Language Journal: August 16th 2018
Right now, I guess I'm about 1 year and 8 months into my language learning adventure. Most of that time has been spent purely on Japanese. Though I am starting French at a very much slower pace.
I wanted to write a progress update sort of entry because I've been reading a lot of success stories from other progressing faster than I am and I wanted to put words to some thoughts I've been having to see if I feel I need to change anything. So, without further ado.
Last night I realized, I am progressing. I had been watching Terrace House for a while and the level of Japanese was often above mine. The pace is also faster. I was able to follow along a lot of the time. But, there were also many times where I got lost. This kind of made me feel like I wasn't making as much progress as I'd hoped.
But, then I ran out of Terrace House episodes and switched back to Anime. And the story was very much different there. I could predict more or less exactly what a character might respond with in certain situations. I could also make out close to 90% of the sentences (with the help of the translations). It has been maybe a month or two since I was really watching a lot of Anime and I am noticing that a lot has changed since.
I'd say that the biggest difference is how long I go without falling back to primarily reading the subtitles. Rewind 6 months and I'd maybe focus on the Japanese for the first 5-10 minutes and then kind of fade in and out at random. The last few nights, unless I get into something like Cells At Work, which is a boat load of medical terms I can keep going almost indefinitely. MAYBE by the end of my 4th episode of Hanebado I was starting to lose focus a bit.
I think this is happening because my ability to match up the spoken Japanese with the English translations is getting both faster and more complete. When I can understand the vast majority of what is going on I don't even really need to try and motivate myself to stay paying attention to the Japanese. It just happens automatically. When I spend the majority of my time lost in the speech, then I revert back to just reading the subs.
There are a few things to note here. I'm watching Anime mostly to enjoy it and as a barometer for my progress. I've accepted that I'm not going to be using it as an active tool for learning the language. And I'm fine with that. But at the same time, IF I can follow along comfortably with the Japanese, OF COURSE I'm going to try. And, if I can get to a point where I don't need the sub titles as crutches you can be sure I'm going to stop reading them as well.
As for studying. I'm still primarily using Anki. Though, I'm trying to up my game lately. I'm also quite casual, even on that front. I think my progress is actually VERY good given my approach. I think more formalized or at least more structured learning would go a ways. There are also a number of things I KNOW I can be doing with flashcards which I'm not. And these would help as well.
I am STILL waiting for my first Box of Manga delivery. I'm quite interested to see how that goes. I really do hope it actually materializes.
So. What does this all say? Not a ton. I would say, my ability to match the Japanese with the English shows my vocabulary is getting up there. But, I do need the English subs to keep up. Which says the words aren't nearly as automatic as they need to be. It might also lean to a bit of progress in listening. I think there is some connection between the two. Even if it isn't linear/absolute. So, I need to continue getting the vocab down, but I also need to keep practicing my listening for those vocab words.
My reading is probably among my best skills right now. And speaking/writing is still among my weakest. Though even that seems to be improving. To be fair, while it is a bit annoying... I do genuinely feel that if I needed to, 95% of the time I could express what I needed in Japanese, even if it would be obvious that I'm still learning the language.
If I had to label my priorities, listening would be my top skill. Reading second. And speaking third. Writing I'd wrap up with speaking. I don't feel any real need to be able to physically write Japanese at the moment it is more about being able to form the sentences. Writing, with a physical writing utensil, would be last.
Now that this is all out there, how do I feel about it?
I guess, a little bit better. I think I need to make some changes. For instance, I really need to get some more decks built using Anime or other Japanese spoken language sources. I'll probably always have at least one vocab deck on the go to help me as I go, but I really need to start drilling my listening more if that is really my top goal. I'm unconcerned about the pace of my progress. I think it is fine, and perfectly in line with the amount of both time and effort I'm putting into it.
And I guess that is all. For now.
I wanted to write a progress update sort of entry because I've been reading a lot of success stories from other progressing faster than I am and I wanted to put words to some thoughts I've been having to see if I feel I need to change anything. So, without further ado.
Last night I realized, I am progressing. I had been watching Terrace House for a while and the level of Japanese was often above mine. The pace is also faster. I was able to follow along a lot of the time. But, there were also many times where I got lost. This kind of made me feel like I wasn't making as much progress as I'd hoped.
But, then I ran out of Terrace House episodes and switched back to Anime. And the story was very much different there. I could predict more or less exactly what a character might respond with in certain situations. I could also make out close to 90% of the sentences (with the help of the translations). It has been maybe a month or two since I was really watching a lot of Anime and I am noticing that a lot has changed since.
I'd say that the biggest difference is how long I go without falling back to primarily reading the subtitles. Rewind 6 months and I'd maybe focus on the Japanese for the first 5-10 minutes and then kind of fade in and out at random. The last few nights, unless I get into something like Cells At Work, which is a boat load of medical terms I can keep going almost indefinitely. MAYBE by the end of my 4th episode of Hanebado I was starting to lose focus a bit.
I think this is happening because my ability to match up the spoken Japanese with the English translations is getting both faster and more complete. When I can understand the vast majority of what is going on I don't even really need to try and motivate myself to stay paying attention to the Japanese. It just happens automatically. When I spend the majority of my time lost in the speech, then I revert back to just reading the subs.
There are a few things to note here. I'm watching Anime mostly to enjoy it and as a barometer for my progress. I've accepted that I'm not going to be using it as an active tool for learning the language. And I'm fine with that. But at the same time, IF I can follow along comfortably with the Japanese, OF COURSE I'm going to try. And, if I can get to a point where I don't need the sub titles as crutches you can be sure I'm going to stop reading them as well.
As for studying. I'm still primarily using Anki. Though, I'm trying to up my game lately. I'm also quite casual, even on that front. I think my progress is actually VERY good given my approach. I think more formalized or at least more structured learning would go a ways. There are also a number of things I KNOW I can be doing with flashcards which I'm not. And these would help as well.
I am STILL waiting for my first Box of Manga delivery. I'm quite interested to see how that goes. I really do hope it actually materializes.
So. What does this all say? Not a ton. I would say, my ability to match the Japanese with the English shows my vocabulary is getting up there. But, I do need the English subs to keep up. Which says the words aren't nearly as automatic as they need to be. It might also lean to a bit of progress in listening. I think there is some connection between the two. Even if it isn't linear/absolute. So, I need to continue getting the vocab down, but I also need to keep practicing my listening for those vocab words.
My reading is probably among my best skills right now. And speaking/writing is still among my weakest. Though even that seems to be improving. To be fair, while it is a bit annoying... I do genuinely feel that if I needed to, 95% of the time I could express what I needed in Japanese, even if it would be obvious that I'm still learning the language.
If I had to label my priorities, listening would be my top skill. Reading second. And speaking third. Writing I'd wrap up with speaking. I don't feel any real need to be able to physically write Japanese at the moment it is more about being able to form the sentences. Writing, with a physical writing utensil, would be last.
Now that this is all out there, how do I feel about it?
I guess, a little bit better. I think I need to make some changes. For instance, I really need to get some more decks built using Anime or other Japanese spoken language sources. I'll probably always have at least one vocab deck on the go to help me as I go, but I really need to start drilling my listening more if that is really my top goal. I'm unconcerned about the pace of my progress. I think it is fine, and perfectly in line with the amount of both time and effort I'm putting into it.
And I guess that is all. For now.
Comments
Post a Comment