - in order to do this I had to hack my phone to allow it to display kanji. If you need help getting your phone to display japanese just let me know.

3. Tae Kim's guide either on a pc or printed is handy.

4. Read some manga - you can download the japanese RAW files of every manga online to print/read at work or buy them!

5. Listen to Yomiuri News podcast on repeat by sneakily sliding headphones down my sleeve and leaning on my wrist to listen. Ditto with pimsleur, although this can be a give away when I start loudly repeating phrases. Japanese audiobooks too...

Bring your laptop, if it's allowed. And have a dictionary program/site open and just minimize your SRS when someone comes.

Even if they see it, you can show them the Japanese/English cards, and explain to them your are learning to expand on your teach ability or trying to become more relatable with your students. If they say no to that, they are ignorant, and you have to try and squeeze it in elsewhere.

Blahah Wrote:- note - in order to do this I had to hack my phone to allow it to display kanji. If you need help getting your phone to display japanese just let me know.

Why don't you just help us all out and post it online/link us? I myself have a phone that doesn't display JP, and if I could it would be nice to anki on the go.

Ditto... hack to jfonts on nokia would be much appreciated. Thank you in advance.

Thanks a lot for all the comments so far!

@yukamina: No, notes are okay. I just don't feel comfortable with studying vocab without putting them into my SRS, because I know I'll forget them otherwise sooner or later anyway, so studying them now WITHOUT SRS will only be a waste of time.
Grammar would be better I guess. Notes are okay, as I just can print something out and don't have to handwrite flashcards

@iSoron: No, not yet. I'll have a look at it and see if there are grammar points I still don't know yet
Yes, I have a mp3 player. I guess I can do that, but actually my listening comprehension is by faaaar my strongest point anyway.
Haha, so you have some experience as "Japanese studying ninja" then? Maybe you can give me some tips from time to time then

@Blahah: Nice username
1. No, I don't have any of these. Unfortunately.
2. I had a Nokia phone at home, but here I have a Toshiba one I think.
4. I've already bought quite a lot of manga @BookOff, but I think it's not appropiate to bring manga to your workplace?!
5. Maybe listening to whatever is still the best option.


@kazelee: It's not forbidden. One of my coworkers always brings his laptop, too, but only to use it BEFORE work starts. It would be awkward if I use my own laptop during work as we have enough computers there. They would ask my why the hell I use my own laptop and that would look veery suspicious I guess.
I think my boss doesn't care about that. I know he likes that I'm trying to learn Japanese, but just NOT at work, I guess ..

chochajin what make and model of cellphone do you have? And what country are you in? And Which Network Provider?

You have an interesting problem, but there are a lot of constraints, so I'm not sure if an ideal solution is possible. It seems you want to use an SRS, so you need a device that can run a SRS. Which leaves you with either a computer, cellphone, PDA or similar. I think you should just bite the bullet and buy a cellphone or PDA that you know for a fact can run some decent SRS software. Alternatively you could get a small laptop like an ASUS EEE PC or similar and run the software on that. If the boss wants to know why you are using your own laptop you could come up with some good excuses like, I have my teaching notes on here, it is more convenient to have them on my own PC so I can work on them on the train or at home (of course you will need to have some actual notes on there).

You problem is tricky because I doubt your boss will be that happy if he sees you using your cellphone all day either. What is wrong with running an SRS on one of the work PCs and then minimizing it if the boss comes along. I'm sure there must be some decent software you can run off a USB memory stick and doesn't need installation? Does anyone have any suggestions?

It is non optimal, but you could always get some traditional textbooks to study at work, they could be easily hidden. Personally I think there is nothing wrong with studying other materials while you are still working on Heisig.

Good Luck.

You can run Anki from a flash drive (USB memory stick). You can also synchronise it with your deck at home via the internet.

The anki FAQ states how to run from a flashdrive....

Quote:Can I run Anki from a flashdrive?

