Most of the advice and study methods I’ve seen on this sub are input related. Yomichan, anki, kanji app of choice, graded readers, non-graded readers, Youtube channels, etc., etc. For output, I’ve seen suggestions like, “make Japanese friends” and “go out to an 居酒屋.” However, I’ve noticed something in my own day-to-day life that none of these suggestions help with, and that’s output of non-conversational vocabulary. I’ll give an example. Just the other day, I had to speak to my superior (my workplace is Japanese) about taking a day off, and I blanked on 有給休暇 despite “knowing” this word (all of its kanji, 音読み, and meaning).
That situation made me viscerally aware of the gap between input and output, and how even though I have vastly improved my vocabulary & kanji knowledge over the past year, that doesn’t always translate into, ‘I can use this word now’. Furthermore, while I get a lot of practice with conversational Japanese (I have a Japanese fiancé and my coworkers are Japanese), I don’t get to use some of the more technical/academic/formal/whatever vocab that I study. Does anyone have any tips for bridging the gap between ‘I can read these technical words’ and ‘I can remember these technical words and use them should the need arise’?
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What about writing in Japanese? I’ve been working with BunPro and every day I write some sentences using the grammar points and vocabulary I’ve just learned. The more I do it the easier I find it is to construct the sentences.