A Quick Update

This is just a quick update for the time being. there might be more later, but I don't know yet. Mostly, I wanted to talk about my little experiment with Anki today. It's not so much trying to use Anki in a new way, it's more just a new way for me. Instead of doing my normal huge set of reps at one time, I'm turning today's reviews into ten reps every ten minutes. Short, winnable games, as per AJATT. If it really works for my memory (and getting through the mega-review I've had brewing), I may continue to do it with all future reviews.

Kanji Progress and General Japanese Update

Well, finishing tonight's review will bring me to 400 Heisig Kanji reviewed. However, I've found that the last two nights of review have been especially hard. Still, I'm not going to give up. This weekend, while I won't have access to my normal computer (meaning no Anki) I'll work on improving my memory for reviews. Maybe it's my diet or sleep schedule, or stress (the last couple of days I've had quite a workload), or that I'm simply not working the stories and components into my memory of each Kanji well enough.
Also, as of late, I've noticed that my earphones are causing mild pain even when not wearing them. For that reason, and in order to more comfortably maintain my listening environment, I'll be getting new headphones this weekend.
Finally, I've kind of got a projection of where I will be in the AJATT method. I figure by May 10th, if I continue at my rate of 25 new Kanji per review, I should be "finished" with Heisig (obviously, to keep everything in my memory, I'll continue to review after that). If I plan to go to Japan for study abroad next spring (I'll leave around March) I'll have around 10 months in the sentence phase before I leave. I doubt I'll hit true fluency by then, but I should have an ample grasp of Japanese, and if I reach fluency within about the same time frame as Khatz over at AJATT, then I should be fluent around August of 2010 (assuming I maintain my listening environment, and considering things like, the possibility that actually being in Japan may make it easier to atain fluency, I'm really thinking It'll be around July-September for fluency).
With all this said, I'd still have to say I'm in the "suck" phase of learning. I can pick out words, and sometimes understand whole sentences, but I have a hard time keeping up, and definitely with responding. Even though I did a year of self-study prior to entering college, and have taken college courses (which use all of the same material I did in my self-study... which in fact, my self-study encompassed nearly everything taught at my school), I feel like, the addition of the AJATT method has, as of late, improved my comprehension and speaking. Things that I wasn't completely sure of how to use are simply becoming more apparent, and I am learning words in context, simply through listening. Yes, it's hard at this point, but it's also been promising. Based on my own experience, I think it is definitely possible to do the AJATT method and attain near-native/full-native fluency and literacy within 18 months.

Edit: I actually didn't finish my review tonight. I had 49 kanji to review in addition to the 25 new kanji (that's almost 75 at one time). I decided to let tonight slide, and just work on getting everything into memory over the weekend (meaning tonight's kanji, and the kanji from the past couple of nights that I've been having trouble with... in addition to the ~75 kanji I'll have added by Monday from not doing reviews over the weekend). It'll be a lot to do on Monday, but i think if I can spend a weekend focusing on keeping things in my memory, and better using creative memory (making stories, putting together components), then I can pull it off and continue to use anything I glean from this weekend.

Heisig

I'm doing the Heisig deck that comes pre-loaded onto Anki, and it's going smooth. Not to mention I've decided to start twice daily reviews. So, now that I can do the first 165 with over 90% retention, I'm going to start adding another 20 a day. However, I'm still annoyed that I can't figure out how to configure it so that I get the same cards each day, but with a few new ones, without making it think I'm starting the deck for the first time, because I want to review all the cards I've done so far, as well as see new cards that I will review the next day, and so on.

Japanese Today

Ok, so, I reviewed some Heisig on Anki, but I really want to figure out how to keep it from adding 15 every day, so I can spend some time doing the first 165 for a few days, and then start adding 20 a day maybe. That way, I can get through the 2000ish within a few months, then on to sentences!
My biggest problem will likely be the immersion environment. I'm broke, and MP3 player-less...
so listening to Japanese all the time will be difficult for a while.
I'm setting a goal of being pretty much fluent in Japanese by the summer 2010, and getting Kanji under my belt before summer 2009 will be a big step towards getting that done.

You, Me, and Japanese

Well, mostly me. Still, I've studied Japanese since September 2007. And there's even been improvement since then (OMG, really?!)! But to be honest, I've found that I don't have the confidence to speak to many of the Japanese exchange students at my college. I have at least a little. And I've picked up a few things. But my fundamental problem is rooted mainly in my methods.
For the past year, I though I could learn Japanese using a more traditional method; the textbook. And I found I improved, I could read, I felt great... until I realized mostly I could just read things in my textbook. And though I finished the first volume in (I was using Genki, by the way) some months, I still couldn't read some of the Japanese books I owned (and still own, and still can't read). And even though i was turned onto the AJATT method some months ago, I had yet to put it into effect. Until now. Err, a few days ago.
Essentially, the AJATT method is limited on grammar, and all about exposure. Exposure in the extreme. And even though I was impressed, nay, inspired by the author, Khatz, I had yet to try, to believe in AJATT. The method just seemed to fly against common sense. Kanji before anything? Study sentences? What?
But I've realized, through actually using and SRS, the primary tool for this method, how it really comes together.
You may ask, what is an SRS. Well, it's just flash cards, except better. And your hands don't cramp after making thousands. There's a better explanation at http://www.alljapaneseallthetime.com. Using the Heisig cards preloaded with the program Anki, I've found out how effective an SRS program is, in just a few days. I'm seriously remembering things better. Not to say I'm doing perfectly (I decided to work on the first 150 Kanji in Heisig at once... yeah, may be a few days before I start adding more to that number). But by hand, repetition is less effective. And I'm good at remembering that way! So now that the SRS is working for me, and that Heisig's RTK is actually looking promising and doable within 3 months, I may go ahead with more of the AJATT method.