2e:null 2f:["$","title",null,{"children":"💬 Japanese and German learning | Max Graze | Observable"}] 34:T153f,
## What's this about? **TL;DR** I've loved language learning since I started writing in my native language, English. Combining my language learning rigor, research and data skills I took data on my language learning habits and progress during two partially unemployed months. You can skip below to the [data collection section](https://observablehq.com/@maxeneg/japanese-german-data-collection), the [activity breakdown](https://observablehq.com/d/8791c29fbe380a22?collection=@maxeneg/language-learning) or read more below about my language learning journey. ________ If learning languages was a paid full-time job, it would probably have been my first and last job. I've wanted to be fluent in a foreign language since I was six years old. As an American living in a monolingual household with parents who only took the required three years of Spanish about 25 years prior to my birth, this wasn't an easy task. I didn't have the chance to learn a foreign language until I was an 11 year-old middle school student and had the choice between French and Spanish. My mom tried to convince me to take Spanish because it's statistically more widely spoken in California, but I was attracted to French and thankfully disregarded her logical reasoning. This marked the start of my love for languages. I continued French in high school, still unable to 'speak' it, tried to learn the Japanese alphabet, and eventually picked up some German too when I spent 6 months in Switzerland at the age of 15. I even remember some cozy high school nights when I would research Mayan glyphs and fill notebooks with old Norse grammar. Even after all the years of French classes, I couldn't really speak it. My accent was horrendous (I still cringe), as proper pronunciation was glossed over in my French classes despite speaking it from day 1. Most Americans will agree that foreign language learning infrastructure is pretty lacking. I was determined, however, and I double majored in Foreign Languages (French and German with Japanse on the side) and Biology. Despite the advanced courses, I still felt stagnant. So I studied in Germany during college and integrated into a France university for my master's degree, where I was finally able to totally immerse and thereby level-up in the respective languages. I chose to leave Paris when COVID hit and I found myself in a situation where I had more time to explore language learning techniques, although standard and natural immersion was impossible. So I nevertheless took on the challenge of **out how to learn a language when you can't naturally immerse in a country where it is spoken?** Slightly obsessed with language learning, I joined forums and researched the most efficient ways to learn a language. Until then, I had tried pretty much all of the standard methods: tutors, group classes, conversation classes, language exchanges, grammar books, drills, workbooks, flashcards all while consuming authentic content in my target language (TL) and making flashcards out of unknown words in [Anki]('https://apps.ankiweb.net/'), a spaced-repetition application whose name comes from the Japanese word for 'memorisation' (暗記). These are effective activities that I continue to do. A few years ago I found [Refold]('refold.la'), which put a lot of my understanding of language learning in one place and gave my presumptions some backing. I use Refold as a guide to give my language learning more structure, and to **help me set goals** beyond the unhelpful and vague 'I want to be fluent in Japanese.' Something I realised later on is how it is important to find activities you can do in your TL, and especially material that is 'unique' to your TL. An obvious one would be anime and manga. Not only is it a valuable content source, but also an indispensable source of motivation and goals. Sure you can watch translated anime, but in doing so you sacrifice both the nuances and the variety of material. My 'thing' for French is francophone music, graphic novels, and my dear francophone friends. For Japanese the list would be overwhelming but a notable highlight is Japanese fermentation and my unrealistic desire to semi-integrate into Japanese society. I'm still looking for my German 'thing,' which other than the author Walter Moers, is nix. Although there are some great Explainer videos in German. I often ponder the question, **how can I quantify language learning**? Unfortunately, X amount of hours 'studying' a language doesn't necessarily get you to the 'next level.' What _is_ a 'level up' in language learning anyhow? A language test that you can pass because you are a good test-taker? 🙄 I don't have the answer to this question. With a couple freelancing jobs as I waited for my German visa so I could move and start my new job, I decided to take language learning 'seriously' and track all of my activities for two months until I moved to Germany early January. At this point, my goals and data changed, so that will have to come later. Until then, here are some of the results. 35:[] 32:{"id":"0688bb21098e9ce7","slug":"japanese-and-german-learning","title":"💬 Japanese and German learning","thumbnail":"5341b849382624efcc07fa15d012933cee379fb8b15e332babb12153fd008af7","access_level":"public","create_time":"$D2023-01-23T10:40:24.221Z","update_time":"$D2023-02-15T17:00:22.500Z","view_time":null,"first_public_time":"$D2023-01-23T14:49:28.338Z","has_unpublished_edits":null,"fork":false,"stars":2,"starred":false,"owner":{"type":"team","id":"998e3f48dc296646","login":"datagrazing","name":"Max Graze","avatar_url":"https://avatars-next.observableusercontent.com/f69d8a810962426c04ba3ee76a79f7dfb2fc875b2c2d768f60d2084049a4dcdc","tier":"starter_2024"},"version":51,"publish_version":null,"role":null,"authored":false,"authors":[{"type":"individual","id":"4c2305a37ae74c4b","login":"datagrazing","name":"Max Graze","avatar_url":"https://avatars-next.observableusercontent.com/f69d8a810962426c04ba3ee76a79f7dfb2fc875b2c2d768f60d2084049a4dcdc","tier":null}],"members":[{"type":"individual","id":"4c2305a37ae74c4b","login":"datagrazing","name":"Max Graze","avatar_url":"https://avatars-next.observableusercontent.com/f69d8a810962426c04ba3ee76a79f7dfb2fc875b2c2d768f60d2084049a4dcdc","tier":null,"role":"editor"}],"comments":[],"custom_thumbnail":false,"trashed":false,"lapsed":null,"subscribed":null,"forks":0,"collection":null,"type":"notebook","body":{"title":"💬 Japanese and German learning","cells":[{"id":0,"value":"# 💬 Japanese and German learning\n## Intensive Learning in November & December 2022","pinned":false,"hidden":false,"mode":"md","author":"$undefined","summary":"$undefined","output":"","database":"$undefined"},{"id":4,"value":"$34","pinned":false,"hidden":false,"mode":"md","author":"$undefined","summary":"$undefined","output":"","database":"$undefined"},{"id":19,"value":"## 目次\n#### A list of pages in the analysis as well as teasers for what is to come\n\n🗄️ [Data Collection](https://observablehq.com/@maxeneg/japanese-german-data-collection)
\n📊 [November & December Activity Breakdown](https://observablehq.com/d/8791c29fbe380a22?collection=@maxeneg/language-learning)
\n🗣️ [Speaking German in the Wild](https://observablehq.com/@datagrazing/finally-speaking-german-in-the-wild)
\n📚 Bookshelf
\n🧰 Toolbox
\n📇 Flashcards
","pinned":false,"hidden":false,"mode":"md","author":"$undefined","summary":"$undefined","output":"","database":"$undefined"},{"id":11,"value":"","pinned":false,"hidden":false,"mode":"html","author":"$undefined","summary":"$undefined","output":"","database":"$undefined"}],"files":"$W35","stdlib":"1","titling":"auto"}} 33:"$32:body"