Hello world! I have some imporant news. I can’t spel.
But seriously, I have some awesome news and I have to share it now!
Today I felt the results of my new “study schedule”! And I just poked myself in the eye, so this will be typed with my left hand. (I’m right-handed.)
It’s hard to feel like you’re actually learning when you’re just enjoying yourself, but today showed me that yes, it is happening. I am learning. I am not aware of it. And that’s the best feeling. So, if you don’t feel like you’re making progress, here’s the secret:
right below
Keep “studying”! If you’re unsure of your progress, try something out. Try to think in Japanese. Try to comment on something random. You just might surprise yourself. And if you don’t, you obviously are not having enough fun, yet. Just keep not-working. If it feels like work, you’re just hurting your own progress.
If I learned anything from today, it’s that whatever I’m doing is working, or not-working. And it certainly isn’t boring. I’ve added some new things to my “study time”, such as playing video games in Japanese. I recently started (re)playing one of my favorite games, Star Ocean, on the SNES, in Japanese. Can I understand all of it? No. Most of it? No. Some of it? Barely. But so what? The point is I understand more as I play, without any significant effort. I’m adding items into my SRS as I play, which is a) the most effort I put into learning as well as b) infrequent. I’m only about halfway through the kanji, so I’m just storing sentences until I’m ready. If I don’t like them by the time I am ready, they’ll be swiftly deleted. Or maybe I’ll start sentences a little early. My current goal is just to get through first 2040 or so kanji before my copy of Monster Hunter Portable 3rd arrives.
