Thanks! I'm really glad to have some support/encouragement because most people I know think it's absolutely insane to studying Japanese while living in China.
I think the biggest hurdle to self-study is commitment. You have to be willing to put in the time as if you were taking a real class. People take classes seriously because they have to spend money on them; it's a lot harder to be serious when there's no consequences for not (other than, you know, not improving). That's one reason being in China is really helping with this; I have the time to actually study this seriously because I'm not working 40 hours a week. But the catch is going to be sticking with it. I know some people reward themselves when they stick to their study plan with dessert or a night out or whatever, but that doesn't work so well for me. XD
The great thing about self-studying Japanese is that there are a ton of resources online for doing it. I know White Rabbit Press, for example, has a really nice set of kanji flashcards (http://www.whiterabbitpress.com/) but there are tons of other sites online that make the same info available for free. There are at least a dozen podcasts on iTunes you can listen to for free. I even know of a guy who has a blog about his self-studying Japanese techniques (http://grahamsk.wordpress.com/).
This semester I'm making all my students pick one area of English study they would most like to improve in (vocab, pronunciation, etc.) and making them work at it a little at a time over the whole semester to improve. I think if you took some time to evaluate your own goals and what you want to improve on, you might be able to focus on one or two areas at a time and really improve that way rather than just a broad goal of "get better at Japanese." *shrug* just a thought.
If you come up with a study plan, let me know! I will definitely want to help/support and I know it would help me to have someone talking about what they're learning and keeping me motivated to keep studying, too! Let's study Japanese together and be awesome at it!!
I know, I love White Rabbit Press! I would love to drop as much cash as I can for all that fun stuff, but shipping to China is awfully expensive. =__=;;
Oh! Also, another site I just thought of XD www.japannewbie.com It's kind of an eclectic mix of cultural things, language weirdness, and language tools -- I know the guy who runs it, Harvey, has written a lot of learn Japanese apps for the iPhone/iPod.
I think the biggest hurdle to self-study is commitment. You have to be willing to put in the time as if you were taking a real class. People take classes seriously because they have to spend money on them; it's a lot harder to be serious when there's no consequences for not (other than, you know, not improving). That's one reason being in China is really helping with this; I have the time to actually study this seriously because I'm not working 40 hours a week. But the catch is going to be sticking with it. I know some people reward themselves when they stick to their study plan with dessert or a night out or whatever, but that doesn't work so well for me. XD
The great thing about self-studying Japanese is that there are a ton of resources online for doing it. I know White Rabbit Press, for example, has a really nice set of kanji flashcards (http://www.whiterabbitpress.com/) but there are tons of other sites online that make the same info available for free. There are at least a dozen podcasts on iTunes you can listen to for free. I even know of a guy who has a blog about his self-studying Japanese techniques (http://grahamsk.wordpress.com/).
This semester I'm making all my students pick one area of English study they would most like to improve in (vocab, pronunciation, etc.) and making them work at it a little at a time over the whole semester to improve. I think if you took some time to evaluate your own goals and what you want to improve on, you might be able to focus on one or two areas at a time and really improve that way rather than just a broad goal of "get better at Japanese." *shrug* just a thought.
If you come up with a study plan, let me know! I will definitely want to help/support and I know it would help me to have someone talking about what they're learning and keeping me motivated to keep studying, too! Let's study Japanese together and be awesome at it!!
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Oh, another fun place: http://www.thejapanstore.com/
Oh! Also, another site I just thought of XD www.japannewbie.com It's kind of an eclectic mix of cultural things, language weirdness, and language tools -- I know the guy who runs it, Harvey, has written a lot of learn Japanese apps for the iPhone/iPod.
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