Study Up!

Coming from someone as lazy as myself, this may not sound all that convincing, but to seriously pick up Japanese you need to buckle down. For too long I've been relying on Osmosis to do the work for me.  I've surrounded myself in Japanese music (Otsuka Ai, and Ayaka mostly), Japanese friends (mostly girls), and books that I'd thumb through whenever I felt like it.  There are a few problems with this method of 'studying'.

For one, only hearing women speak is hugely detrimental.  There are things that only women can get away with saying and you don't want to pick up on these (ending your sentences in 'wa' and 'mon' just for starters).  Think of making guy friends as an investment that will pay off later when you have more manly Japanese and the Japanese girls are lining up for your phone number.  Its only fun to be the cute gaijin that speaks a little girly for so long (trust me).  Though girly Japanese may work for nanpa, good luck getting a job in Japan talking like a high school chick. 

Second, I found that when I learned at a leisurely pace, I was forgetting as much as I was learning. Sisyphus is no model for language learning.  The only way to stay ahead is to cram your face
with as much Japanese as possible, and that unfortunately takes commitment.  Since I've been working, I've lost 9 hours of study time per day.  I'm starting to wish I'd majored in Japanese so I'd have this language down by now...why did I have to get a degree in a marketable skill?

Third, much like working out, putting in just a few hours a week will only yield results for so long.  You will plateau unless you are constantly challenging yourself.  Unlike working out, you can't just take language steroids and get fluent in a week.  I've used Rosetta Stone, Japanesepod101, and Pimsleur but they only worked when I was constantly using them and pushing past my comfort zone (which is more difficult than it sounds because Rosetta Stone and Pimsleur don't really teach beyond intermediate Japanese).  

I doubt this will be all that motivating for anyone out there, because I wrote this for myself.  I've set a goal to take the Nihongo Noryoku Shiken and I need to remind myself to study up.  You hear me Jon Evans??  Pass the N1 or N2 and you've got an in for a Japanese job, so don't drop the ball!