Thanks, I know part of it’s all the other stuff going on atm but I’m hoping this doesn’t last too long. I’m slowly working through through it. I do think 本好きwill help, probably just because it’s something new and there’s no pressure to read it or keep up. Having conversation lessons again is helping too. 
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Update 01/09/2023:
Quick update since I’m off work with my asthma atm and trying to keep myself busy by catching up with some studying. I’ll update again on Tuesday/ Wednesday since that will mostly be studying and another tutor conversation lesson covered.
I’ve been a bit better this week at keeping up with some form of reading or studying most days. I’ve about a quarter of 時のオカリナ and I’ve covered several more sections in SKM vocabulary book. I’ve realised that the majority of this book contains vocabulary and some grammar I’m completely unfamiliar with so there’s a lot that I’m getting incorrect when trying to answer questions. I’m thinking that since I’m not doing the JLPT this year since I missed the very short window for registration, I might switch back to みんなの日本語 and complete those before reviewing using SKM again.
I know I keep switching between textbooks and study resources at the moment but I can’t seem to settle on anything that is helping. I know it’s not just Japanese that is affected by this at the moment but everything else I seem to at least settle on something that is helping in one way or another, except studying Japanese where I just can’t seem to settle and find something that works. So my go to is take a step back to something that worked before, get back into the swing of it by reviewing then use the same resources to move onto more difficult stuff.
Plan is to finish 時のオカリナ and pick up 本好き along side the book club, though I may start it slightly early since I may be away for the day on Monday depending on how I feel. Textbook wise, I think I am just going to switch back to みんなの日本語 and then pick up SKM again after I’ve finished them but I think I might tackle just the main books first then come back to the reading/ listening and kanji books afterwards for additional practice.
I’ll update again on Tuesday/Wednesday hopefully feeling a bit better physically and mentally. I’ll see how it goes.
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Update 06/09/2023:
Since the last update, I’ve listened to the prologue and first chapter of 本好き a few times but still need to read through them intensively to understand better which I’ll do between tomorrow and Sunday. I had one lesson this week and managed to say more in Japanese though it’s still basic sentences and I also had a study session with Jun where he spoke about 朝顔 - morning glory (flowers) which I also tried to tell my tutor about.
I’m getting better at trying to speak but I think the biggest issue is that I don’t know enough words about anything to actually replicate in Japanese what I want to say when I say it in English. Grammar is still a big issue as well but I’m getting better at that.
I was struggling with a lit of SKM, so switched back to MNN and found my answers to the test were back where they were months ago before I redid it and took the tests again, which I think is due to me switching about and not practicing the right stuff. So back to the drawing board. I’m re-doing the red text book then I’ll hit the blue text book again and if there are things I’m getting stuck on, I might ask my tutor if we can practice those types of grammar so I can use and understand them better.
I’m making stupid mistakes again when trying to shadow my tutor or Jun so I’ve also started Paul Nobel’s beginner Japanese course where it basically takes you through basic grammar by repeating the same styles of answers/ questions multiple times. I thought it might help with the particles at least.
Plan for this week is to finish the first 2 chapters of 本好き reading, go back over MNN ミラーさん red novel while at work, and then continue the red MNN textbook while at home and see how I get on.
Fingers crossed this works to get me back on an even keel so I can start progressing again.
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Update 12/09/2023:
How this last week has been:
I’ve done a bit better this week but not quite as good as I wanted to. I’ve re-read most of the red ミラーさん novel and understood about 98-99% of it either straight away or from context. There has only been one chapter so far where I had to look up a few words, everything else has been understood. I’ve done more of working back through MNN and I’ve listened to the first 4 chapters of 本好き though I have found that it is very difficult for me to understand most of it, regardless of the speed (I’m also re-listening to them as I write this 
). I’m also not really understanding when reading it which I think is mostly my vocabulary level as even when I switched across to the junior version with the furigana, I’m still not understanding much except the occasional word or short sentence. I am going to try again and see if like with キノの旅, it improves as I continue to read it but I will be reading slower than the book club.
I did get a surprise today though; several months ago I registered for a Japanese pen pal site (Pen friend club of Japan). Because it was so long ago, I didn’t expect much but today I received 4 letters through it. Most of the letters are written in English but almost all of them have written a little in Japanese. I think most of the letters will come in English but I’ll try writing in both and seeing if they do the same. I can’t remember much of what I put in the registration form though and I don’t think the site doesn’t let you see your “profile” that members get to see to decide if they want to write to you. I need to get stationary now to reply and one person sent me an origami crane and some stickers which was cool.
How my lessons are progressing:
On the lessons side of things, my new tutor seems a little unsure about taking time off for a holiday as she called me from the airport for my lesson on Sunday (I only found out at the end of the lesson that’s where she was, the announcements sounded like train ones so I just thought she was maybe caught out and was trying to get home). So I rescheduled my other lessons this week, that way she didn’t need to worry about being back for lessons, especially if the lodging WiFi wasn’t suitable. My old tutor has messaged me to say she now has lessons available again so I think at the end of the month, I’ll split the lessons between them both and do one a week with each so I’m getting different conversations and more listening to different accents. It might help with my listening and speaking skills, maybe. 
