A Year to Learn Japanese: Reflections on five years of progress and how I would re-approach year one, in incredible detail.

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Hey all,

I'd been planning to release this all at once, but given the situation, it seems like there are lots of people stuck at home and thinking about getting into a new language. I guess now is as good a time as any. It's specifically concerned with Japanese, but similar to some of the posts I've shared recently, each section features discussions that would be relevant to a wider audience.

A few years ago I wrote a very long response to a guy who had a year to prepare before arriving to Japan. It was surprisingly well received, currently in LearnJapanese community's starter guide and since then I've gotten tons of messages from people asking further questions.

I've kept track of what people felt my first write-up was missing and how I responded, in case the same question came up later, and about six months ago began feeling like it had gotten out of hand. So I began organizing it. It's currently got 60 pages of single-spaced content, plus links to hundreds of pages further reading, dozens of hours of further watching and several books.

So, anyhow, hope it helps.

A Year to Learn Japanese.

Contents:

  • Introduction: how long does it take to learn Japanese? Why learn Japanese? Why listen to me? etc. 5 pages, done.
  • General Learning: stuff not directly related to Japanese but that is still important to be a successful learner; also includes links to 11 other learning-timelines. 6 pages, done.
  • Pronunciation: in half a page and 30 minutes of video for people who don't care, 10 further pages covering IPA/pitch accent/prosody for people who do. 10 pages, done.
  • Kana: introduction to katakana/hiragana with options for people who prefer reading/watching/flashcards, plus a general intro to how memory works. 3 pages, done.
  • Kanji: how they work, where they came from, how to get through them and some FAQs. How I personally got through them, plus a relatively neutral introduction to six common approaches. 13 pages, done.
  • Grammar: high level overview of EN/SP/JP grammar, how the way you look at grammar will change over time, ~six separate levels of discussion that cover N5 to N1 and review/test prep. 11 pages, done.
  • Vocabulary: which word do you need? How many? Why is it that you can know all the words on a page but not understand what was said? 13/14 pages done.
  • Input: two tracks, a discussion of how to get started with reading and with audio/visual content. Some practical stuff like where to get started and how, some less practical stuff like routine and transitioning out of more formal studies. Not started; will write in April 2020.
  • Output: what each level of learner should be looking to get out of a tutoring session/conversion and how to approach it, based on 4 years of experience tutoring kids/working adults and 5 years studying 4 languages, three of which I've lived in/had to perform in daily. Not started; will write in May 2020.

Interviews

  • Idahosa Ness on Pronunciation: Finalizing, included. Discussion on how to begin working on pronunciation even if you're clueless, common mistakes from English speakers and how to transition from pronunciation practice to speaking practice.
  • Matt vs Japan on Kanji, Pitch Accent and The Journey: Interviews done, not finalized, not yet included.
  • James Heisig on Learning the Kanji: Tentatively scheduled for Fall 2020
  • Nelson Dellis on Memory and Language Learning: How a 4x US memory champion approached Dutch, how having a trained/super memory does and doesn't help learn a language. Interview done, not finalized, not yet included**.**
  • Steve Kaufman on Input: Currently preparing interview proposal.
  • [Somebody] on Output: Had wanted to include Michael Campbell, who runs Glossika, but he's sort of hard to reach.
  • Dōgen on Post-Fluency & Creativity in a Second Language: Tentatively scheduled for late 2020. Dogen's a busy guy.

A special thanks to u/virusnzz, who has spent a significant bit of time going through some of the document and giving me feedback to make it more readable.

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