to begin with? As long as you have the materials and the guidance, you should be
able to make impressive progress.
There will be more specific tips as the lessons progress. For instance, when
studying word lists, early morning is the best time. That is because your brain,
like wet cement, is VERY receptive to new information at that time. Have you
ever awakened to a horrible song on your alarm clock radio, and then tried to get
it out of your head? It's almost impossible. This works to your advantage when
you are trying to memorize something. If you set aside at least 5 or 10 minutes in
the morning, you will notice the difference. Studies have found that school kids
do better in their 1st hour classes for the same reason.
First steps in learning Japanese
Getting the Right Mindset
Unless you watch a lot of subtitled anime, you probably aren't very familiar with
Japanese, and it probably sounds foreign to you. When you hear it, your instinct
is to ignore it as a "foreign" language. You must try to think of Japanese dialog
as simply, "words I don't know yet". In other words, you must believe that
"Japanese is Possible".
Realize How Much Time You Have to Learn
You may think you have very little time, but you might be surprised how much
time you can scrape together. Important parts of learning Japanese, such as
"Word Lists" can be done anytime, anywhere. You only need 10 seconds in a
row to look at a list and study some words! Other things can be done at the same
time as other things. You can listen to Japanese music or Anime while surfing
the Web, for example.
Start thinking about how you could manage your time better, to give yourself
some time each day to study. Not much time is required - just enough to look at a
word list a few times, read part of a "Learn Japanese" book, or watch a subtitled
Anime. (That part won't take too much discipline!)
The idea is to do a little bit every day. We've all heard the fable of "The Tortoise
and the Hare". Indeed, when learning a language, "Slow and steady wins the
race".
Here's an interesting analogy I found on the Internet on managing your
time:
(by James R. Beach)
A professor walks into the room carrying an empty 10-gallon water jug and
dragging an obviously heavy bag. He places them on the teacher's desk. Without
a word, he begins placing white rocks, just big enough to fit through the mouth
of the jug, into the jug until they reach the very top. "Is it full?" he asks. The
class nods.
"Maybe not," he says. He then stuffs tiny pebbles into the jug and the pebbles
find their way through the cracks in the rock. "Full now?" he asks. The whole
class nods.
He then shovels sand into the jug, occasionally shaking the jug, and the tiny
grains sift through the rocks and pebbles. "OK," he says, "now is it full?" The
class nods in unison.
