Overview
OK, so the reasons this website is being written as a blog are (1) because it’s fashionable — like smoking at high school, everyone’s doing it (2) because, through your kindness, I can earn some cash, and (3) because it’s easy to grow a lot of content incrementally. Did I mention cash?
As you may know, I spent 18 months learning Japanese hardcore (still learning it softcore now that I live in Japan), and in that time I learned a lot about both Japanese and just life in general. I have lot to throw at you, and it’s best to do it piecemeal.
Here’s what’s going to happen—when I write something new, it’ll be up on the front page (“Latest Updates”) of the blog in chronological order. And it will also be here on the right-hand side in hierarchical order. That way, you’ll always know what we’re talking about.
Right, let’s give you an overview of the method I used to learn Japanese to fluency in 18 months. There’s no real magic to this way of learning, but it is effective, and you or anyone else could repeat it.
Phase 0: Belief
Start believing you can do it (you’re thinking “that’s stupid; Khatzumoto has been eating stale sushi again; how is this a phase?”, but you’d be amazed how many people set off on the noble journey of learning Japanese, but forget to first believe that they can reach their destination: what a dreadful way to start off!) But not you. You’re going to start believing that you can and will become fluent in Japanese.
Believing in yourself is essential, but by itself it obviously won’t get you anywhere. We know that ability is useless without motivation, but motivation is not a substitute for knowledge and knowledge is gained through daily practice.
Phase 1: Get the equipment for daily practice
Language learning involves lots of memorization, and if you want to memorize large quantities of information over a long time, then drop the flashcards, mate. You need an SRS: a spaced repetition system.
An SRS is a program that tests you on electronic flashcards (which you make), at a frequency that it determines is best for you. The goal is to make this frequency high enough that you don’t forget, but low enough that you don’t waste your time. So the system will show you the card as infrequently as possible. Sounds like common sense? It is, but it’s very powerful common sense. Truth be told, you could even manage it with paper cards, except that that would be a beastly, medieval amount of work to do. Trust me, I have tried managing paper flash cards in this way and it takes up too much time. Let the computer do it for you.
There are many SRS around and many are free. I wrote a web-based one called KhatzuMemo. Another one I highly recommend is Mnemosyne. Both KhatzuMemo and Mnemosyne are free (woohoo!), no-frills and low on features, but high on doing-the-job-they’re-supposed-to-do-ness, which is what matters most. I used to use a commercial (not free) SRS called SuperMemo, it is perhaps the oldest in the field, but unfortunately its user interface is buggy and complex — and I have a degree in computer science so you know my words carry authority :D.
Phase 2: Remembering the Kanji
Learn at least 2046 general use kanji in English, using James Heisig’s seminal book, Remembering the Kanji, Part I. You don’t need the other parts.
Given a single English keyword, learn to write out every general use kanji from memory. Don’t argue with me, just do it. You’ll thank me later. You input the stuff from the book into the SRS. If you think that’s tedious, then you’re right. But the data entry itself may help you remember. If you want to avoid the typing, you can join the Remembering the Kanji Yahoo Group, people there have typed the stuff up for you. Reviewing the Kanji is a website where people learning kanji using Heisig’s book gather. I didn’t use it myself, but I hear great things about it.
Do not: pause in your kanji study. Do not: start learning Japanese grammar on the side before finishing kanji. Learn kanji first. If you’re going at like 25 kanji/day, then it will take 3 months. At 12 kanji/day, it will take 6 months. And that’s fine; if you’re a busy person with other commitments, then it’s going to take that much time. Stay the course. The sooner you start, the sooner you’ll be done. Start today, and you will thank me later.
Phase 3: Remembering the Kana
Learn the 46 hiragana and katakana respectively using Heisig’s Remembering the Kana. Why do this after kanji? Well
- You have needed kana until now, because you’ll have been study kanji only.
- After learning 2046 kanji, you will see the 92 kana for what they are: a walk in the cake.
- You can learn kana in as little as a few hours. Probably 2-3 days. At most a week. Kanji will take several weeks, perhaps a few months. Do the task that takes longer, first.
Phase 4: Sentences
Learn to read aloud 10,000 gramatically correct, native-like Japanese sentences/phrases (confession: I only learned ~7500 in the 18-month period, but you are better than me).
- Do not: learn individual words. Learn sentences
- Do not: translate sentences. Understand them instead.
- Do not: learn grammar rules. Do get a feel for grammar, do read about grammar if you feel like it, but learning grammar rules in order to use a language is like learning quantum physics in order to drive a car. Sure, grammar rules are the rules of a language like quantum physics is the rules of the physical world. But it’s not practical. You shouldn’t be thinking of grammar rules as you try to speak any more than you should be crunching Schroedinger equations as you speed down the highway.
You’re not a computer compiler, evaluating expressions based on rules. You’re a human being, and humans use a different logic. When you speak your native language, you generally are mixing and matching entire sentences/phrases. That’s what you want to do in Japanese — learn sentences, because not only do they give you the grammar, but also vocabulary and usage.
There you go, it’s that simple. Read on to find out more about each of these phases.
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