Hey everyone,
Been self studying Japanese for 6 years now off and on. I’ve honestly been struggling to study at all most of the last 2 years. My natural cycle is that I’ll watch a show or read some manga and remember how much I love the language, then 6-8 weeks of studying later l’ve dropped it due to X.
I really want to break this cycle but I’m not sure what to do. My running theory (and my wife’s) is that I am too intense and tend to burn myself out.
My last routine was Anki for about 30 mins, Bunpro for another 30, and then read for about 30 mins as well a day.
Regardless, seeking advice or others who have had the same issue. Cheers
7 comments
Motivation is fleeting. Discipline is what keeps you going for the long haul. Set a routine and stick to it. Even on days where you don’t want to. Even on days where you’re sick. Even if it’s only for 10 minutes.
Motivation is easy and everyone has it. Discipline is what separates the people who *want* to learn japanese from the people who *are* learning japanese. Set the routine, and stick to it.
If you’re someone who struggles with internal motivation, taking a class might be something to consider. Something that is structured, like a multi-week course, or self paced, with personalized tutors(iTalki?), both are an option.
You could also try to do a “study for at least 10 minutes a day, quit for the day after that if you’re not feeling it, keep going if you are motivated to do so. That way, you only have to motivate yourself for 10 minutes worth of study, not 1.5 hours, which can be a daunting amount of time in an otherwise already full adult schedule.
Build up how much you do over time. Start with 15 min/day, then a few weeks later add another 15. Repeat until you are happy with your time commitment and consistency. A good rule of thumb is if you haven’t been consistent over the past couple of weeks, you’re probably trying to do too much in one day. Additionally, you don’t *have* to do the same amount everyday. Define your daily minimums, then define what you will do on top of that as bonus.
Discipline is a skill that’s built over time. Emphasis on the “over time” part.
For me, the key was to learn that there’ll be days where I won’t learn anything new. Sometimes I can’t give more than ~40 mins a day, and that amount only suffices to maintainance work (Anki, Kanji Koohii), not anything new. And that’s fine too.
What’s your current level? This is probably not a solution for everyone, but you can “just” allocate few months to “get the boring part done”
I mean there’s no stop in learning a language, but you can rush to a point where you’re good enough at consuming native media and you will get enough spatial repetition just by consuming them.
This took me about 4 months, granted I already know kanji from Chinese so saved a lot of time, but I guess you are not at beginner level either.
After that 4 months I learned about 7-9k vocab and spent the entire January reading every day and finished around 25(?) light novels.
After that the SRS faded away to second place, and I don’t really have time for it anymore. But at this point I no longer need any motivation, as consuming media in Japanese is just a form of entertainment. I learned English the exact same way, without SRS even(but I did have certain foundation in English from back in middle school), I just keeps watching YouTube and acquired the vocab and the ability to output in it naturally.
I think a good approach in learning a language shouldn’t relay on long term motivation and commitment, but utilizing one’s innate laziness of resorting to consuming entertainment instead
Recommend you just go all in on reading manga and don’t look back. You’ll learn the vocab and grammar as you look up what you don’t know while reading.
Try committing to [fifteen minutes a day](https://get.nihongonoashiba.com/blog/minimum-viable-effort/) or one page as a minimum.
And choose a manga you actually want to read (ignore perceived difficulty). Recommend reading on your phone (no physical copy) so the convenience is high.
If theres a manga you have in mind, let me know and I’ll see if I can find/send the link to first chapter along with its english translation (both free).
Just personal opinion here, but motivation is for things you don’t want to go through but you have an end goal in mind. So you’re motivated to get through to it to reach your goal, like “I want to speak Japanese.”
It should be the other way around, you shouldn’t need motivation to engage with the language but the desire to do things that happen to be in the language. It requires no motivation because it’s less based off will to reach a goal in mind and more the desire to do the things you enjoy. When you find what it is that brings you back everyday because it’s less about the language and more the activities, you will learn fast and stick with it. Motivation will no longer be a factor. I cannot say I’ve ever had anything remotely like a drop in motivation because I have several layers of things that keep me engaged into the language. They form the main pillars that support each other when they wax and wane. One of them will be there to support it.
The activities, hobbies, and media,
The language itself.
The people I engage with.
The habits I’ve built which all involve daily usage without any choice, I have to since there is no alternative if I want participate in communities (no English fall back).