Learned Japanese on a whim so I could watch anime without subtitles. Now by complete coincidence I’m in Japan and not banging my head against the nearly insurmountable language barrier (Japanese people are really bad at English).
I decided to start learning French last year and have been essentially speed running it. Learning another language makes my brain happy (I’m fluent in 2 already).
Immersion. Duolingo (blegh) is useful for structured grammar learning, but I’m gaining a lot through music, podcasts, and switching some apps to French. Recently started translating comic books since they’re relatively simple but fun. For the specific dialect I want to learn, I’m getting help from my friend and I found a French club through my job.
As much as I hate Duolingo’s recent politics, their podcast is one of the most useful. It’s essentially bilingual Radiolab. At least I know that doesn’t have AI.
When I was in high school, I convinced my parents to sign me up for Japanese classes on the weekend because the sequel to my favorite game didn’t get translated. Didn’t end up getting all that far in it, my ADHD/autistic ass had a hard time paying attention in class and I had too much actual schoolwork to keep up with so I kinda just didn’t do the homework.
But last year I started getting back into it just for fun, and I am having a lot of fun learning. Helps that I can go at my own pace without any pressure from being in school anymore. Still a long way from 日本語上手, but I passed a N4 mock exam and I just ordered a shipment of books and manga to try and see how far I can get. Saving up to travel in a few years too.
Learned Japanese on a whim so I could watch anime without subtitles. Now by complete coincidence I’m in Japan and not banging my head against the nearly insurmountable language barrier (Japanese people are really bad at English).
I decided to start learning French last year and have been essentially speed running it. Learning another language makes my brain happy (I’m fluent in 2 already).
What’s your language-learning method?
Immersion. Duolingo (blegh) is useful for structured grammar learning, but I’m gaining a lot through music, podcasts, and switching some apps to French. Recently started translating comic books since they’re relatively simple but fun. For the specific dialect I want to learn, I’m getting help from my friend and I found a French club through my job.
As much as I hate Duolingo’s recent politics, their podcast is one of the most useful. It’s essentially bilingual Radiolab. At least I know that doesn’t have AI.
Jesus, you’re committed! Thanks for the tips.
When I was in high school, I convinced my parents to sign me up for Japanese classes on the weekend because the sequel to my favorite game didn’t get translated. Didn’t end up getting all that far in it, my ADHD/autistic ass had a hard time paying attention in class and I had too much actual schoolwork to keep up with so I kinda just didn’t do the homework.
But last year I started getting back into it just for fun, and I am having a lot of fun learning. Helps that I can go at my own pace without any pressure from being in school anymore. Still a long way from 日本語上手, but I passed a N4 mock exam and I just ordered a shipment of books and manga to try and see how far I can get. Saving up to travel in a few years too.
In that case anime is your best friend. Well, and any other Japanese video content. Even with subtitles it helps your ears get used to the language.
日本語は僕の好きな言葉ですでも、いま中国語を勉強している。
Small tip: でも can only be used to start a sentence; for connecting two halves of a sentence you should use けど or が depending on formality level.
Yeah I haven’t practiced/studied Japanese (on my own) since high school, oops.