A little while ago I made a post called All You Need To Learn Japanese Is Time, a response to a post on a Language Learning forum. The argument at the forum was that all methods are equal, the only factor in language learning is time. I argued that both time and method are necessary. I liked how Alex summed it up in a comment:

Method is as important as time. Neither should be sacrificed for the serious student.

Since then I have found some other people’s responses to the forum. What follows are some highlights and some of my thoughts on them. If you are interested in this topic, here is some further reading for you and I’d love to hear your own thoughts.

Edwin at the Tower of Confusion has written a post called No Best Method Hypothesis. He writes:

Perhaps learning a language is like building up a personal relationship. People might have different tactics to ‘befriend’ your target person. But eventually if you want to build up a true relationship, you have to spend time, a lot of time. And you have to keep yourself motivated in the process.

There are many interesting comments to the post as well. In one comment, Keith writes:

Rather than merely saying that there is no best method, I would go so far as to say that ALL methods of language learning are inefficient. People are not learning from their methods. Instead, they are learning from their REVIEWS. Or perhaps they are learning from their USAGE of the language. But they are certainly not learning from their methods. If they were learning from their methods then they would not need to review. They would be done and could just move on to the next thing to learn. However, their methods are not that efficient.

I’m not sure that I agree with that comment. I think, perhaps, that no matter what, you will always have to review what you have learnt – whether that review is from an SRS program or from hearing it in a conversation, it is still review. I don’t think they are learning from their reviews – in fact, I believe it is better to learn before you review – but rather are just reinforcing what they have already learnt. That is, if your definition of “learnt” is to understand something, and the process of reviewing is to ground the information more firmly in your head.

Another response is by Gbarto who posts What’s The Best Language Learning Method For You?

In this light, the debates about which method is best are silly. But if they keep people talking about new things that others might not have tried yet, they’re still useful. Ignore the bombast about who’s best, then, and keep reading the forums and blogs. You might just find what you are looking for now in spite of everyone’s best efforts to settle what’s best left unresolved.

In this post Gbarto talks about the way s/he uses many methods and changes them up every once in a while. I do exactly the same thing.

I am beginning to think that perhaps, in a sense, the best method is to use many methods – both methods that are suited to your learning style (primary focus) and ones that are not (secondary focus, or for reinforcement of what you already know). For instance, I am a terrible listener. I like to be reading something at the same time (a transcript) and I often feel like I need no background noise – even if I can understand what is being said, the background sound distracts and annoys me. But listening skills is an important part of learning any language. I often do not “learn” anything while just listening, but I definitely strengthen skills and knowledge I already have. And lucky for me it is a task that I don’t like, but is made fun when attached to something like watching TV, (and where there are visual clues to help me).

Finally, Tae Kim had something to say:

In the end, it doesn’t matter what study method you use as long as it helps you spend more time with the language. Still, I have to argue that you have to do my very simple method at some point for fluency, which as many of you already know, is to practice in a real-world context with real people and primary source materials not just artificial textbooks and dialogs. Ok, I guess it’s more common-sense than “a method” per se.

I think we would all agree that primary sources are needed in learning a language. In fact, this is perhaps the goal of many (most? all?) people starting out learning a language. But getting up to the stage where you can use those primary sources effectively is the hard part. Hence why many people want to get up to this stage as quickly as possible, and the debate over which method is “best”.

I’d say you can’t learn a method in 30 minutes. But there are no short cuts where you can skip over bits and get their quicker. But I would argue that while it takes time to learn a language, there are more effective methods out there. But what is more effective for me may not be more effective for you. So you have to find the best method for you. And then you have to use the best method for you, combined with other methods, combined with real world sources….

I think there is definitely some sense in saying “Enough arguing about method and just do it!” So just do it, just try every method you can. You’ll no doubt find a few that stick, and when the methods unstick themselves, do new ones. And spend the time doing it. And eventually you’ll learn that language. It’s all about the journey anyway, so just do it.

