Journey To Being Better At Japanese & Probably Life

Update Sept'2021

Ello once again, lads & laddies.
I’ve decided to make some sort of routine(?) update on my journey to being better at Japanese and being a better person in life. This is to allow accountability to really keep doing what I want to do (which is to be better duh, I’ve said it like 3 times).

So... Why is this post important?

Well, accountability. Second, to allow my (future) me to see the progress that the (past) me made and really appreciate the character development/progress I have made!

Now onto the main portion of this post.

As of today (05092021), I have reached level 15 after deciding to slow down (speed) by 50% (7-8 days to 10+ days).
Why did I slow down? Simple, uni life is not as carefree as it is usually implied. Almost everyday I have to memorise & understand technical concepts which is quite a bit for my brain to handle, so learning Japanese during my free time would be much for me. Therefore, I limit learning NEW Japanese words & terms to ~50/week. Review like BunPro (Grammar), Anki (Self-made Decks) & WaniKani Reviews would still be a daily thing!
How I Study? Well, using a physical notebook. My study approach has changed so much that the only thing that stayed consistent was my notebook but now, I got a tablet to do my notetaking. That means everything would be digitized and I get to make those smooth and nice notebooks that you’d always see on YouTube & Instagram.

How will I update this thread?

Well, I’m hoping every level from now on since I already hit the difficulty spike for this stage (I think?), but since I just joined a club, my schedule is pretty packed which is a feelsbad moment. But then we’ll see how things go.

Conclusion

There’s nothing much to conclude here so Imma say good night (it’s 4:45am on my side).
Have fun and stay safe.

Update Dec'2021

Happy New Year/ Merry (Late) Christmas!

I am back with another update and it’s not because I hit a difficulty spike. It’s more of an update on my progress! I decided to buy WaniKani & Bunpou Lifetime since I definitely can see myself still using these 5 years later. Since it’s winter break, I have been trying to get as much learning of the language as possible before all hell breaks loose next week. But… of course, I did get a tiny bit worn out since I decided to clear as much materials as I could right after exams finished… which isn’t a good idea. On the bright side, I realised that I forgot so much of what I’ve learnt/burnt so Anki helped me so much here! And on the other bright side (wut), I am able to read/understand more NHK Easy Articles!!! :smiley:
And And on the other bright bright side (what is english right), I don’t have to always alt-tab frantically when watching Anime/Vtubers! :DD

However, I do realise that I’m learning more English when learning Japanese which is strange but totally acceptable (from a native English speaking person thing) thing. Also, I start to get lazy when it comes to understanding certain sentences (idk whether that is relatable). For example, I would read a certain statement and my brain would just automatically guess what the sentence is talking about without understanding/looking at the particles used. I guess that’s the double edge sword of knowing Chinese and immersing in Japanese resources.

With that said, I’ll probably post an update during Summer break, that’s if I’m still alive since I have so much stuff to do during that period (Academic, Orientation Preparation, etc). Anyways, stay safe and healthy. :slight_smile:

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Sounds like you’ve got a great plan to get started!

Physical notebooks are a great way to go. Japanese makes a lot more sense once it gets under your fingers, literally. I use a tablet too, along with the Zen Brush app. Make sure to take stroke order seriously, if you’re not already. Look it up if you even start to suspect you’re not doing it right. It makes a tremendous difference in the long run!

Not Japanese-related, but since you’re a university student, I really encourage you to find ways to optimize your study time so you can spend more time with friends. It feels weird saying this as a graduate, but my biggest regret is that I spent so much time studying and I didn’t spend more time with my closest friends back when it was easy. Now we’re all scattered and getting together is an event that requires planning and logistics. If you have people in your life you can hang out with any time, milk it for all it’s worth now!

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Ooo, thanks for the advice.
Well, hopefully my Chinese doesn’t fail me when it comes to stroke order.
Damnn, I’ll do my best to socialize during these few years. Once again, thank you!

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Well done for deciding to juggle this alongside university life, I wish I had been as dedicated to actually learning stuff back in my uni days, hehe :sweat_smile:

Well, I started learning Jap before entering uni, so might as well keep going at it. My “pride” can’t allow me to just stop and wait

Pride and stubbornness are excellent motivators, I find, hehe.

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