For learning Japanese, apart from vocabulary flashcards, should I be taking notes or not? If I should, how should I take notes? I’ve heard some say I shouldn’t take notes at all, like here, the third comment:
[https://www.reddit.com/r/LearnJapanese/comments/114b8hy/do\_you\_make\_grammar\_notes\_when\_studying\_japanese/](https://www.reddit.com/r/LearnJapanese/comments/114b8hy/do_you_make_grammar_notes_when_studying_japanese/)
I am very tempted to take their advice because it would make my language learning journey more enjoyable, and it seems like sound logic. However, I am scared I won’t remember things I need to or something. I don’t know how to take notes or study well in general, and I end up writing down everything I could possible want to remember. It takes a long time. If possible, please be more specific than saying “write down key ideas” or “write down important things”. I don’t know what those would be, nor how detailed to make the notes on those things. For the record, I’m using Rocket Japanese.
13 comments
Just do it how you want. I have never taken structured notes of any kind and I’m fine, and I don’t know about many people who have. Not necessary at all, but not bad to do if you like it.
I mean do you generally take notes for other subjects that are not Japanese? If it helps you, do it. If not then don’t, it really depends on what your style is towards learning in general
Writing down notes physically can help you remember things (it’s a neurological thing). It forces you to physically interpret what you are hearing. I usually just write down things that I think I will forget later.
I’ve taken notes before but never for the sake of referencing. Mostly just because it forces me to actually listen to what the speaker is saying. However I almost never look at them afterwards. I use textbooks so when I forget something I just look it up in the book.
There’s no right answer. Try both methods and do what works best for you. What works for someone else may not work for you. I have a friend who swears by not taking notes. She just makes highlights and occasional margin notes in her textbook. She’s also really good about reading the textbook thoroughly and reviewing often.
On the other hand, I find that I have a bad habit of skimming through textbooks. Taking notes forces me to slow down and process. I make sure to not just copy what’s in the textbook, but to restate it in my own words. This helps me notice gaps in my understanding. Basically my goal is to be thorough enough that I can use my notes without referencing my textbook, but simple enough that I can understand the material from a glance without having to read paragraphs of summary. I like to include drawings and graphs when appropriate
Taking notes or not is up to you. Some people learn better by reviewing with flashcards or notes. And some people are better without. It’s entirely up to you. Personally I don’t take notes, I like having to rely on my memory
I’m not going to add anything more than what I already mentioned in the other thread you linked since my opinion hasn’t changed, but I’d say just be careful of the advice you take from people who treat language learning like any other school discipline or subject. Language learning is much less about memorisation than people think, **especially** when it comes to grammar. Exposure is what matters.
Taking notes has helped me quite a bit. The repetition has helped me remember and mostly internalize the kana. I’ve been taking handwritten notes and then moving then typing them into a computer (kana keyboard). I’m not very far along in my learning, just a handful of kanji and grammar rules.
Ive only been studying Japanese on and off for a bout a year, and only this year has been a bit more focused, but I take notes like every other school session. Only because I feel it helps my comprehension, and tbh the only other time I studied a language was when I was in school and I got pretty far.
The way I do it personally is I read, and rewrite in my own words. However, the only reason I’m studying like this is because I wanna pass N5 this December. Once I take the test, regardless of outcome the way I study will probably be completely different and I will try to be much more relaxed about it, as I don’t wanna hit burnout like I did with my previous language.
Grammar is kind of a picky thing with me.. I never did a lot of grammar studying, but then again I saw Tae Kim and kinda avoided it because I used Cure Dolly’s Youtube videos. All I actually did was make a few pages of notes as I went through the grammar, realizing most of the “grammar” was really better thought of as vocab itself.
When I hit upon JPDB I got that put as SRS where I started to recognize what people thought as grammar were just really basic vocab concepts, sometimes combined. Even the whole process of verb conjugation is a fairly tortured process which really makes no sense as Japanese is such a simple and logical language. Some of the most challenging concepts in grammar are really just thinking in Japanese and as soon as you translate them to English they get all weird because the English grammar explanation tries to make it grammatically correct in English.
I did not figure out some of the concepts until I was past N3 because verb compounds (or whatever you call them in English) are ruined by English definitions. People try to fit round pegs into square holes all the time it seems…
I taught French to high school students for 36 years, and I also have been teaching adults to be language teachers for nearly 40 years now. That gives you some context for my comments.
Firstly, as a language learner, you should do what works best for you. If notes help, take notes!
That being stated, educational research has shown a very clear correlation between note-taking and retention of the material being learned. Studies show that most people retain nearly 70% more material than those who do not. I used to teach my high school students how to take notes, and various ways to give them choices.
I do think note-taking is beneficial, and worth the effort, but still, you should make your own choice based on the ways you learn best. If you are a strong auditory learner, you may find note taking very useful. However, if you learn best by doing things, by moving, by building, making, etc. you may find making cards more useful. I mean the old fashioned way with index cards, not digitally. Of course, Anki cards are still great, especially if you find they help!
The main thing is to practice somehow. It is best to have contact with the language daily, in whatever way works best for you, regardless of what educational research may say. Make your choices, and keep at it!
If you’re using flashcards, you are essentially already taking notes.
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Do whatever works for you.
I used to not take any notes and ultimately I found that it hinders my retention. Even at uni, I could not study from other people’s notes. Now I take grammar notes and it really helps me to refer back to it even if it is really time consuming.