Learning help?

[Kojiro]

Ok.. so I can't seem to keep to my Japanese language studies. I tend to trail off and do other things and also i get distracted by people as well then forget what I learned. I'm not sure how I can do the immersion way with studying books cuz I feel I lack the money to redecorate my room and get some other japanese stuff. Though... i usually need someone or something to kick me in the right direction to keep on track and a study buddy would be great as well :/

Anyway... what can I do to make sure i keep to my studies and what can a poor guy like me do to try to immerse himself in the language and culture? One thing I heard was to get some japanese tv channels but my crappy cable service doesn't provide any of that :/

[KyleGoetz]

Originally Posted by Kojiro

Ok.. so I can't seem to keep to my Japanese language studies. I tend to trail off and do other things and also i get distracted by people as well then forget what I learned. I'm not sure how I can do the immersion way with studying books cuz I feel I lack the money to redecorate my room and get some other japanese stuff. Though... i usually need someone or something to kick me in the right direction to keep on track and a study buddy would be great as well :/

Anyway... what can I do to make sure i keep to my studies and what can a poor guy like me do to try to immerse himself in the language and culture? One thing I heard was to get some japanese tv channels but my crappy cable service doesn't provide any of that :/

1. Stop being lazy. That's all there is. You're saying "how can I stop being lazy?" There is no trick: just stop being lazy. Either you'll stop being lazy, or you'll never learn Japanese. It is your choice.

2. "Immersion" is moving to Japan, not watching two hours of anime a day. Passive language experience is very ineffective. Only active is really useful.

[Kojiro]

Originally Posted by KyleGoetz

1. Stop being lazy. That's all there is. You're saying "how can I stop being lazy?" There is no trick: just stop being lazy. Either you'll stop being lazy, or you'll never learn Japanese. It is your choice.

2. "Immersion" is moving to Japan, not watching two hours of anime a day. Passive language experience is very ineffective. Only active is really useful.

I never mentioned anything about anime.... just japanese television.. like news and stuff. And crap...... i gotta kick my lazy habits... it's so damn hard XD.

[willgoestocollege]

Make sure your sleeping pattern is right so don't stay up all night and don't over sleep. You need a decent method to learn Japanese which will keep you interested and fun. A lot of people like using Rosetta Stone because it does use immersion and many who use it do get addictive. But it is very expensive but there are other language learning software you could use.

[Kojiro]

Crap.... my sleeping habits are all messed up as well. I tend to sleep anywhere between 11pm and 4 am and wake up between 7 am and 1 pm. hnnn it should be something i should fix in general. Thanks a lot though guys.

[KyleGoetz]

Originally Posted by Kojiro

Crap.... my sleeping habits are all messed up as well. I tend to sleep anywhere between 11pm and 4 am and wake up between 7 am and 1 pm. hnnn it should be something i should fix in general. Thanks a lot though guys.

How old are you?

[platypeese]

in terms of speaking/pronunciation I would suggest listening to some japanese music and going to a karaoke house that plays japanese songs with your friends. it enhances reading and speaking in my opinion. television like anime/variety shows/news is alright for listening purposes but hard to follow depending on your level of japanese. if you can't travel to japan, interact with japanese people in your community like exchange students.

but really, you just need to be motivated to keep up your japanese cause it's not necessarily the fact that you're lazy that's the problem.

[Kojiro]

@ kyleGoetz---

I'm 24. I tend to stay up working on my drawings or graphic design work .. or just talking to friends >.>

( is a freelance graphic designer that is underpaid even for a freelancer)

@platapeese---

I already listen to a lot of Japanese music and I tend to sing to myself sometimes but usually only do the songs that i sit down to memorize the lyrics to.. can never seem to do so with songs that I casually listen to. Zero japanese people in my current area. the only karaoke places in this area are spanish karaoke clubs and even if there was one that played japanese music, i don't have any RL friends interested to come with me to share the embarrassment with. I could go to Boston by train and find something there but again I lack friends who are interested in even leaving their homes.

I guess it's hard to keep at it if no one around me really cares though the interest in learning it is to speak with new people to begin with.... hnnnn

[KyleGoetz]

Originally Posted by Kojiro

I already listen to a lot of Japanese music and I tend to sing to myself sometimes but usually only do the songs that i sit down to memorize the lyrics to.. can never seem to do so with songs that I casually listen to.

That's because passive learning is crummy.

guess it's hard to keep at it if no one around me really cares though the interest in learning it is to speak with new people to begin with.... hnnnn

Well, hate to say it, but if you aren't willing to relocate, your only real shot at learning Japanese is either to use Skype to chat online or to move to another city/country. You're 24, so you don't have many more real shots at learning the language left. In the US, the only opportunities to learn Japanese are either to grow up Japanese, live near Japanese people, or study it in college.

[Kojiro]

Originally Posted by KyleGoetz

That's because passive learning is crummy.


Well, hate to say it, but if you aren't willing to relocate, your only real shot at learning Japanese is either to use Skype to chat online or to move to another city/country. You're 24, so you don't have many more real shots at learning the language left. In the US, the only opportunities to learn Japanese are either to grow up Japanese, live near Japanese people, or study it in college.

Great... now I feel old. I also don't have the cash to relocate like that though my intuition tells me that moving to japan like that in my current state would be shooting myself in the foot. I wouldn't know how to establish myself there without knowing the language and my graphic design skills are very amateurish, too much so to get a job there with that skill.

I've looked up Japanese language classes in the area and the nearest place is still Boston. This just makes me hate this area even more....