@Fillanzea
Thanks for the comment!
Hm that's interesting, it's not listening  I  understand quite alot by understanding. Vocab i think is the problem. I started working on that, and i see small improvements. Such as reading plus understanding. Grammer isn't that much of a problem. But it isn't solid.

Yea i think i do need more time. Like i feel that i'm doing all this and i'm not improving. Or maybe i am and i don't know of it yet. That happens to me alot. Just today i was reading a manga book and i could blaze through it. My understanding was high. So i think i need more exposure. I think i'll switch up my op to japanese, molizza to japanese and see how it goes.

Last edited by ta12121 (2010 February 18, 9:35 pm)

I think switching everthing to japanese might be one solution. And another is working on small things that might be holding me back. Grammer isn't a problem, but it isn't 100% solid. I've learned alot through context, and when i started doing tae kim grammer guide, i blazed through majority of it already. I already understood so much of it. There where only a few sentences i didn't know+couldn't understand without a translation. So i don't think it's grammer. So that leaves vocab+exposure(japanese characters, listening i get enough from anime,music,sites,commericals,etc-starting to go to news sites more often)

I am doing vocab at a high pace. But maybe i just need  a few weeks to let it sink in fully before it takes effect. But starting tomorrow i'll change everything on my computer to japanese. I'm considering in buying some light novels to read (firugana or not). So i can immerse myself on the bus. As my mp3 player broke on me a few weeks ago,so can';t listen to music or anything until i get home. (Usual a 30-50min bus ride)

I can understand alot of japanese at my level. (Intermediate) But i think at this phase in the game, improving takes more time than normal

Last edited by ta12121 (2010 February 18, 9:46 pm)

It will never come quite as quickly as it did the first few months you were learning Japanese; the vocabulary of Japanese is vast. I'm just a little concerned you might be putting too much pressure on yourself to see fast results.

One of the guys I like for second language acquisition research is Stephen Krashen. (He's one of the guys Khatz refers to a lot, not always correctly IMHO, but he's big on the theory that it's all about comprehensible input.)

Anyway: language acquisition, when you're a baby, is not something you have to study. It's something that develops naturally, like crawling, like walking.

So, when adults learn languages, is that more like subconscious natural acquisition, or is it more like conscious learning? It's a complicated question, but Krashen would say, you can use conscious learning to bootstrap yourself to a certain extent, but there's a LOT of acquisition that has to happen subconsciously below the surface, and it doesn't happen quickly. I won't pretend that I was a totally efficient student of Japanese, but it was years before I started to develop an intuitive sense of what sounded good and what didn't.

So, you know. Take a little pressure off yourself and let it happen, maybe?

Yea i think i am pressuring myself to see some results fast. But it won't come right out fast. I think passively I've been learning a lot with the addition of the srs. I do reward myself by watching anime,playing games,etc. But i think one thing that could be more better in my case, is expose myself more to Japanese (written). I know that might not always help, but it doesn't hurt.
"subconsciously below the surface, and it doesn't happen quickly"
Hmm this is actually true. When you sleep, you're mind makes connections for what you learned during the day. So i if you review something before you sleep, chances are you will likely remember what you were studying.
It's only been 6 months of learning japanese. (For some reason i don't really count the 3 months of doing remebering then kanji books and katakana

Last edited by ta12121 (2010 February 18, 10:03 pm)

sweet, i will do that.
I think one thing could be, more effective srsing? Yes i do srs grammer and understand almost everything of it. I still have yet to do kanji oddyssey. Alot of the sentences i've already seen. So i think i can get through that in around 1-2 months. (6000 pack). I think all i need is more time and expsoure and keep doing what i usual always do.

Last edited by ta12121 (2010 February 18, 10:15 pm)

Fillanzea wrote:

My experience is that sometimes, what you are doing is consolidating what you've learned in the back of your head, and you're learning a lot at a tacit level, even when you're not conscious of making a lot of progress.

IceCream wrote:

sometimes taking a break from actively studying helps consolidate things for me, then when i start again its much quicker and easier.

IceCream wrote:

actively taking a break sometimes seems to help consolidate information rather than hurt it.

I've got to agree with this. I've recently come back from a 3 month break from any Japanese study at all. I worked through my huge pile of due cards in Anki and then started up my immersion environment again. And ever since then, despite having not actually learned *anything* new (I was just reviewing all my old cards) I feel like my comprehension (particularly reading) has skyrocketed compared to what it was before.

Last edited by blackmacros (2010 February 18, 11:54 pm)

I think sometimes the brain just needs time. It's a bit weird maybe it's building connections between neurons, maybe it's actually forgetting the unnecessary information but taking a break can have a positive effect.

Anyway, just be patient.

Changing tactics hmm that would work. I don't really rest from japanese, like it's become a part of who i am now and what i do daily. I'm thinking of getting JLPT 1 book, i want to take that in around a year from now.
http://www.amazon.co.jp/%E6%97%A5%E6%9C … pd_sim_b_5

I hate the fact that, i've learned alot and understand alot, but there are times when there is gaps in my knowledge. Like not being able to read everything majority of the time(although i understand that since this is kanji it's the nature of it, you won't know everything nor be able to read everything), cuz there is a few kanji here and there that you do not know or do not know there context.

Last edited by ta12121 (2010 February 27, 10:24 pm)