I'm now nine months into my learning basic Japanese project, just a week away from my arrival in Japan for the first time, to attend the Polyglot Conference…and to explore a bit too. This is my latest monthly report. It's a brief one this time. Why? First, because, I'm on the road for a month (first Singapore and Hong Kong). Second, erm, because has been my least productive … [Read more...]
Learning Japanese: Month Eight update
I'm now eight months into my learning basic Japanese project, a month away from hitting the road for Asia and six weeks from my first visit to Japan. Here's my "end of month eight" progress report. It's a brief one this time, as it's only two weeks since the last of my weekly summer diaries (covering Basque as well as Japanese). This month's "update vlog" is down at the bottom … [Read more...]
Basque/Japanese diary: Week Four
I've finished the final week of my one-month summer “language sprint”. For the last four weeks I've upped the work I'm doing on Basic Japanese Project, from 30 mins a day, seven days a week, to one hour a day, five times a week and aimed to put in another hour at my intermediate Basque. Here, then, is the final diary-style update on how this summer study of Japanese and … [Read more...]
Basque/Japanese diary: Week Three
I'm already at the end of week three of my summer “language sprint”. The "sprint" is a boost to the work on Japanese that I was already aiming to do as part of my nine-month Basic Japanese Project, plus, more time than usual on my on-going Basque learning (I'm an intermediate level learner). For a month, I'm aiming to do an hour a day on each language, five days a … [Read more...]
Basque/Japanese diary: Week Two
I'm now two weeks into my summer “language sprint”. What's it all about? First, I’ve increased the work I’m aiming to do as part of my nine-month Basic Japanese Project. My weekly commitment is up from thirty minutes a day, seven days a week, to one hour a day, five days a week. Second, I'm aiming to clock an hour each day on my intermediate Basque. I started the … [Read more...]
Basque/Japanese diary, Week One
A week ago, I started a summer "language sprint". I've increased the amount of focussed study I'm aiming to do as part of my nine-month Basic Japanese Project from thirty minutes a day, seven days a week, to one hour a day, five days a week. Plus, I'm being more consistent in my on-going study of intermediate Basque, aiming to clock another hour each day on that language. This … [Read more...]
Two language tango: a new four-week learning sprint (Basque/Japanese update)
For the next four weeks my language learning will change gear. I'm upping the time that goes into my focussed study of beginner's Japanese and intermediate Basque. It's a summer learning "sprint" or, if you like, a two-language tango. (Scroll down for vid). If you're a regular reader, you'll know that I'm nearly seven months into a project to learn basic Japanese in advance … [Read more...]
Learning Japanese: Month Six update
I'm now over well over half way through my learning Japanese in nine months project. Now, I'm not foolhardy enough to try to learn the whole language in nine months. After all, I'm only setting aside thirty minutes a day, seven days a week of focussed study. No! The aim is simply to get as far as I can within these constraints. My reason to learn some basic Japanese now? A trip … [Read more...]
Learning Japanese: Month Five update
It's over five months since I started my latest language learning project: learning Japanese. This is my May update (belated due to my trip to Bratislava for the Polyglot Gathering). At the bottom of the post, you'll find my May update vlog from the YouTube channel. A recap if you're new here: my aim is to study Japanese daily, seven days a week or, over nine months to … [Read more...]
Learning Japanese: Month Four update
I'm now just over four months into my current language project: learning Japanese. Here's my April update. There's a video update at the bottom of the post, too. My target minimum focussed study time is half an hour of Japanese daily, seven days a week or, over nine months. A "full house" total of 30 mins x 30 April days would be fifteen hours. My actual total was … [Read more...]