BECOME RAINMAN

Just kidding, although becoming rainman wouldn't hurt. Let me explain how...

If you spend your time memorizing phrases, you are wasting your time. A lot of books will teach you how to "speak" Japanese by memorizing a bunch of phrases. That's stupid! It's fine if you're a tourist trying to get around but YOU want to learn how to be fluent in Japanese and efficiently.

FOUNDATION, FOUNDATION, FOUNDATION

Study how phrases are formulated, know your particles and figure out how you can mix and match things. That way when you talk to someone in Japanese, you'll be able to generate phrases that aren't textbook Japanese but your own and that is REAL Japanese.

You should also know how to ask "something that is like this" because when you practice, you'll sometimes not remember what a word is, and by defining it, your friend or listener can help you remember. Synonyms are great!

How many English words do you know? 10,000? Maybe more? It's a lot and there are over 1million English words which is a ridiculous amount. But do you use a million words? No. Do you use 10,000 words? No. But you use a set amount of words every day and probably not more than 1000 or 2000.

Japanese is the same, you just need maybe a thousand or two words to know and you can get by like you're a fluent Japanese speaker. Study 5-10 words per day, review words every other day and make sure you retain these words with practice. It's technically not difficult to memorize 50 words per day but you need quite a bit of time for that and most of us have work or school. Set a realistic goal but be consistent and committed to it.

That's about how many Japanese words you need to use on a day-to-day basis anyway. Set it to 5 words per day for a full year and you're ready!

Jappleng is setup so that you can find study partners and soon, tutors. Find one! Statistically speaking, you won't get passed a month without one. You can get by without a tutor but you can't get by without a study partner or study group.

Why? Because you need people to help you stay motivated, on track, and to practice with. If you're behind then you'll have to catch up to stay with your study group. If you practice with your friends, you will learn much more rapidly and you'll have real practice instead of just theoretical.

You don't need to learn Japanese fluently in six months or a year, but let's say you do because you're going there to work. Make a plan of action, you know when you are leaving and you know where to get your lessons etc... Set an amount of words to study, set a practice schedules for yourself, and for with your study group.

Immerse yourself as much as you can, and don't get discouraged if you miss a day, just try your best to catch up as much as you can. You don't have to double up the next day, and if you try to convince yourself "well, I'll do it tomorrow and double up" it won't end well. Trust me, I know.

You can study something or you can post something somewhere like a practice phrase or paragraph of the day on your J-Spot profile. This will help you keep a habit of practice and perhaps you will be exposed to more people in your level range wanting to practice with you.

There's no better way to learn than being forced to learn in a homogeneous nation with barely any English speakers. It would be stressful but you'll become fluent within the first year guaranteed, assuming you survive. Many people have done this but if you're in a rush and worry you won't survive without enough Japanese, well guess what? Study as much as you can while you're not yet abroad but don't stress about it too much. Your natural survival instincts will kick in and you will naturally learn the language. You did it before as a baby, remember? Of course you don't! But the result is clear.

I need to go but if you need more tips, please let me know.