Looking back on learning Japanese...

[hoax]

For those of us just learning, if you could go back in time and give yourself advice on certain aspects of learning the language, what would that advice be?

Maybe focusing more in a particular area etc..

Any and all advice is welcome.

 

[Elizabeth]

Hmmmm.....well it really does depend on your goals, interests, method of study, and time you want to invest. If you give some of those variables, I'm sure someone will be willing to provide a rough benchmark of progress

 

[SacredBlue]

Personally..I wish I focused more on speaking. Most self study done by learners of Japanese and even most Japanese courses (in the US) focus 90% on writing and reading. If I had to rank the order of importance in any language I would put Speaking/Listening comprehension first, followed by the ability to read/write. Students of Japanese come to me who have studied the language for years, but can't speak a sentence correctly to save their lives, because the majority of their study focused on reading and writing.

Therefore, I know it's much easier to read this than do it, but try to find a Japanese friend or private tutor to help you. If nothing else listen to Japanese music or watch Japanese TV. It will help tune your ears, and trying to sing along to the music and matching your voice with the speaker will help your speaking skills. You can also download helpful Japanese Learning mp3's(*cough* Pimsleur) on Kazaa or WinMX (just to sample, of course)

Reading/Writing is still very important though. Especially Kanji..Gotta learn Kanji

These are just the things I wish I realized before starting to study Japanese.

これから、がんばってね！

 

[Grandpa Frank]

Practice makes perfect !!

With me the saying "Use it or lose it" is the big problem. If you don't have someone to talk with (Japanese) it justs git forgottn !

Frank