Plan for this week onwards:
Plan for this week will be to continue working through MNN again and finish off both the red ミラーさん novel and then make a start on the blue one to see how much I understand from that. I’ll continue to listening to 本好き along with the book club and occasionally participate in the discussion.
Sunday evenings and Tuesday evenings from next week onwards will be my lesson days with Sunday mornings for speaking with Jun.
Since I’ve ordered stationary to write back to my new pen friends, once that comes in, I’ll need to write replies and send those off which will probably be from Monday or Tuesday next week, I just need the stationary and stamps.
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Oh, that pen pal club idea seems like a fun idea. I might look into that.
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Most of the letters are in English but a few of them have some Japanese written in them and one of the women who have written has translated Japanese to English with an app so she might write in Japanese only if I ask her.
If you do join it, good luck 
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Update 20/09/2023:
What I’ve been up to:
This week hasn’t been great for doing much of anything, a lot of my time has been taken up with doing stuff and helping out others so left very little time for studying. I did manage to do some reading of the blue ミラーさん novel as well as some writing replying to the Japanese pen pals I’ve received letters from and I’ve tried to write quite a bit in Japanese especially for one reply since they didn’t seem too comfortable writing in English. I also received another letter yesterday and my Japanese tutor has asked me to reply to a letter she is sending me so I think I’ll get some feedback on my Japanese writing as well. I have managed to speak more in Japanese and I’m starting to feel more confident in speaking. If I don’t know the word, I’m asking for it in Japanese using the English word but I’d like to get to the point of being able to describe it in Japanese instead. I did manage to speak most of yesterday’s lesson in Japanese but switched back to English for a few anecdotes as I didn’t know how to say them in Japanese. Definitely an improvement on previous lessons. I have also kept up with the listening side of 本好き though the reading side has not budged much
Plan going forward:
Plan for this week, I have 2 lessons one on Sunday and one on Tuesday (I’m running my week’s Wednesday to Tuesday just to be awkward ), I also have a call with my Japanese friend on Sunday morning and a different one on Tuesday morning. I’m hopeful going to read more of ミラーさん at work each day since it’s easy going and there are less look ups needed, and I’ll continue to work back through the grammar in MNN red textbook.
I’ve time off work coming up in October but need to use some of it for a commission so I’ll try to spend down time between commission parts to do more studying/ reading and also use time during my commission to continue listening or re-listening to audiobooks or podcasts.
Thoughts:
I’m hoping that some of the pen pal letters I’ve sent off will get replies with some Japanese in them and that I can continue to write in Japanese to practice but I’m not sure. I’ll continue to write back regardless as I’m still getting info on culture, myths and legends for local areas as well as finding out more about certain festivals etc for the areas people are writing to me from.
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Update 27/09/2023:
What I’ve been up to:
So this last week seems to be following a trend across the last few months of me not getting enough time to study.
My tutor isn’t well atm so my lessons have been getting rescheduled (which is fine, I’d rather she focus on getting better and taking care of herself ), last minute things have come up causing my own plans to be changed and I’ve had asthma appointments or family stuff to deal with so the only thing I’ve really done was to read a bit during my breaks at work and write a little in responses to the pen pal letters which I’ve had more of. Now it’s 13 different people writing to me and my tutor is going to as well once she gets better.
Most of the letters are fully English but in my reply I’ve tried to write in Japanese then switched back to English for answers I can’t yet write in Japanese. I’ve got two replies still to write final drafts of (I’ve been writing a draft first to keep as evidence of what I’ve written to who so I know what I’ve already covered). I even got an aerogramme from a Tokyo City Hall official so hoping I don’t come across as rude.
Plan for this week:
I’m back at work today so I should get a little reading in though I am finding that the blue ミラーさん book is feeling too high level so I’m wondering if I’m a bit burned out. I’ve not done much studying recently because of everything else going on atm.
I’m hoping to get some studying done before I leave for work and then read a little at work. I’m hoping to have my replies to the most recent letters written out and sent tomorrow evening and hopefully next Sunday, Monday, Tuesday I’ll have lessons with my tutor (which have been going better recently but I’m only really able to talk for about 20 minutes about random stuff before I revert back to English if asked a more complex question. Better than I was before so at least I’m improving.
Plan going forwards:
I’m hoping that the letters will settle down, 14 (including the one from my tutor) as it is will be difficult enough to reply to each month and costly since it’s £2.20 per stamp for replying. I didn’t think it would be this popular but I know some might not write back after a bit.
I’m hoping I can catch up with 本好き reading since I’ve caught up on the listening side but I don’t think that will happen unless I use all of my week in October just reading. I’ve also picked up the novel for the visual novel club’s current read and I’ll see how that goes if studying becomes too much.
All in, I’m kind of feeling disjointed with regards to my studying and a little overwhelmed between that and the health stuff but I want to try to get back on track or at least do a bit more if I can find the time with everything else going on.
