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)

Last edited by yukamina (2008 August 31, 9:16 am)

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.

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.

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

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

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....

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.

@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.

@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.

(c) 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.

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).

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

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.

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.