Should I learn Japanese without a teacher?

It's been about two months since I started my Japanese language learning journey, and I thought it was time for a little update. The first couple of weeks were a bit sluggish—I spent way too much time hanging around on Duolingo, which wasn’t the most efficient use of my time.

So, what's been happening?

Well, I've made some solid progress with vocabulary. I’ve pretty much wrapped up the basics like katakana, and I can now recognize a bunch of characters.

My Anki deck is getting some serious love, and I’m over 50% through the first words deck. It’s mostly basic nouns, verbs, adverbs, and adjectives that are starting to stick in my head.

Power of Consistency

Memorizing vocabulary has been relatively straightforward—it's all about consistent, bite-sized repetition every day. If I keep at it and devote just 20 to 30 minutes daily to Anki, I can tackle the words without them piling up. The key is consistency.

Grammar Challenges

Now, let's talk about the part that has really thrown me for a loop: grammar and sentence structure. Japanese grammar is no walk in the park.

I have been learning with a Japanese language podcast and I recently tackled ‘na’ and ‘i’ adjectives, and I’m trying to wrap my head around using the particles ‘wa’ and ‘ga’. Then, there’s the whole world of adverbs, counters (why are there so many different counters?), and comparison sentences.

Navigating Without A Teacher

What makes this even trickier for me is that I’m navigating this journey without a teacher. When I hit a roadblock or get confused, I don’t have anyone to turn to for help. So, what’s the game plan?

One approach is to lean on the Genki textbook, going back to reread explanations when needed.

But I’ve also discovered a handy resource in ChatGPT & Google Gemini.

Given the right prompts, AI can be surprisingly good at breaking down basic grammar concepts and providing positive and negative example sentences. It’s like having a virtual teacher at my fingertips.

Advice for Self-Learners

For anyone else out there on the self-learning path, finding alternative resources is essential. You might not have a teacher, but with a bit of motivation and creativity, you can make it work.

Future Plans: Finding a Teacher

So, when am I considering getting a real teacher?

I believe that having a teacher is crucial, especially for mastering grammar in a proper context and for cultural nuances. More than anything, I think conversation practice is where a teacher shines.

With that in mind, I’m planning to explore tutors on iTalki to help me transform my theoretical knowledge into actual conversation. I fully expect to crash and burn at first, but hey, that’s all part of the journey, right?

Here’s to more characters, more learning, and a lot more Japanese!