This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/learnjapanese by /u/Black_Electric on 2024-12-21 17:03:03+00:00.

Disclaimer: Everyone’s mileage of course may vary depending on how much time you can commit to studying, environmental factors, etc. I’m really only posting this as a personal reflection and maybe to get some feedback on next steps.

Today marks exactly one year since I decided to take on this language learning journey. What started it all was this desire that I’ve had for a long time to learn another language. I wanted to take on something challenging, that had a completely different writing system and ultimately landed on JP. I had actually taken 4 years of French previously during my secondary school years, but my Japanese surpassed my French in probably the first 6-months. I share this as a testament to the fact that there is a big difference in a person’s drive / ability to learn when they are forced to do something, versus taking it on themselves.

Over the course of this first year I have, according to my SRS, picked up 1715 words (studied both expressively and receptively), 760 kanji, and of course I have learned the Hiragana and Katakana characters. I also have about 155 grammar points mixed in with my reviews.

I’m also quite proud that I managed to hit my goal of taking the N5, and if my practice test scores are any indicator, I should have passed with plenty of margin. At this stage I may have been able to put in some extra work the last few months and taken the N4, but it probably would have been miserable and I’m glad I punted on it.

I’m at this weird point in my Journey where I feel like I have both learned a lot and learned nothing at the same time. I’m a far cry from being able to read / listen to even low-level native content with good comprehension. Yet I can read through よつばと! and with my limited vocabulary / grammar knowledge, still piece together the narrative with what little I do know (along with the illustrations of course). I think I can attribute this largely to having my nose buried in the SRS / textbooks, which perhaps is the most efficient way to learn starting off. But one of my goals for next year is to transition to learning “organically” once I reach past N4, and start consuming more content.

It’s a bit tough to gauge how much time I have been able to commit studying to make it to this point. I have a full time job and other life commitments at home, so “not as much as I’d like” would probably be the most accurate statement. My most frequently used tool is Anki, which I estimate based on review counts that I have spent almost 200 hours in. I also read through the Genki I textbook, including the graded readers (the readers are definitely not worth the price), I spent probably 50 hours on Duolingo (absolutely hate it at this point, have not logged in since October). I’ve also spent some time going through a couple workbooks and practice tests, and watching some videos from Nihongo Mori e.g. If I had to estimate, I have probably spent around 325 hours total in dedicated study.

Goals for 2025

• Improve my listening ability. By far listening is my biggest weakness. I listen to music / podcasts on my way to work and put on some movies / shows, but most of the time I am only passively listening to what’s being said and can barely catch anything when I do direct my attention towards it. This is my #1 goal for 2025.
• Take the N4. I’m undecided on if I want to shoot for this in the summer, or wait until winter. I’ll probably take a practice test in January to gauge where I am at.
• Finish learning all Joyo kanji. My priority is learning to read, and I think this will help me move towards starting to read easy light novels and some low-level articles on Satori, e.g.
• Reach 4000 words learned. I am debating switching over at some point to just learning vocabulary receptively, which would help speed up the learning rate and advance me towards native content faster. Speaking / Writing is at the bottom of my priority list.
• Dedicate more time for study. I kind of wish I was further along at this point. My end goal is to read a couple of light novels that I am really interested in but at this rate, it will be at least 5 years or so before I think I’d be ready to try and start reading them.
• Transition to a more organic approach. Once I pass the N4, I want to start reading and listening for comprehension. I think this is really important to keep this journey going, as it will make the learning process more enjoyable.