In a recent post on the Language Learning Forums an interesting theory is being discussed. The idea is that it doesn’t matter what materials you use to learn a language, all that matters is time. In other words, you can use any method, it doesn’t matter what, but as long as you do it you will learn Japanese. I note that somewhere through the original poster changed his or her tune and started saying that method does matter (it has to be material that was intended for natives of the language, i.e. movies, books, etc) – Way to hurt your argument. I found this highly amusing that they are arguing one thing and saying another. Never the less, is time all you need?

Time

Time is an important factor when learning a language. For instance, many people ask “How long will it take me to learn Japanese?” My favourite answer to that is: “Exact (sic) 5.37011 years. Adjust up or down based on high school GPA” – from Japan Guide.

Time is also important because without spending any time on learning Japanese, well, you aren’t going to learn it. But, can you use any method at all and eventually you will know Japanese? Are all the different ways of learning Japanese essentially the same in terms of how much you learn an hour and therefore people need to stop worrying about the how and just do?

I would argue that time is important in that the more time you have the more opportunity you have to learn more. However, there are more effective ways of using your time. For instance, if I was to watch Japanese TV programs and read Japanese magazines, I would probably eventually learn to understand Japanese. But for me, these are very slow methods indeed. Instead, if I learn the grammar of Japanese through a text book (for me it needs to be in written form) I can learn a lot more in a smaller amount of time (and then watch TV shows to reinforce what I have learnt!).

Perhaps if we all had an infinite amount of time to learn a language it wouldn’t matter, but a lot of people only have a certain amount a time a day that they can dedicate to their studies. So while time is an important factor, it isn’t the only factor.

Method

Is there a secret method that will enable you to understand Japanese completely within a small amount of time? Not without some effort on your part. There are many variables when learning a language, such as what experience you have in similar languages and what particular learning styles you learn best with. To put it simply, there are methods out there that are better for you than other ones.

To find the right one, you will have to discover how you learn best and seek out these methods. I recommend you use a range of techniques for effective learning and to compliment what you have learnt elsewhere. It also stops things from getting stale – when you feel you have had enough of one method you can move onto another seamlessly.

Many programs and gurus talk about using materials that you find fun. This is good advice in that it keeps you motivated and time can fly by without feeling like you are learning. However, fun activities may not be the most effective ways to learn. So while you are having fun you may plateau or move at a slow pace – two things that may entice you to give up even though you are having fun.

The thing many methods forget to tell you is that learning Japanese is work. It doesn’t have to be hard work, but it is work. If your ideal way of learning is through grammar – well, I think we can all agree that grammar in itself isn’t fun. However, perhaps you can find a way to make the boring bits fun.

Perhaps you find fun in challenging yourself, to see how much you can learn in an hour, for example, excites you. Setting challenges can be an effective way to study. It is a type of goal setting, and seeing if you can work to your arbitrary goals. Your mind is focused on learning and less likely to get distracted, and when you meet your goals and exceed them, that can be very satisfying.

Another way is to balance out the “boring yet necessary” bits with fun. One way I do this is to set myself a goal to reach, and once I have reached it I get to watch a TV show, for example. The boring bits will make you appreciate the fun bits all the more, and motivate you to work hard for your reward. It also pays off when you find you can hear/read etc. what you have just learnt in your reward – knowing you have made progress is a great feeling.

To sum up:

Time is an important factor when learning Japanese, however it is possible to waste time on ineffective learning methods.

Discover how you learn best and utilise this information to learn at your optimum pace. Use a range of materials to keep you interested and to compliment what you have learnt in other places.

Having fun while learning is a great motivation factor (to keep you continuing your studies and not give up) however it can also be a poor use of your time. I recommend trying to find a balance between the boring and fun bits – and believe me you don’t remember the boring bits when you are understanding a chunk of real Japanese.

What are your thoughts?

What are your thoughts on people’s quests to find the magical method to learn Japanese quickly and painlessly? Should people just work on learning Japanese instead of worrying about how to go about it, or should people take some time to consider what methods they should use? Leave a response in the comments!