How much study time

[williamt2214]

How much study time do you spend a day on learning Japanese?

I have heard that you shouldn't spend more then 30 minutes a day or you have a hard time remembering
new stuff.

I listen on the way to work and the way home. My commute is about an hour or so. Plenty of time to listen to 2 or 3 podcasts each way.

Is this not a good thing to do?
Should I limit myself to listening to just one a day?

[mmmason8967]

Personally I try to do at least half an hour a day, but I often don't succeed. I work in IT and sometimes we have periods of intense activity that can last for weeks, during which my study time drops to near zero. When that happens I start forgetting stuff, and when it's over I usually have to backtrack a long way. As a result, I'm pretty convinced that doing a little every day is the way to go, and that it's the "every day" bit that's important.

I'm not sure that there's an upper limit on how long you should study. As I understand it, they reckon that your concentration goes after around 45 minutes: after you've been studying for around that length of time, they reckon you need a ten minute break doing something completely different, after which you're good to go again.

In the end, though, it must come down to whether or not what you're doing is working for you. If you feel you're making good progress listening to two or three podcasts a day, then why not keep at it? On the other hand, if you feel it's not really working, then it's time for a rethink. So how do you actually feel it's going?

マイケル

[community.japanese]

williamt2214-san, マイケルsan,
I agree with マイケルsan; even if it's only a little time, studying everyday is the most important thing.
As far as I'm concerned, 2 or 3 lessons in one day is fine though
But it might also depend on how you find those lessons. If you find a lesson difficult, probably it's better to
listen the same lesson twice or 3 times, instead of going to the next lesson.
I've done that before (with different languages, obviously...) and it works very good.
On the contrary, if you find a lesson easy and you can learn a bit more, then go to next lesson and get more new stuff.

Regarding concentration, it's impossible to be concentrated 100% if you're doing something else at the
same time (anything, really). One good milestone about real concentration would be the time 1 interpreter (simultaneous interpretation) can go on, and that's only 15-20 minutes max. If you imagine how concentrated those
interpreters have to be, you might know you can go on longer than that when you study.
When we study, 5 or 10 minutes break after 60-90 minutes are considered good and efficient.

Hope this helps!

Natsuko (奈津子),
Team JapanesePod101.com

[phileuro]

I use the pomodoro technique - not just for studying Japanese but for most things! I do 25 or 48 minute bursts where I work on something uninterrupted. For Japanese I do 25 minutes.
I am studying japanese using 3 different sources.
1) Minna no Nihongo books
2) JapanesePod 101
3) Anki flashcards for Kana and Kanji review

Depending on my work schedule I do at LEAST one 25 minute block a day. If I have a light workload I will do 2 or 3 even. JapanesePod is good to do while walking so you get exercise AND japanese.

I have found that you have to commit. My TV watching has dropped to almost 0 (which is probably a good thing anyway).

I also strongly recommend finding a way to speak Japanese - find a friend either online or offline. That makes all the difference because what I am finding is that my reading and writing is coming along leaps and bounds, but I am tongue tied when it comes to speaking. I do have Japanese speaking friends but they are all interested in improving their English, so I have to fight to get some Nihongo time!

[winterpromise31]

I study between 30-60 minutes every single day. I review cards on Anki, listen to a Jpod101 podcast, and read something (blog post, online article) in Japanese. I recently responded to an ad for a language exchange partner and wrote my second email today (in Japanese). It's good practice. Sometimes I study for more than an hour if I'm really motivated but I have committed to a minimum of 30 minutes per day.

[community.japanese]

phileuro-san,
that's a great advice!

winterpromise31-san,
I think you're doing just great.

Natsuko(奈津子),
Team JapanesePod101.com