Here’s an interesting thought: I always regarded Tokyo as a place where I could get lost in the crowd, be myself and enjoy the solace (even though its a city of 10 million people). I’m wondering what it will be like now when I go back in December and I can understand maybe 50-60% of what people are saying and can read half of printed material out there? Will I find it as peaceful? Weird…

Anyways your comment about “being illiterate” in a language really hit home and motivated me to get off my butt and learn the written language. Thanks, and keep up the great work.

Can you guys make it? Are you man enough? If you’re hardcore you can go up to 80,000 (~10,000 hours!)

Don’t just read blogs all day. GO! GO! GO! WATCH! WATCH! WATCH!

I’ve been reading your descriptions, your advice, clinking the links, yada-yada.. and you’ve made me feel much more confident about learning the language than I was before. I’ve been listening to JapanesePod101, and I thought I felt like I was making progress, but something.. didn’t set. It didn’t feel right. Something was… missing. It seemed as if.. whenever I’d finally get something, they’d shove a new particle in my face and not even explain how to use it. I’ve used things like dictionaries.. but other than that and the audio tapes, I haven’t used anything else. So I’m off to take your advice with the All Japanese All the Time thing. But I have one problem… I don’t have any local libraries, or any other things to resort to. I just have my little Japanese/English Dictionary. (literally, I mean, this thing is TINY) I was wondering.. could you recommend some websites that’ll help me improve in Japanese? I cannot use amazon because I simply refuse to buy things from the internet.. not even eBay. I was contemplating a TAFE course, but I don’t know if they’ll be teaching ‘Real’ useful Japanese. I really need advice. I’m fifteen and have big plans to go and live there at 19. I’m planning to go soon to visit my friends (exchange students, and we’ve been keeping in touch. half english/half japanese.. although sometimes they just type only in English, making me feel a little sad) and I feel I don’t know enough to actually talk, REALLY talk, to them. And I want them to feel comfortable around me and not use their broken english. I’m basically… a beginner. I know basic (not ‘basic’ basic, but basic as in I can put together words, sort of get what I want to say through..) So again, I desperately need help. I’ve gone all Japanese (even the computer) but I still need some more advice.

And by the way… your blog? xD it rocks.

- Kei

I made a 20 minute muted MP3 file and put it in my player along with my podcasts and ripped TV audio. When I go to bed, I start with the muted mp3 so I have 20 minutes of silence in order to fall asleep with the Japanese to follow.

Two suggestions though: First, make sure you check your volume before going to sleep. One night I forgot and was startled awake by the beginning of Bakushou Mondai Cowboy where the announcer yells, “JUNK PODCAST!!” And second, try to have at least 8 hours of listening material ready so the muted mp3 won’t have another go around in the night.

Hope this helps with anyone who has given up on listening while sleeping.

How to learn:
http://how-to-learn-any-language.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=6366&PN=1

>On a second thought, I think this approach could be possible for music, but first yo have to have absolute pitch or very good relative pitch.

If you learn to read and learn the notes on the piano, you can build up good pitch. Well, you’d have to learn the solfege syllables, too, and use fixed “do.” But I agree — I see lots of parallels between learning a language and learning music. Listen to lots of music, try singing it back, and then try putting it on your instrument. If possible, get written confirmation of what you’re hearing. That will also build up your pitch. It’s the same as listening to the language you’re learning, repeating, imitating, and getting text to check that you’re hearing what they’re actually saying. Then of course the more you hear and can imitate, the more words or phrases you have in your bag, and the more options you have when speaking or playing. Then you’ll find things you like to play or say, and use those and get to know them really well, etc., etc. The only difference with music is that if you pick an instrument other than your voice, you have to learn the instrument and how to use it as well as the music itself, but even with voice, you have to learn to use it in a different way than you normally do, like you said.

I’ve got a comment! I just started japanese, but ive got a good background in chinese! And the thing is, that there are a lot of korean student learning chinese! They are really good in listening, writing, reading, but so lame in speaking?
So why?
Because, if “speaking” reflect more or less our “listening”, why are they so lame?
I would like to believe in the fact of listening a lot of japanese, and my speaking will come naturally, like i learnt my mother tongue, but this “korean case”, well, let me a doubt!
so any idea?

thank you!
jp

A Proliferation of Prodigies…
According to this view, the proliferation of chess prodigies in recent years merely reflects the advent of computer-based training methods that let children study far more master games and to play far more frequently against master-strength programs than their forerunners could typically manage. Fischer made a sensation when he achieved the grandmaster title at age 15, in 1958; today’s record-holder, Sergey Karjakin of Ukraine, earned it at 12 years, seven months.

On a second thought, I think this approach could be possible for music, but first yo have to have absolute pitch or very good relative pitch. And of course, you must know how to produce the notes on your instrument (including even your voice). The part where you match the sound produced with a position on your instrument is the only part that requires actual practice output I think, to ingrain it into your muscle memory.

Does this work? Anecdotal evidence exists thanks to people that like to input old games into computer database (for later study, trade, lessons, etc.). With Go, that usually meant you “played” the game which recorded the placement as moves. One man inputted all the games of Honinbo Shusaku (those that watch/read Hikaru no Go, he was the one Sai played as in the 1800’s). Anyway, after doing that task, he found his playing strength increased 2 levels during online plays. I don’t think there’s a chess equivalent as the nature of the game would not mean you “record” it on computer by replaying it.

Now the question: is there a case of a child or adult that only had input in Chess or Go for a long period of time then went on to display remarkable playing ability?

I think the biggest hurdle to the 10,000 method is we want to create (talk, write, play the game) and not just absorb (listen, read, rehearse the game). Ok, it’s my biggest hurdle. I’m in Japan so I want to go out and talk Japanese damn it. I want to play Go against other players damn it. Hence, it’s very important for the input to be entertaining in its own right.

Most Chinese music comes from Taiwan anyway, comparatively few mainland musicians are known outside the PRC. I used to search for all sorts of music using Baidu.com back in the day, though it worked best for Chinese music; now Baidu seems to have been brought in line by the authorities.

Speaking of input and music, I wanted to share a site with if you haven’t already discovered it. I’m not sure if it’s useful for you, khatz, but yymp3.com has a lot of Chinese music. The site is in simplified Chinese though, but I listened to it for a while and most of it is in Mandarin. I stopped listening to it since I’m learning Japanese now, but I’ll definitely go back to it when I’m done.

Other than that, if it still kills you, just sleep without it.

While it may not be necessary to actually use the language in order to learn it, it is definitely beneficial under certain circumstances, and I believe that it can speed up the process. It reinforces and helps to activate the input that you’re receiving.

And I agree with what you said about people speaking too early, which is why controlled conditions can be beneficial. You see this problem all the time with immigrants. They understand everything, but don’t produce very accurate output, probably because they were forced to function in a native speaker environment before they were ready to do so. They had to develop communication shortcuts which they were then unable to correct.

Anyway, I don’t disagree with you. Input, input, input.