Sure. Start Anki with a command-line argument pointing to a directory you want to use for configuration files. It doesn't have to exist.

To do this in windows, copy and paste the entire anki program directory to your flashdrive. Then, right click on "anki.exe" and create a shortcut. Right click on the shortcut to access its properties. Finally, change "target" field from " '\Anki\Anki.exe" to " '\Anki\Anki.exe -c \ankiconfig", apply your changes, and hit ok.

Now you're ready to go, just click on the shortcut that you created.

Hate to say it, but maybe you should respect the rules of the place that's paying you to work there. If you don't think the rules mesh with your desires, either change them, request to change, or change your work. If not, eventually, you will answer for your actions, no matter how noble you think they are.

I had to make the decision that, during work hours, I will leave Japanese alone. It's annoying, but I'm not paid to learn Japanese. When I find myself with "free time", then I fill that with "to do" projects that relate to work.

That said, as you work at a Japanese school, I think you can negotiate the ability to study Japanese. Going off the postings at "gaijinsmash.com" it seems they'll even think better of you for it.

@Blahah: I live in Japan, my provider is softbank, my cellphone is this one.
I read your thread about the nokia cellphone hack. Back home in Germany I actually have a Nokia cellphone, I just can't use it here in Japan, that's why I didn't bring it. Maybe I should ask my family to send it to me?!

@MeNoSavvy: Well getting a new cellphone is not an option as I have a 2 years contract right now and if I cancel it now I have to pay quite a lot of money. Getting a pocket PC or something like that sounds better as I can use it EVERYWHERE (so that will help me in the future even if I work somewhere else).
Well if I have a pocket PC I just can go into another room and do it there, for a laptop other rooms are too small at my school.
My boss pops up every 5 minutes around me, so that's kind of stressful to always click away what you're doing.
I've already used my anki from an USB stick, no problem, but as I said it's kind of stressful, because the computers at my workplace are in a position where EVERYBODY can easily see what you're doing.

@Nukemarine: I know, but I think it's still better than what some of my coworkers do: checking e-mails, preparing for grad school etc.
I'll look for a "Japanese studies supporting" job once I've finished my contract with my current job.

chochajin it seems you don't need to change your phone as you already should have english and japanese support. You just need an internet price plan http://mb.softbank.jp/mb/en/price_plan/

Then you can use an online SRS. They use very few bytes of data. The price plan at http://mb.softbank.jp/mb/en/price_plan/upd/index.html seems ideal, as you will have to do a huge amount of reviews to run up any big expense if you use the anki phone study site.

@RE: Studying at work
I've been in similar situations before. I'd be stuck with an hour or two of free time (sometimes even more) and I'd ASK for work; almost every time they'd look around the room and just say, "no, that's fine..." I'd ask again another two or three times just to make sure they're not being polite, and they'd just say, "no, really, there's nothing for you to do, but thanks for asking."

So if you can honestly say that there is ZERO WORK WHATSOEVER for you to do, then don't worry about studying on the job-- sometimes you're just being paid to be there in case something comes up, or for some other reason.

OK, so assuming that you truly honestly have nothing else to do:

(a) Talk with someone in Japanese

(b) If there's classes/meetings/whatever that you can sit in on, do so. I used to sit in on random classes just to improve my science/geography/whatever vocabulary. I also used to sit in on boring meetings to improve my keigo and fancy Japanese; also, it teaches you a thing or two on how to conduct yourself in those situations.

© Pick up random materials around and try and read/understand them. I used to go through textbooks, printouts for meetings, newspapers, whatever I could get my hands on. Words, phrases, grammar points, etc. I didn't understand I wrote down and looked up when I had the chance. Again, going over printouts isn't very fun, but it's good experience.

