help me to understand?

[coolfire]

I have a question I have been studing japanese for a while and I feel that something is missing. I have been studying everyday for a about three months at about 6-7 hours a day but yet I still feel like at the beginning is there something wrong with me? I mean I love to study but why does it feel like I am still where i have started?


ADD ON DETAIL

My name is steven and I am trying to study japanese. I am a dedicated student and try to study a long period of time a day. I like to study japanese and I have fun doing it. I am laid off for the time being so I have plenty of time on my hands. I want to learn japanese for many reasons but mostly for culture and living styles. Let me go into more detail about why. You see the thing is all the time I was growing up I just knew the world around I did not even think about living anywhere else or even developing a need for new place to go. I was happy and content with just living a good old country boy life in the grand ole usa. Well until I grew up and for some reason I realized that my mind has been trained to think that this existence was only meant to live here in the usa. I never thought about a new way of living a new way of thinking I was just taught to live here. So then i realized to myself its time for me to follow my words my own path. While I was unsure what to do with my life or what to become. Like everyone else I was lost amoung the universe and not knowing where to turn. Well from there japanese just popped into my head. I am not sure about destiny or fate however I do believe in you reap what you sue. Everything just started to click together and there was a strong urge to learn japanese. You my whole life I have always went along with others not making my own decisions just following the crowd not even following my own words for advice. I would be the one on the side bench not even caring I would always take the middle of a arguement. So I started to follow my own words for advise and when I study japanese for some reason it feels nature to me and it is something I truly enjoy. Sort of like a longing to it. I know I can do and that it will take some time. I am dedicated to cause with full force and will not give up. However I am kind of slow and do have a hard time at some points. My family does not support me in my studies and I have no real friends to study with or even practice with at all. I live in a small town with no japanese material I have several though from online. Books and of course jpad I have premuim plus with a tutor now and again. Other then that is it. I feel like a beginner because it life I am not sure if I am really getting maybe it has something to self confindence but I keep starting over from the beginning. In any case I have started a study group on lang8 and on skype so hopefully that will help. IF anyone wants toe contact me on skype I have a study account it is denwa.bangou. I hope this has cleared up a few points and I will reply to any posting. thanks to everyone for your time and to jpod for the hard work that is put into all the lesson. Thanks to everyone.



HERE IS SOME SAMPLE STUFF I CAN DO
http://lang-8.com/60977/journals/189841
http://lang-8.com/60977/journals/185262

[Psy]

You fall into one of two categories here:

1. Someone with ridiculously high expectations.
2. Someone studying ineffectively.

Since I don't have any indication of what you know or how it is you're learning, I can't say a whole lot. Still, the person with high expectations should know that Japanese is a language hugely different than English, and it can take a great deal of time to get anywhere. The intermediate plateau is a nasty one, and a lot of students are known to give up at that point. The person studying ineffectively should probably post about it or otherwise ask for assistance. There are a lot of resources here that you may find useful, and if not there are also many people here who would be glad to help advise you on a proper direction for your studies.

Sorry to hear you're having a rough time.

[mslozada]

@ coolfire

You have to give us more details. Just by reading your post, we cant help you.

May I ask:
For what reason/ Why are you learning japanese?
What kind of books are you using?
Do you have someone who can assist you in your japanese studies?

@ Psy

質問（しつもん）
Location: 海が見える町

答え（こたえ）
東京（とうきょう）
あるいは
横浜（よこはま）

[mslozada]

Even though your family doesnt support you, you have nobody to practice to and no japanese speakers in your surroundings, yet you are still able to come up with such sentences ?

Believe me, you are even far more better than I expected. Maybe you still feel, that you arent making any progress, but to be able to write such sentences without any help just after 3 months...a few Kanjis and you are ready for the JLPT lvl 4.

Good work and keep it up.

[QuackingShoe]

I'm going to go with ineffective study methods. I'd recommend scouring the internet for relevant grammatical explanations (like guidetojapanese.org) and getting into real Japanese sources, such as watching a lot of Japanese movies, reading manga, and etc. I'd also recommend using an SRS system like Anki (http://anki.ichi2.net/), and reading websites like forum.koohii.com and alljapaneseallthetime.com for ideas.

And you'll want to tackle kanji sooner rather than later.

And don't let whatever get you down. No such thing as a bad learner, just bad methods. Find the good ones.

(Btw, I only glanced over your revised post. It's long, I'm lazy, and the way you write is very hard to read.)

[Taurus]

There are a few other threads around here about motivation, but I'll repeat what I've said in them: I think it's important to remind yourself how far you've come. Three months is not a long time, and yet now there's a bunch of stuff you understand and can say and write that you couldn't understand or say or write three months ago.

Also, learning a language is not something that progresses in a linear, upward motion. It proceeds in fits and starts, and a lot of the stuff you do might not bear fruit until it comes together with other stuff you do at a later moment in time.

And you need to use language for it to really come together - the other day I couldn't remember whether chinese cabbage was 'hokusai' or 'hakusai', because I haven't been in the kitchen for so long. So definitely watch and read and listen to as much stuff as possible, and just keep reminding yourself that you are making progress, even if you don't notice it. It's like looking in the mirror when you're losing weight: you won't notice the difference. Look at a couple of snapshots, three months apart, however, and you can see that things are starting to change.

Either way, you shouldn't give up - and you're also right to keep looking for new ways to learn, too.

[untmdsprt]

You'll have to give us more detail of what you're doing. What textbook are you using? Are you reading the PDFs that go with the audio from Jpod? What other study materials are you using?

Sounds like you need more structure in your life concerning studying Japanese. Here is what I'm doing:

1. Picked a textbook to study from for reading/writing.
2. Added Jpod101 for additional material, listening, etc.
3. Using http://smart.fm for vocabulary building, and more listening practice
4. Downloading dramas from http://www.d-addicts.com for more listening practice, and a fun diversion
5. Added various apps to my iPhone for on the go learning.
6. Watching Japanese TV for more listening and more fun diversions.

#1, 2, & 3 are my main sources, while the others are added as needed.

Are you doing something like this? Do you need to do something like this? Also set small goals for yourself instead of doing everything at once.