As I'm sure everyone else has their limits, I am no exception. There is only so much I can stuff into my head every day, if I want to remember those things later. For me, cramming only serves me for short term purposes. For example, when I was in high school, and genuinely had no interest in remembering the things in class (I may regret it now) I would cram before every test/exam/final for hours. I would successfully remember everything, and even ace tests left and right. However, give me that same test now and I would surely fail.
Because I was a pro at cramming for short term purposes, I am always at danger of getting back in the habit of over-studying a certain subject. The last thing I want to do is over-study Japanese, learn a lot of things, move on, and realize when it's too late that I don't remember anything I learned. This has actually happened a few times, but I quickly catch myself, back-tracking until I am sure that I fully understand everything I learned.
What is considered over-studying? Like I said earlier, everyone has their limits. For me, I can't get away with studying over two hours in one sitting. At that point I start slowly losing the stuff from the beginning of my studies, like one of those VCR tapes that erases itself as you watch it (know what I'm talking about?). I am also a big fan of taking breaks. Honestly even a half an hour can significantly improve your memorization and ability to understand what you are reading without overwhelming yourself.
If you think your in my learning range (which is far from genius quality), here is a few golden rules I always try to follow.
★ Do NOT study Japanese for more than 2 hours in one sitting
★ Do NOT study textbook (in my case, Genki Integrated) for more than 1.5 hours in one sitting
★ Do NOT study late at night, even if you feel "wide awake." You'll realize the next day you weren't
★ DO take a break if what you're learning gets jumbled and confusing in your head
★ DO study vocabulary thoroughly before partaking in a textbook chapter, otherwise the lack of knowledge will be a crutch when trying to learn grammar, etc.
★ Do NOT attempt to learn new kanji every day if you do not completely remember everything you've learned. Instead maybe spend every other day or so purely on review.
★ Do NOT go a day without learning something new. If you don't have time to sit down and study, DO try to watch at least one YouTube video that teaches you something you didn't know.
I'm sure there's more, but that is the main points I try to follow. But again, everyone is different, and I bet there are people that can go 3 or 4 hours flawlessly. I cannot, because I have what you call, a "short attention span." ^_~
And purely for records sake:
Kanji count: 194
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Yes, burning out by studying too much is definitely *not* a good feeling! I think with language studies, like you said, studying for huge periods of time isn't as effective as studying for short periods of time more frequently. And breaks are definitely important too, but remember - your breaks can consist of watching or listening to Japanese material! That way, without studying hard, you can still be exposed to the language and hear what you've already learned in action. Learning while having fun is the best method! Good luck! :D
ReplyDeleteHi Kelly. This is Alex from Victory Manual. (If you don't know what that is, just ignore it)
ReplyDeleteIt looks like you've got a pretty good grasp on what it takes to take on studying Japanese. The only point I disagree with is the following:
★ Do NOT study late at night, even if you feel "wide awake." You'll realize the next day you weren't
Everyone has a different internal clock, and some people are more productive at night. Basically, you should understand the concept of a "power hour" of studying, note when it typically occurs, and try to do all of your studying at that same time every day.
It's been a long time since I started studying Japanese, but I'm remembering the process all over again as I take on my next language - Spanish. (After getting through Japanese, Spanish is a walk in the park. Not even a walk in the park - It's more like sitting on a bench in the park under a tree with a cool breeze blowing.)
Alex,
ReplyDeleteI understand what you mean. I suppose I should have been more specific. For me, who does not have a nocturnal sleeping schedule (as there are some), late to me is like 2 in the morning. I've been going to bed around 4am lately, so there are times between 12am and 2am where I feel ready to study. However, when I wake up I forget it all. :p
And I agree completely in comparing Japanese to romantic languages. I learned French in high school and I can't believe I thought *that* was hard!