So, I began "studying" Japanese two years ago. "Studying" is not quite the right word for it, as I never learned through a textbook or teacher but rather through immersion alone. I had found a local group doing meetups consisting of other Japanese learners and local Japanese university students, whom I would speak Japanese or my mother tongue with. Also, I made many friends in that group—many Japanese friends—whom I kept in contact with and met up with, which greatly helped my Japanese-speaking output.
Back then, I was kinda stuck in life, and in general, I never knew where I wanted to go with Japanese. Currently, I am able to hold a basic conversation and dive deeper into certain topics but lack a LOT in Japanese grammar and reading. I am currently in a position where I have the time, the comfort, and the dedicated time to study Japanese if I want to, but I don’t seem to use it. I have a lifetime Wanikani account, and my brother passed the N1, and if I did not understand a grammar point or anything, I could simply ask him if I wanted to, and he encourages me to study Japanese seriously.
Why can I simply not use my time for it? I seem to do anything but study Japanese… I got the Genki books, I got the Shinkanzen books, and many others my brother had bought for his own studies, which I could also learn with if I wanted. I have noticed that there is a wall of language barrier—that if you don’t learn more words and proper grammar, you are just stuck with Japanese. My Japanese improved to a degree through speaking alone, but after some time, it was always the same Japanese output, never something new, and I often got stuck not understanding what my Japanese friends were saying because I didn’t learn properly to begin with.
How can I improve this? Do I need to build a consistent routine? I am at a part of my life where I easily have the time for it and the comfort.
by BringerOfRainsn