With a new year comes new year’s resolutions, and hopefully, one of them is to level up your Japanese. Many people start the year with a list of resolutions and aren’t able to follow through with them, but these tips should give you a few ideas on how to develop a practical study plan!
1. Set Measurable Goals
The most important thing is to have a goal that you want to complete by the end of the year.
Studying for the sake of it may seem appealing, but you run the risk of losing focus and giving up. You should have a one-year goal and then divide it up into some shorter-term ones as well. Try not to make it too vague like “watching anime without subtitles,” as there’s no real way to measure progress and it will be difficult to develop a plan.
Some potential goals:
- “Take the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) in December.”
- “Finish my chosen textbook by trying to clear two chapters each month.”
- “Get a job in a Japanese environment and read a newspaper article in Japanese every day.”
Remember, we’re motivated by success and not failure, so make a goal that’s realistic! If you’re a beginner, don’t expect to be able to pass JLPT N3 by the end of the year. You’re better off making easy goals that you know that you can hit and then expand from there.
Pro tip: Start planning right now! For example, check out this list of JLPT test centers and dates. Also, if you’re looking to buy textbooks produced in Japan, you might want to look into purchasing them from Amazon Japan. They can be cheaper and will ship overseas.
2. Make A Habit Of It
People always complain about a lack of time, but we all have the same 24 hours in a day, so don’t just say you’re too busy. Use the time that you have and try to commit a certain amount of time each day, or at least each week, to studying Japanese. Even if it’s just studying for 10 minutes at lunch and another 20 when you come home. Learn something new in the evening and review it the next day at lunch. Just get into a habit where you always have time to study!
Also, you don’t need to keep a constant pace where you clear a certain amount of content every day. Sure, learning 10 new kanji a day seems easy enough at first and maybe you’ll be motivated when you start, especially because the starting kanji are relatively easy to understand. However, after a few weeks you may find yourself just forcing yourself to learn kanji for the sake of it without really memorizing them or knowing their different uses and combinations.
Pro tip: Know when to slow down. It’s far more useful to be proficient with two kanji than barely literate with 20. The same goes for self-study with a book. Don’t force yourself to finish a chapter for the sake of it if you’re struggling to do the exercises.
3. Active Recall is Your Best Friend
Now that you’ve gotten a study routine down. It’s time to make memorizing all the new characters, words and grammar points more efficient by using active recall. There are several benefits to active recall. It can lessen test anxiety (especially for the JLPT), help you deepen your understanding and improve your memory and critical thinking skills.
Try these exercises to get you started:
- Make flashcards or use apps like Anki to help you retain all the new information you’re learning using a spaced repetition technique.
- Teach your friends or classmates about what you’ve just learned. If you can explain it clearly enough, then you know you’ve mastered the topic.
- Make your own sample sentences so you can remember how and when to use them.
Pro tip: Use Japanese language apps like Anki to help you retain and reinforce all your prior vocabulary knowledge!
4. Shadowing for Better Pronunciation
Make your Japanese sound more natural by shadowing conversations you hear from Japanese television shows, anime, and podcasts. Copying native speakers can improve your pitch and the overall flow of your Japanese conversation skills. Start with a few words and phrases, then build up to shadowing full sentences and even scenes from TV shows!
Pro tip: Check out our post on the best Japanese Dramas on Netflix to get you started.
5. Build Your Vocabulary Outside the JLPT
Want to get even better at Japanese? Then, you’ll have to look beyond the words covered in the JLPT. It’s best to develop a hobby that can naturally introduce you to new words and phrases. For example, if you like shopping and fashion, get to know the various types of kanji for fabrics, cuts and techniques in Japanese. It’ll not only motivate you to learn more of the language beyond the classroom, but it can also help you make friends with similar interests with whom you can practice your conversation skills.
Pro tip: Join an online group or look up other online communities that can jumpstart your new hobby!
6. Focus on Output
One of the biggest mistakes language learners make is to focus purely on input. While it’s obviously important to invest time into learning the ins and outs of basic vocabulary and grammar, it’s just as important to put it into practice. Keep a journal, write a little bit about what you did during the day, and see how well you can remember the kanji stroke order. Over time, you’ll be able to describe your day in much more detail and branch out into other topics beyond just your everyday routine. By focusing on output, you’ll also be able to identify the most common mistakes you make. So get writing!
Pro tip: To take things up a notch, try recording yourself recounting your day or whatever’s on your mind. It can help you measure how naturally you’re able to speak.
7. Make Friends with Native Speakers
To stay consistent, try to make friends with native Japanese speakers. If you don’t know where to start, there are several language exchange apps and programs that can help you break the ice. Interacting and befriending native speakers will help you get a better idea of how casual Japanese is spoken. Plus, it’s a great way to learn new Japanese slang.
Pro tip: In addition to the usual online forums, there are dedicated apps like HelloTalk that are purely focused on language exchange. Try it out!
8. Incorporate Japanese to Your Daily Routine
One of the best ways to improve your Japanese is to incorporate it into your daily routine. Aside from setting time each day to review and learn new grammar points, why not try cooking a new recipe in Japanese? Or read daily news articles in easy Japanese? A common pitfall of learning a language is just to view it as a subject in school. Try seeing Japanese as a part of your life, something that you would expose yourself to every day, and watch how less tedious the whole language-learning journey becomes.
Pro tip: Start by following easy recipes in Japanese through YouTube videos, then work your way up to reading the news.
9. The Best Way? Study in Japan!
Coming to Japan and enrolling in a language school is by far the most efficient way to raise your abilities. Studying and living in a 100 percent Japanese environment with a structured class system will guarantee that you’ll be able to make constant progress.
Just a few months of intensive study can be equal to over a year of self-study, so if you have the time to spare it can be a really rewarding and fun experience.
If you are interested in studying in Japan, we at GaijinPot are here to help you out and answer all your questions. If you apply through our placement program, we’ll find the right school for your personal goals and can also take care of things like preparing you to come to Japan and finding a place to live. All you have to do is show up and be prepared to study!
10. Use Some Handy Resources
Here are a few more quick and recommended resources to help you with your 2025 study goals:
- Check out GaijinPot’s article on a few great apps for studying Japanese.
- If you’re a Redditor, check the Learn Japanese Reddit community.
- Don’t forget about GaijinPot Study’s Introduction to Japanese and our other posts under our Study Japanese category.
- For a list of grammar points with examples, check out Tae Kim’s Japanese guide
Get ‘er done!
There are many ways to study, and everyone learns differently, so just find a way that works for you and have a goal in sight. If you are interested in coming to Japan to study, check out GaijinPot Study. We’ll make it easy for you to come here and really level up your Japanese!
This post was originally written by Mike Kozlowski in 2018.
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