Practicing while drunk

Japanese Language
#2

I would typically skip them if drunk (or impaired in any other way, such as being very tired) because in those states I can’t focus and my review accuracy would plummet. Life isn’t all about getting reviews right, but if you get a lot wrong, it just ends up being more work.

With that said, I think that having a little bit to drink is a great way to get conversation flowing no matter what language I’m speaking, so I might use it in this situation to enhance the conversation, and thus the learning. I would not describe my levels of consumption as “drunk” in this situation, though.

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#3

Your accuracy might plummet, but can you really say you know the kanji well enough if you can’t read them while drunk?

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#4

Honestly, yes, I do think that. I didn’t have to learn to read English drunk, so I think if I really need to read Japanese drunk, it will be fine if it comes to that. It’s not Japanese that would be a barrier, it’s the effort of reading in general. I wouldn’t want to read something difficult in English while drunk, like Shakespeare, except for the comedic effect.

Also, my drinking never coincides with situations where I would need to read.

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#5

Wanikani reviews have become a relaxing activity. Reviews pair nicely with coffee or a drink.
If I’m impaired i’ve noticed I will do reviews out of habit. Usually I can only do about 10 or give up.

I’d rather put aside study times so I can focus properly.

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#6

Depending on how much you drink, alcohol completely erases your short-term memory, thus preventing whatever you learned recently from entering long-term memory. It’s why, when you drink too much at parties, you don’t remember much of what happened, once you wake up the next day. As long as you’re actually recognizing kanji and vocab in the wild, I think there’s no problem.

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#7

How else are you meant to stagger onto the train home after a night of drinking Strong Zero with your friends? (post-pandemic ofc)

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#8

I’m not sure that doing your reviews whilst drunk is a great plan but I wonder sometimes about the usefulness of drunk conversation practice.

It’s not unusual to notice second languages take a back seat when people have had a few and it got me wondering…

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#9

Sometimes I do, but It’s probably not good to do that. Alcohol makes it harder for your brain to create new memories, so you won’t remember the information as well as you normally would. Some people say they are better at speaking after they’ve had a few, but I think that has more to do with the decrease in anxiety.

#10

I think they are two different things…

They are just like trying to record your audio when the mic is in a bad state and trying to play your recorded audio when the disc is in a bad state.

#11

Uhh, alcohol impairs memory creation and SRS is specifically about memory retention and creation so it’s not something I would make a habit.

Using Japanese while drunk is one thing, but learning and studying shouldn’t be done while your mind isn’t functioning well. Like absolutely go out, drink and speak Japanese or read Japanese if you want, but keep that separate from serious focused study time.

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#12

learning while drunk is almost certainly of very limited use.

however, if you do want to practice your kanji while drunk, why not try to read a manga? or something similar, which isn’t supposed to be actual learning, but still puts your acquired skills to use?

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#13

A little bit of alcohol can either help a bit or have no effect for me. I wouldn’t dream of touching WK if I’m blotto though… I’ll save drunken Japanese for whenever I can get back to the wonderful bars of Osaka. Speaking is way easier than reading when drunk, especially when it’s on vocab and kanji that are either new or difficult for me to remember.

THC on the other hand, I have found it helps with my recall. If I’m stoned I go a lot more slowly, but it does something with my memory where I can dig a bit deeper and get a few master or enlightened items I probably would have missed sober. Don’t try this if you’re in Japan of course…

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#14

Depends how much you drink. I used to learn words and review while I was in the habit of drinking recreationally. I think I had like 80% accuracy. That was only 2-4 shots though. I’m assuming you’re not trying to do wanikani while blacked out

Being able to focus while on any kind of drug is a learned skill though.

#15

I used to but I found that I completely forgot them by morning. So if I have a night of drinking I’ll let those reviews spill over to the next day.

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#16

If I fail a wanikani item while buzzed, it was probably going to be missed eventually. A little extra study on the hard ones doesn’t hurt anyway.

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#17

Sometimes I actually do better after a few drinks because I don’t overthink things. I’m able to more easily pull things from my memory, things just flow. Can’t learn lessons for shit though…

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#18

This is a placeholder because I want to erase what I wrote… :sweat_smile:

I didn’t even think about the impact of discussing something like this on an open public forum. Sorry for this! <3

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#19

Never made my lessons go better, I can tell ya that.

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#20

Doing reviews while drunk was a fun challenge in itself, and I personally used to do them.

Doing reviews while hungover on the other hand… something I would not do :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

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#21

Isn’t it like scientifically proven, that at least the speaking gets better and more “fluent” while drunk? :smiley:

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