Such thing as too much Japanese?

[kmkosers]

Lately, I have been wondering if it is possible to learn too much Japanese in one sitting/day/week etc. I already learn quite a lot of new kanji and vocabulary every day but a lot of the time I want to read/watch/learn more just for fun. I usually stop myself though because I'm worried about learning more than I can absorb and overwhelming myself with SRS reviews in subsequent days.

Do you think there is a limit to how much Japanese a person can learn in one day? How do you continue learning for longer periods of time after you've exhausted all your learning tools?

Thank you for taking the time to help!

[Chronitsch]

it all matters how much your brain can absorb, with kanji i am at my limits after 10-30 kanji (matters if i need to know just the meaning, or everything) grammar, well some things go easy as cake and i can keep on for hours other times i have to stop or my head gonna explode

so to say, breaks are important, but you never can learn enough in a language (or anything else)

[kmkosers]

Chronitsch: Agreed. 10-30 kanji are about all I can handle too. But say after that you wanted to spend some time reading a newspaper or manga for fun and came across 10-30 more new kanji. Is it best to stop?

[Javizy]

Don't learn kanji as you see them - it's too unorganised. Try something like Heisig's Remembering the Kanji, and learn them systematically, using SRS to review. You're making a lot of hard work for yourself if you learn certain complicated characters before their simpler constituent parts. You open yourself up for a host of other pitfalls as well. If you're trying to cram readings along with the character, it also wastes a lot of time, since you can learn them while learning vocabulary with SRS. I've never learnt a reading outside of a word, and I get along just fine.

As for how much is too much, keep an eye on your daily average on your SRS program, and if you notice it dropping, then you're probably doing too much. It's not a good idea to spend too much time SRSing anyway. Try to use that surplus time reading, speaking, listening - actually using your Japanese - instead of confining yourself to a world of flashcards.