よろしくお願いします, all Japanese learners!
Thank you for building a strong community to which people of all learning habits can grow and adjust.
I wanted to share my experience over the summer learning about why I failed so much in my introductory course at my college. And forwarded, I don’t know if this is going to set up good seeds for the harvest later. Just something as a person who is more observant than actionary. I just wanna dump my thoughts here. 
Big issue 1.)
Not really appreciating the words:
This is mostly a feeling of detachment from concepts and rules Japanese language users construct thier world by! I selfishly wandered into introductory Japanese and it was going to be a rough ride.I love anime, games, and other Japanese things. I think having to mimic what i saw and force it into my brain was abrasive for both my test taking skills and notetaking. This discipline lent the most addictive need to use google translate I have ever had. Obsessive thoughts atleast helped me see my learning habit of using google translate as a barrier to a portion of immersion with Japanese. If I wish to continue with a goal of being fluent in let’s say 5+ years; i need to learn that Japanese language learning is a hobby and discipline, rather than a barrier to my entertainment.
Big issue 2.)
The shame spiral :
So, spent a bit over the summer and researched shame and memory. A big portion of long term memory is using a neural pathways. If shame just so happens to be in the way of your language concept path, you are going to build up a reaction. This had a effect on my own concept of looking back and reviewing. surprise! I don’t handle rejection and mistakes very well! Do i have enough courage to ask for help? Do I have enough time to allow myself to destress from a big exam? Can I fight the urge to throw away my test? If shame is somewhat expected from learning something new then, gosh darn, I gotta learn how to play with the tigers in my head. I won’t say more here yet.
Big Issue 3.)
Forgetting to play: Finding a learning habit that fits!
I spent so much time chewing on my past with Japanese, due to the fact that something definitely wasn’t right. So, started taking small steps into my curiosity. Being able to stay curious to help feel constantly kindling a growth mindset is why school environments work for me. In reality, my notebooks suck. I frequent these thoughts, “some websites are better designed: maybe, i can use that as a template: is this effective or time spending”. Going on, I want to start barging into my notebook with colors and pictures, like a certain murder mystery game, I want colors to show! something that makes my notetaking skills from drab to fashion forward. I’m playing here, but what would your notebook feel like if it was found 100 years from now? I wanted to end this segment with something along the lines of have fun, learning a language is rough for me and in order to make it though i need to make friends with all my note taking and learning habits if we are going to get through this together. <3
Some resources i did to help with my recognition and just general advice:
> Build a learning community
have a appreciation for what you want to bring to your learning and look for others as cohorts:
instead of the only way. I read a bunch of these articles on Tofugi and some were helpful.
Somehow these two sites are connected and just wanted to say that this series and the podcast is helpful for encouraging new pathways for my stage in japanese. you are going to be one soon!
> Having a thoughts journal
Do you feel like there is a voice when you are feeling about your Japanese? That is learning, and I could possibly be the biggest idiot but writing that down helped. For me, having a space for a journal let me think about making connections to why somthing was not doing well, some ideas i found, questions i wanted to know, and some cute things. Please encourage yourself to look back and review. Who knows what it would do for you! maybe joining a club or dancing your heart out will do it. have fun🎁
>reddit! Twitter too!
I found immense help with de-isolating my learning experience with reddit. Also, looking at funny things helped me laugh, so if there wasn’t a thing on reddit atleast it is a place to make me smile and laugh. Twitter helped me realize that i love having kanji in context and admiration for the problem solving skills of translators.
>Some articles about memory
Carpenter, S. K., Cepeda, N. J., Rohrer, D., Kang, S. H. K., & Pashler, H. (2012). Using spacing to enhance diverse forms of learning: Review of recent research and implications for instruction. Educational Psychology Review, 24 (3), 369-378.
Using spacing to enhance diverse forms of learning: Review of recent research and implications for instruction
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10648-012-9205-z
Freeman, Scott & Eddy, Sarah & McDonough, Miles & Smith, Michelle & Okoroafor, Nnadozie & Jordt, Hannah & Wenderoth, Mary. (2014). Active Learning Increases Student Performance in Science, Engineering, and Mathematics. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 111. 10.1073/pnas.1319030111.
君なら出来るよ!!!