Motivation!

Hey all,

Every summer since I've been about 14, I've set out to learn Japanese. I'm 19 now and sadly I didn't progress very far. Over the summer months, each year, I'd learn all the hiragana, katakana, and tens of kanji. Then school would start back again, and I'd forget everything, only to start over again next summer.

I was most proficient about two years ago when playing an online Japanese game in which EVERYTHING was in Japanese, and I gained a lot of practice by speaking to the other players. Most of them spoke English too, so were able to help me. Sadly I have no way to play this any more without paying a fee.

Basically, I'm on the verge of giving up on the language, since I never seem to get very far. I've learned enough to know it's not impossible - I just lack motivation. I am very goal-orientated, so if I had some tangible way of measuring my progress, it would encourage me to keep going.

Any advice? I have resources a-plenty, I just don't know how to keep myself motivated, or what the best way is to study/learn a language without becoming too frustrated. I'm the type of person who thrives on praise/feedback from a teacher, or by completing marked questions/exams, so I'm looking for something that simulates that (good free online tests), as it's not feasible cost-wise for me to find a Japanese class right now.

Thanks!

One of the most motivational sites I've ever seen is AJATT. You may want to read around there and see if there's anything there that gets you going.

Glenn said:

One of the most motivational sites I've ever seen is AJATT. You may want to read around there and see if there's anything there that gets you going.

Click to expand...

Wow, some of the articles on this are exactly what I need. It's as though it's aimed towards the awesomeness surrounding learning a language. I really think this is what I need to keep me going - thank you!

The silverspoon thing looked pretty good, as if it were made for me, but sadly I don't have that kind of money haha. I think I would have a greater sense of achievement too if I manage to do this by myself. Thank you!

I have the same problem most of the time. Motivation is hard to come by for me and I will have it for one hour and have it gone within the next day. This might be a little more extreme because of the short term than you, but if you are able to get some books or games in Japanese and try to translate them, that might give you a goal, and moving up in complexity. This is my next strategy, anyway. It might help you gauge your progress anyway. I plan to check out that site as well; I could really use some learning tools and motivation!

jadeaimi said:

I have the same problem most of the time. Motivation is hard to come by for me and I will have it for one hour and have it gone within the next day. This might be a little more extreme because of the short term than you, but if you are able to get some books or games in Japanese and try to translate them, that might give you a goal, and moving up in complexity. This is my next strategy, anyway. It might help you gauge your progress anyway. I plan to check out that site as well; I could really use some learning tools and motivation!

Click to expand...

I'm glad to know I'm not the only one! Thanks, I will try to do things like that. The AJATT website really focuses on sentences, I just don't know where to start. I guess it's best to jump into the deep end really, so I'll try that. Thanks for your help.