Hey! So this may be a common issue, but I’d love some advice about a concern I have about how much time I’ll have to learn Japanese:
I work full time and will also be returning to part-time university study this autumn. I work a four on/four off shift schedule and so I have four days at a time for studying/relaxing/socialising, etc.
I decided to start learning Japanese this summer because it’s something I’ve always wanted to do, and despite being busy at work, I’ve had a lot more free time while the university studying has been on pause.
However, Japanese is obviously very tough, especially in this early stage when I’m trying to get through the main grammar points. WaniKani has been superb for kanji learning so far, and Anki helps with not forgetting words I’ve learned. Genki is the tough part for me, and also the most time consuming.
When university starts up again, my free time will be very limited. I successfully learned two European languages in the past, but those were a lot easier than Japanese and I also had a lot more free time back then.
I’m very set on learning Japanese, but I’m worrying if, say, five hours of Japanese study a week will get me anywhere at all? I know it won’t be fast, and I can always accelerate again next summer, but I also need to somehow try and keep an active social life, take care of chores, and just kick back and relax sometimes when I’m not working.
I’m just wondering what people think about having so little time and learning Japanese? I really don’t want to lose my progress and would love to keep developing, but I also have to make sure I do well at my university course and don’t burn myself out.
Thanks in advance for any advice/input!
3 comments
There’s a famous Japanese proverb: 継続(けいぞく)は力(ちから)なり. Translated literally, it means “continuation is power” and I think is the perfect answer to your question. Notice how it doesn’t mention anything about *how far* you need to continue at all; whether you only learned one word that day, or memorized a week’s worth of kanji in a day, progress is progress.
It may not not be your ideal learning regimen, but every little thing you do to practice and study will build up over time.
It’s hard to see the effect a small stream has on the rock it flows over day by day, but in 100 years it will have carved a canyon.
Probably can get decent in 10-15 years at that pace
Language learning is about the journey and seeing how much you’ve came when you first started but if I had some advice I’d say if you do any extra-curricular activities, I’d say replace those with studying japanese