Curses I fell off the wagon

[jdiver]

I started learning Japanese about 6 months ago and was on top of the Hiragana and making my way thought he Katakana whilst listening to the Newbie lessons....but then pressures of work took over and I took a break. I suppose because there was no period of consolidation in my learning I find that as I review things now my knowledge such as it was has taken a huge step backwards. Quite demoralising.

The main issue I have is that I live in a rural area with no chance of 1 to 1 interaction. I'm sure there are others in a similar position. What have you done to stay motivated and to cross reference your progress?

[QuackingShoe]

I just read a lot of manga. Also looking into getting into online games for actual interaction. Eh.

[jbraswell]

In the age of the internet, not being in the country of the language you want to learn isn't as much of an issue. You obviously have internet access, which means a Skype teacher or conversation partner is easy. There's your one-on-one interaction.

[ggenglish]

I think their question is more about motivation not how. The age old motivator is $￥$￥$￥!!!! I'm pretty lazy so after I decided I was going to write the JLPT the motivation came to crack down and keep up with the learning. If you live far away from a testing centre it means you will have to pay lots of money to travel and write the test. A good motivator to not throw away the opportunity.

I think another motivator is ambiance. If you want to learn to play an piano you are constantly reminded of it ever time you hear a catchy tune that you think could work on the piano. For languages it means either you have to have some penpals or enjoy japanese media. I for one have found that I really enjoy j-dramas. So they are always reminding me I should be studying more.

In addition I'll probably get some people angry at me saying this but I'm one for jumping around based on interest. I think learning hiragana is good so you can easily look up kanji words when presented with the furigana but there was no way I was going to spend another month memorizing katakana. I skipped it and came back it later. If you get bored with one topic move to something else. I would spend time trying to pick a part the audio blogs where they are decades beyond my level but I needed a break from the regular routine of newbie lessons.

Good luck.