Hello, I have a few questions:
How are your notes organized for studying Japanese? Or maybe studying a new language in general?
Do you even use a notebook at all? How would you learn the material if you didn’t?
What does your overall approach to studying entail?
Bonus: How do you balance learning a language with keeping up your grades if you are in college or university? What do you do if your institution doesn’t offer the language you’re studying?
1 comment
I have one for Welsh, and one for Japanese. The Welsh is of course much further ahead, Japanese is just basics right now since I’m trying to review and brush up on my foundation after a long break.
My approach is the same: language in action, no English. Anything that isn’t clear in itself or needs extra explanation, uses visuals, or simple words within the language.
One example of mine is explaining the も particle – these sentences are more or less from the Tae Kim grammar guide, but that won’t always be the case:
アリスは学生？
**うん**、トム**も**学生。 ✔️
**うん、**トム**も**学生**じゃない**。❌
**ううん**、トム**も**学生**じゃない**。✔️
Since I earlier defined positive and negative statements in this same way, I have the context to see that うん is a (casual) yes, while ううん is a (casual) no. So, I know the first and third agree internally – and I can connect this particle means “as well” – while the second doesn’t, without needing another language’s words to explain it.
Later, when working with adjectives, I chose some examples: 静かな人 and きれいな魚. Beside 静かな人 is a very small drawing of a person holding a book, with a speech bubble that has only dots. Beside きれいな魚 is a fish with long, flowing fins, and sparkles.
I really like this approach, honestly. I feel it just works better for me than trying to read through rules and *puzzle out* what goes where and how things work in the moment.
My kanji handwriting could use some work though. 😀