(d) If you have an electronic dictionary, you *might* be able to get away keeping it around; that was one of the few things that I knew I could keep around without worry. Even if I had nothing but that out, I could always just say "Oh, I was wondering how/forgot how to say x, so I looked it up" and that was enough to either just get an "oh, OK" or sometimes even a few brownie points. Bonus points if you look up idioms/yoji-jukugo/expressions. And if you don't have an electric dictionary, get one if you're serious about your Japanese studies. (Casio EX-WORD with the kanji recognition are a good bet.)

(e) Write random sentences using what you've been studying recently. This is easy, because all it requires is a pen/pencil and some kind of paper. I used to grab grammar points from the Dictionary of Intermediate Grammar, write a summary of the points, plus some new vocabulary words, and try and put them together into sentences, then have someone check them for me when I had a chance. This is great because it's a bit of a puzzle when you get to higher level grammar/vocab, and it forces you to try and use the grammar and vocab which helps you remember it. Plus, having a friend check it verifies that you're using it correctly. (key for having a true understanding of the grammar/vocab, which you'll need to pass 2kyu) (And if you don't have a friend/significant other/whatever to ask for help, you have much bigger problems than how to study during work.)

Good luck.

Start searching for another job!

Being at work with no work to do is the Japanese way. I work at a Japanese middle school. It's always amusing to look around the room, really scrutinize what everyone is doing, and figure out how many of them are actually being productive. Usually it's less than 50%. The woman next to me who looks like she's concentrating on a spreadsheet is actually reading about gardening. The PE coach who is staring at a clipboard is actually asleep (the clipboard is blank). The tea lady is in the kitchen, standing next to the tea pot, and sneakily reading a book. Even the Principal has admitted to me that he hates the pressure to always look busy at work in a Japanese office environment.

At my job I blatantly study Japanese all day. It's better than looking at pornography (which I've sen the math teacher doing).

Ehe, that's not only in japanese offices. Most offices have that. I've had some crisis on my last job because I was studying japanese in my iddle time too.
I still wonder why my ex-employers were so confused when I asked to leave.

Thanks again for all your comments

Do you know if Anki (or any other SRS program) runs on Windows Mobile 6? If so I really have to think about maybe getting a PDA/pocketPC/Handheld.
On the ohter hand, I'm in Japan right now, I will only get a Japanese operating system, hope that doesn't matter?

@ajishiosean: Thanks a lot.
I already talk to my Japanese coworkers in Japanese from time to time. I should do that more often instead of using English (but as English is not my native language either, it's always good to improve my English through this as well *g*).
I just have to tell them to correct my Japanese when I'm making mistakes.
I also pick up random materials from time to time and try to read / understand them.
Or I look at the names of my students, find Kanji that I already know thanks to Heisig and try to review the story/keyword in my head then

Quickstudy is an SRS for Windows Mobile... http://www.j2fi.net/quickstudy/

Anki has been ported to Windows Mobile by Richard Colley... http://sourceforge.net/forum/forum.php?t..._id=701801

OR, if there's wireless access at work you could just use the Anki internet study option or this site or Khatzumemo @ alljapaneseallthetime.com

For a cellphone, how much do you consider to be "way too expensive?" I'm using AU`s waribiki plan, and I have unlimited data plus all other usual services for around 8000 yen a month. Considering how much I use my phone to browse the internet (and do reviews using Anki), it's well worth the money.

@Blahah: Wow that's great. So even using Anki wouldn't be a problem then?
Maybe I can find an old cheap model somewhere here. I don't need the newest model and many fancy extras anyway.
Maybe it's really worth the money considering how often you would be able to study (while waiting for a bus or whatever). Right?

@samesong: 8000Yen is hella lot! Basically I'm never using my cellphone anyway, I just have it for emergencies as I don't have a phone line.
Why should I spend 8000Yen when I can basically study at my work's computers, too? Well, I can't, but you know what I mean.
I think it would be even cheaper to buy a PDA and use that offline with a SRS.

Yeah that's right chochajin. Either a windows mobile/ce or a Palm handheld can run various SRS. That's a good option especially if you can find a good second hand one or something.