/jp/ - Otaku Culture

Ok, a lot of people give the AJATT method shit for not being "practical". That is a big excuse and you should feel bad. I think the problem is people do not realize just how simple employing the AJATT method actually is. You do not have to ostracize yourself from your world to accomplish Japanese fluency. In many ways, I'm sure some of you are already doing this in a small way. There are some tips I can give you. I want to keep these posts as "non-blog"-like as possible, since you don't actually give a shit about my own background and successes.

1. It helps to have some background first: Anime-fans who have been watching subbed shows, import gamers, people who listen to music with Japanese-language vocals. They are at an advantage. A small one, but every single thing HELPS.

2. Before you dive into kanji, get some listening momentum. Listening is going to be your #1 priority right now. Get anime/tv with soft-subs, and TURN THE SUBS OFF. Try watching stuff that you've seen before, first, so that you have an idea of what is going on. Good example: The new Dragonball Z remake is out. I watched the entire series as a kid (lol FOXkids anyone remember that?) in English, so a second-time through in Japanese is definitely not impossible.

3. Listening!!! Again, I can't stress this one enough. Khatz (the AJATT guy) suggests setting a goal over the course of two years. In the next two years, aim to have listening to 10,000 hours of Japanese. Yes, 10,000. I just hit 700 hours, averaging about 10-12 hours a day since the end of January. I could do better, and every moment I realize I'm not listening to Japanese, I get back to it in any way I can.

MECHA MECHA IKETERU
Do you watch it, /jp/? I just watched the 4-11 special, was my first episode. Shit is crazy as hell, I don't know what the fuck is wrong with Japan but I'm infected with their strain of crazy now.

http://www.fujitv.co.jp/b_hp/mechaike/

Bonus for constant usage of modern Japanese makes it a great show for grindin' listening if there are any other AJATTers on the board (you're out there, I know you are).