Simply Daunted

[Tirroth]

I guess the title of the post would accuratly describe my feelings at the moment. I've been trying to learn Japanese for the last 6 months (Possible more), and at times I just feel overwhelmed. I found this site and joined hoping the community involvement would jump start me.

There are so many thoughts on how to learn, what to learn, ect. I'm a nurse and my work days are usually 12 hours long and mentally straining. Working the surgical floor with 5 patients and making sure you don't mess up and keep them safe seems to take a LOT of toll on my brain power. I'm spent by the time I get home and the thought of studing is, well.....daunting. Not to mention my patients level is decreased making any obstical I run into that much more frustrating.

I'm not sure if any of you out there work hecktic jobs and are attempting to learn at the same time. I would love to hear how you break the 'Ill study later' blues. My 'plan' is to start with the Newbie course here and learn Hiragana at the same time. Perhaps listening to 2 podcasts at a time and taking the time to absorbe the material.

I might be at a level higher than the Newbie lessons but I figured I may have missed something in my haphazard way of studing before I found this site. Beside it will only give me a firmer foundation of basic Japanese that can't hurt in the long run.

I'm at the point now that when I watch J-Drama I hear familiar phrases and words but don't understand the entire sentence. Sometimes I even know what they say based on the way they say it and body language without ever knowing the words spoken. If that makes any sense.

Anyway, I seem to have rambled quite a lot with this post and I hope I havn't bored many of you to tears. Thanks in advance for any advice or workds of encouragement you can give. Nice to meet you all.

Tirr

[jazzbeans]

I know how you feel. I don't work a hectic job though!
Sometimes, I just don't feel I have the energy to study or don't want to take the time to after doing what I feel is a draining activity. Such as revising for college exams!

I've been studying for the same amount of time as you - but not really studying for that entire time.. fortunately, I learnt kana and a bit of kanji two years before.

What I do [when I don't feel like studying] is the same as what you're doing really. I watch and listen to a lot of media. At least that way, you are exercising your listening skills - which is important. But I watch simple programmes (so it's easier to understand). They're not subtitled either and I watch them over and over again!

Also, I go on Lang-8. Write a blog post in Japanese, help others with their English.. To me, it's fun! So, it doesn't feel like something as burdening as the thought of having to study.

Don't worry about feeling the way you do (everyone gets demotivated to study), it's totally understandable in your line of work (my mother's a nurse, so I can relate via my own observations). When you're too exhausted to study properly, just keep doing what you're doing - llisten to podcasts whilst your on the move (walking home or something), watch films/programmes when you have time to relax. I keep my laptop or dictionary handy when watching things, so that I can look up words too.

I rarely have timetables/plans, etc. This is because I never stick to them, which makes me feel worse - ha ha. If you do not achieve what you set (due to setting your goals too high), you can feel even more demotivated.

But I do have a little plan that's constant in my life regarding studying. It's "Do at least one thing per day" + watch a Japanese episode (< that's before I sleep). No matter how small that One Thing is. Learning ONE new word or one Kanji character or learning loads, etc.. No matter how small, it's better than nothing.

Some people don't agree with me, but when I was stuck in a rut of doing no revision for my exams out of pure demotivation amongst other stresses, it really helped me to build up my self-confidence as well as motivation. I did one sentence one day, then a paragraph the next, then half a page, then a page.. then three pages.. I also rewarded everything I did, ha ha. Buying a small sweet per thing I did.

Got me back on track again.

[Tirroth]

Thanks for your reply Jazz! It's nice to know I'm not the only one. I believe our long posts scared everyone else away, lol. I am now downloading several lessons in preparation to start studying.

Any reccomendations for a Kana flash card program, thats free?

[Taurus]

I really would recommend trying to learn hiragana and katakana and maybe even Kanji, using the Heisig method - because each of those things can be broken down into really clear goals (eg. 'Today I will learn five characters') that you can fit into small spaces of time, and because it will give you a break from learning actual Japanese, and maybe by doing that it will take some of the pressure off a bit.

