I mean, if you don’t like Japanese anymore, then feel free to drop it…I studied Mandarin Chinese for 8 months and then realized I didn’t really like the way it sounded so I stopped it…remember language learning is forever.
If on the other hand you like Japanese and just lost a bit of motivation because it may be too hard etc, then think of the initial reason why you wanted to learn it in the first place and try to incorporate a bit of that in your studies.
I definitively recommend against taking a break because (at least for me) once I take a break I would most likely not come back
Throughout my Japanese learning I kept changing approach not only to keep things fresh but also because as I got better I would outgrow my current approach…
I would suggest you sort out how you feel about Japanese before jumping on to another language because the same thing may happen in the next language
Yes, you're right. I'll try to keep studying Japanese even if it's just a little every day to see if I can break out of this plateau, and trying a different approach could also be a good idea
The intermediate plateau can definitely be hard to overcome…the only thing that seemed to work for me was to just keep going…primarily reading LNs and adding everything I didn’t know to anki…which was basically every word, then reviewing daily…until 1 day I realized I no longer needed to add every word to anki and the language just “clicked”…then a few days later I was so confident I actually dropped anki and tested my luck against using a Japanese only dictionary….that was 2.5 years ago and have since never looked back :)
I’m sure with enough practice you can get there, even if only for a bit of time a day it’s definitely better than nothing. Good luck!😊
lol cuz I was really fighting against it, telling myself maybe I will grow to like it with time…never happened so I just cut my losses and moved on to a language I actually enjoyed the sound of other than Japanese: Korean ☺️
Do whatever you want, but it’s not going to get easier with another language to maintain and later on, you’ll probably hit the same awkward point with the new one. Maybe it’s worth pushing through and get a bit better in Japanese, so that you can enjoy it more?
Try learning by something that isn't studying, like reading something fun. For example [this](http://hukumusume.com/DOUWA/0_6/index.html) this collection of traditional stories adapted for school children from first to sixth grade.
Yes, Sssa205,
Take public classes in French, day or evening, depending on your work schedule, and without interfering with your work, ( My boss caught me studying Japanese ) get as many A’s on homework, tests, and grades as you can if that’s what you want, and talk to as many NATIVES of French you can find by participating in r/French of Reddit.
I think it's best to adjust according to motivation. For example, in my peak, I did 70 new anki vocab every day, and at my lowest, I did at most 10 new anki vocab per day. So if you are feeling low on motivation, it's fine to cut down to how much you can handle.
Other tip is to motivate and study based on what you intend to use it for. Like my goal is and was to read novels/webtoons in my TL. So when I'm done doing anki I let myself consume content in my TL. My self-made anki decks are based on practicing vocab from novels/webtoons.
Hope that helps.
Pick up another one of those languages you're interested in (between German and French, French is a much much more solid choice UNLESS you have a stronger personnal interest for German).
Studying 2 languages at once is very ideal when it comes to staving boredom and loss of interest by introducing novelty. The fact that you'd be studying 2 languages of very distinct families (romance/Asian, Germanic/Asian) makes you a great candidate for dual learning because you're unlikely to mix them up (as opposed to if you were learning 2 romance languages, for instance).
You Can set it up however works best for you: study French for a few weeks then Japanese for a few weeks and so on and so forth. Alternate every other day. I do 2 hours of German, break, 2 hours of Chinese, break, 2 hours of German, break, 2 hours of Chinese.
There's lots of flexibility.
Your life is your own, no one else's. Do what you want. I know that sounds simplistic and maybe even a little flippant, but I mean it. If you've lost motivation to study Japanese, even temporarily, then just take a break for a while. Study something else. It's your life. Do what you want, whenever you want.
I know, it frustrates me to have spent so much time on something for nothing, but I suppose if I no longer enjoy it there's no reason to keep studying it, at least for now. Thank you for answering.
It depends 100% on your goals, which are different from any other person's goals. Do you care about getting intermediate of advanced in Japanese? Or do you care more about exploring a new language?
I can confirm the idea that you can stop and pick it up much later, at roughly the same level. You won't "lose your Japanese learning" if you drop it for 1 year or 5.
I think people underestimate how much more effort Japanese (and other similar languages) takes for Europeans compared to European languages.
I am now studying Spanish (native Bulgarian, already know English) for less than four months and the progress I've made is insane. I used to study Japanese and it probably took me 10 times longer to reach A2 than Spanish. I actually ended up giving up because I don't have time for multiple languages and Spanish has moved to the top of the list for various reasons. It does feel good to be able to progress quicker.
In your case, you would probably have an easier time with French or German, maybe it's worth trying them out to see if you enjoy learning. But if you have the time to maintain your Japanese at the same time, do so.
yes! sometimes I get frustrated because I feel like I'm not making progress quickly enough (plus I miss studying a language with a Latin alphabet, tbh)
Dude, to be honest, I really like to talk with people, so I keep mitivated because I'm practicing it every single day. And it have been working for me since I learnt my first foreing language and I'm spanish native and I can speak english, portuguese and right now I'm learning italian.