When you've done that and you're ready to resume learning actual Japanese, again, I'd try to give yourself little goals each day - like listening to one podcast, or learning one grammar point (eg. from a book like the Kanzen Master JLPT series), or completing one lesson from a text book like Minna no Nihongo, or even just learning five words (or even just reviewing five words that you learnt earlier!).

[untmdsprt]

I work two jobs so I can also relate! I usually will listen to my iPod on the way to work, or I'll do the smart.fm flash card program on my phone. I figure I have an hour to kill on the train or the 15 min walk to work, so might as well do either of these.

If I have some time at one job, I'll take my kanji flash cards and see how many I can do during the break.

See if you can find a way to add something to your time like this.

[Tirroth]

Thanks for the posts Tarus and untmdsdrt. I do have the Heisig book but was leary of learning al those Kanji before learning actual Japanese. It seemed backward to me but I have read of several people using that method with great success.

I don't have a moblie phone or ipod that would be capable of flash card programs, I just have the Zune (Which has programs but nothing cool like that). So any flash card program I get would have to be for the PC.

Again, thanks for the posts! I'll see what I can cook up now.

[Drabant]

I do have the Heisig book but was leary of learning al those Kanji before learning actual Japanese. It seemed backward to me but I have read of several people using that method with great success.

If you try to do Heisig later you will regret not doing it right from the start. I started out self-studying about half a year ago or so, and was very sceptical about Heisig at that time. Now I have basically paused everything else, I'm not actively trying to learn any new Japanese, and concentrate fully on finishing Remembering the Kanji. If I could start all over from 0 with the experience I have now, I would have started, and finished, RTK before I even tried to learn a single word of Japanese.
I feel that knowing the kanji really helps when learning.

[bogart96]

I'm spent by the time I get home and the thought of studing is, well.....daunting. Tirr

I can relate to this. And that is exactly why I've turned my Japanese study into my "safe haven", my personal luxury, something to balance out the stress at work. I look forward to the moments, sometimes only 20-30 mins., when I can treat myself to listening to a podcast, learning a kanji or 2 etc. Here, it's ME who chooses. How do I feel today? Like leaning back and just listen, over and over again? Then I listen. What kind of lesson goes with my mood? I choose one accordingly. Learn some vocab today? I do that. Read a pdf? Watch a drama episode? Review an older lesson? Or energetic enough to try a lesson of a higher level? Read some news? Some culture? An e-mail? My feelings tell me, I follow. It's all about Japanese anyway, so it's never wrong. And one more thing: I gave up completely thinking about all the stuff I don't know yet, and all the different learning methods... these thoughts just scared me.
If I give my brain the bitesizes it can chew at each moment, the reward is a feeling of pleasure, things stick without effort, and, simple logic, all the bits and pieces must come together one day ... they do, actually.
Learning Japanese can be a big fun journey. So please, think of it as something that'll lift you up

[Tirroth]

Thanks for the posts Drabant and bogart96, they were both very helpful! I like the idea of treating it like a reward, something to look forward to. That would make it seem less difficult and add some excitement.

Thank you to everyone that has posted so far, your words have encouraged me to tough out those times when I don't want (or feel like) studing.

[Chiller]

this post really struck a chord with me. I'm currently a homemaker and my time is fragmented. I try to keep going by running several threads.Walking to the shops or ironing, listen to a podcast. Waiting for someone at a music lesson, learn a few kanji. the computer's free? jump on and review a few kanji.

loved bogart96's thoughts. I have returned to my Japanese studies after many years away. I'm enjoying having something that is completely different from my former work life to keep me going when the chores keep piling up. Studying is fun!!

[Taurus]

Thanks for the posts Tarus and untmdsdrt. I do have the Heisig book but was leary of learning al those Kanji before learning actual Japanese. It seemed backward to me but I have read of several people using that method with great success.

It has been discussed to death on here already, and clearly it's not for everyone, but one thing I would add is that I have found it to be a really effective motivational tool. When you've learnt to recognise all of Heisig's kanji, every single sentence that you see will be a source of inspiration, and you'll probably find yourself itching to learn more Japanese so that you can use all of those kanji that you just learned...