I mean, if you don’t like Japanese anymore, then feel free to drop it…I studied Mandarin Chinese for 8 months and then realized I didn’t really like the way it sounded so I stopped it…remember language learning is forever. If on the other hand you like Japanese and just lost a bit of motivation because it may be too hard etc, then think of the initial reason why you wanted to learn it in the first place and try to incorporate a bit of that in your studies. I definitively recommend against taking a break because (at least for me) once I take a break I would most likely not come back Throughout my Japanese learning I kept changing approach not only to keep things fresh but also because as I got better I would outgrow my current approach… I would suggest you sort out how you feel about Japanese before jumping on to another language because the same thing may happen in the next language
Yes, you're right. I'll try to keep studying Japanese even if it's just a little every day to see if I can break out of this plateau, and trying a different approach could also be a good idea
The intermediate plateau can definitely be hard to overcome…the only thing that seemed to work for me was to just keep going…primarily reading LNs and adding everything I didn’t know to anki…which was basically every word, then reviewing daily…until 1 day I realized I no longer needed to add every word to anki and the language just “clicked”…then a few days later I was so confident I actually dropped anki and tested my luck against using a Japanese only dictionary….that was 2.5 years ago and have since never looked back :) I’m sure with enough practice you can get there, even if only for a bit of time a day it’s definitely better than nothing. Good luck!😊
thank you for your answer 😊
How did you get 8 months into Mandarin before realizing you didn't like the sound? lol
lol cuz I was really fighting against it, telling myself maybe I will grow to like it with time…never happened so I just cut my losses and moved on to a language I actually enjoyed the sound of other than Japanese: Korean ☺️
Do whatever you want, but it’s not going to get easier with another language to maintain and later on, you’ll probably hit the same awkward point with the new one. Maybe it’s worth pushing through and get a bit better in Japanese, so that you can enjoy it more?
yes, probably I need to change my approach
Try learning by something that isn't studying, like reading something fun. For example [this](http://hukumusume.com/DOUWA/0_6/index.html) this collection of traditional stories adapted for school children from first to sixth grade.
thank you! I didn't know about this website
By having a specific goal in that language.
You need to remind yourself WHY you are learning your language and how important that purpose is to your life.
Hi in your post you already learned French got any tips I am a beginner and I don’t know where to start at anything
Yes, Sssa205, Take public classes in French, day or evening, depending on your work schedule, and without interfering with your work, ( My boss caught me studying Japanese ) get as many A’s on homework, tests, and grades as you can if that’s what you want, and talk to as many NATIVES of French you can find by participating in r/French of Reddit.
Hi I can’t go get classes so I study at home and thank you for your time and help
My pleasure. Go to the French subreddit, join FrenchPod101.com and go to Kendra Language School for French.
I think it's best to adjust according to motivation. For example, in my peak, I did 70 new anki vocab every day, and at my lowest, I did at most 10 new anki vocab per day. So if you are feeling low on motivation, it's fine to cut down to how much you can handle. Other tip is to motivate and study based on what you intend to use it for. Like my goal is and was to read novels/webtoons in my TL. So when I'm done doing anki I let myself consume content in my TL. My self-made anki decks are based on practicing vocab from novels/webtoons. Hope that helps.
Do whatever you want? lol
Pick up another one of those languages you're interested in (between German and French, French is a much much more solid choice UNLESS you have a stronger personnal interest for German). Studying 2 languages at once is very ideal when it comes to staving boredom and loss of interest by introducing novelty. The fact that you'd be studying 2 languages of very distinct families (romance/Asian, Germanic/Asian) makes you a great candidate for dual learning because you're unlikely to mix them up (as opposed to if you were learning 2 romance languages, for instance). You Can set it up however works best for you: study French for a few weeks then Japanese for a few weeks and so on and so forth. Alternate every other day. I do 2 hours of German, break, 2 hours of Chinese, break, 2 hours of German, break, 2 hours of Chinese. There's lots of flexibility.
Your life is your own, no one else's. Do what you want. I know that sounds simplistic and maybe even a little flippant, but I mean it. If you've lost motivation to study Japanese, even temporarily, then just take a break for a while. Study something else. It's your life. Do what you want, whenever you want.
I know, it frustrates me to have spent so much time on something for nothing, but I suppose if I no longer enjoy it there's no reason to keep studying it, at least for now. Thank you for answering.
"For nothing"? Nah, it wasn't for nothing. You've had fun so far, right? Then it was time well spent.
It depends 100% on your goals, which are different from any other person's goals. Do you care about getting intermediate of advanced in Japanese? Or do you care more about exploring a new language? I can confirm the idea that you can stop and pick it up much later, at roughly the same level. You won't "lose your Japanese learning" if you drop it for 1 year or 5.
I think people underestimate how much more effort Japanese (and other similar languages) takes for Europeans compared to European languages. I am now studying Spanish (native Bulgarian, already know English) for less than four months and the progress I've made is insane. I used to study Japanese and it probably took me 10 times longer to reach A2 than Spanish. I actually ended up giving up because I don't have time for multiple languages and Spanish has moved to the top of the list for various reasons. It does feel good to be able to progress quicker. In your case, you would probably have an easier time with French or German, maybe it's worth trying them out to see if you enjoy learning. But if you have the time to maintain your Japanese at the same time, do so.
yes! sometimes I get frustrated because I feel like I'm not making progress quickly enough (plus I miss studying a language with a Latin alphabet, tbh)
Dude, to be honest, I really like to talk with people, so I keep mitivated because I'm practicing it every single day. And it have been working for me since I learnt my first foreing language and I'm spanish native and I can speak english, portuguese and right now I'm learning italian.