We’ll see how it goes
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Update 09/10/2023:
It’s not been a great 2 weeks since my last update. I’ve felt more and more overwhelmed with everything in my personal life which has made it more difficult to study, especially when I’ve been enjoying studying less and less and been less focused on it. I’ve also fallen off the wagon on trying to read through 本好き😅 and haven’t started the visual novel I bought on the switch.
What I’ve been up to:
I’ve continued to skype/ use tandem with the gentleman I speak to on Sundays for a language exchange. We first speak in English and he asks questions on things he’s unsure of while explaining about something he has done recently and then we go through a few pages of a free beginner Japanese text book online (Irodori elementary 1 - I think) it has some listening, reading and a few questions where you have to pick the answer from a picture by listening to the audio. So we do that then I shadow it to try to help my pronunciation. I have also kept up with my tutor lessons and she says that my confidence and how long I can speak for without reverting is getting better. Last few lessons I’ve spoken for about 20-30 minutes then switched back to English before saying a few more sentences in Japanese. Sometimes it’s because I don’t know most of what I want to say and I don’t want to be lazy and ask her how do you say this whole sentence in Japanese. She has also been telling me more natural ways to say things as well.
I’ve continued to listen to 本好き but don’t under most of it and I’ve also continued to listen to Paul Nobel’s Japanese course since my friend who stays with me is also using it so we do about 20-25 minutes everyday for that, listening and answering in Japanese. I recently picked up his book “unlocking Japanese” which follows the same structure as the audio course. Most of the book is in English but I like the fact I can read it without much focus and still get the answers correct. It’s not as intensive as trying to read fully in Japanese. It’s all simple stuff currently but is helping me feel more confident speaking simple sentences without much thought.
Last few days I’ve re picked up MNN red textbook and continued working through the grammar points again though this last one (chapter 18 must do, don’t need to do and muct not do) I need to re-do as I was getting a little confused over it last night.
I’ve also been continuing to reply to what seems like a never ending cycle of pen pall letters . I was not expecting as many as I have and some are well versed in English. The most recent ones were two older gentleman, one who likes to translate songs to Japanese and is looking for me to send him song lyrics or poetry, and the other who is a English to Japanese translator and specializes in Scottish history. Needless to say, since we don’t get taught any of our own history in school, I feel wholly inadequate for replying to that last one but tried to tell him a bit about a monument in the nearby town which is tied in to what he was researching.
There’s a lot of variety in the letters, both in ages of who is writing and about what they are writing about. Most are not introductions, but instead sharing something about what they are interested in from Scottish culture. My tutor has also started to send me postcards in full Japanese to test my reading and writing skills (since I need to write back) but is currently away in Japan for two weeks so we’ll have a lesson discussing them once she’s back. For that one, I’m kind of stuck for what to write to make an interesting reply so I need to think about that.
Plan for this next week:
My intention is to continue replying to the pen pal letters and my tutor, continue with the Paul Nobel audio course and book, continue working back through the grammar in MNN since it is helping and continue to listen to 本好き even if I can’t keep up with the reading side of this.
How I feel:
I would like to pick up another novel that’s maybe a bit easier for me to read so I’m considering going back to Zoo, this time with book 2 and seeing how I get on as there were times where it was less of a struggle and I was able to feel more absorbed in what I was reading. I feel like my comfort level for reading is probably around Lv 18 - Lv 20 but only if it’s mostly everyday language yet I can’t get into things like Yotsuba. The writing style in Zoo is pretty straightforward though there was one or two of the short stories where I wasn’t understanding a whole lot, most of the time I was able to get the gist and get a bit of the underlying story enough to make assumptions on what was coming which all helped me feel engaged in it yet I’ve struggled to find this in the books I’ve tried to read since.
I re read through the red ミラーさん novel and understood about 98% without any look ups and those were just words I’ve not com across before. I feel like I need something like that but will more words I don’t know so I can practice what I do know and learn some more through reading since it seems to be the most enjoyable for me.
I’m hoping I can get back into a proper routine with studying so I can actually work on improving my understanding rather than just reviewing older stuff that I’ve forgotten or don’t really understand properly. I want to be able to read through the books I have and be better at speaking with my tutor. I know that reviewing is still making progress but the gains are much less since it’s not anything new, just reviewing.
Going forward:
Hopefully by the end of the year I’ll have a better grasp of all the skills and I’ll be back in a proper study routine while still being able to find the time to wrote back to al the pen pal letters I’ve been getting. I’ll see how it goes
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Honestly, stuff that you wrote here would be perfect.
“A person interested in scottish history wrote me a letter. I told him about a nearby monument. It fits his research. I am embarrassed that I don’t know a lot about my country’s history. [and since you are learning must ;)] I must study more. How was your trip?” etc. 
I still need to read book 1… it really sounds like I would enjoy it… alas… time is a fickle thing… 
the forum calling me out again. 
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Sounds like you just need a break. 
It sounds like you’ve been enjoying talking with your tutor and pen pals, so why not just focus on that for the rest of the year? If you just can’t get back into your usual study routine, maybe your brain is a bit burnt out. Give yourself permission to take it easy for the next couple of months, I say, and start over fresh in January.
Could be worth posting in the Seeking Recommendations thread if you’d like any suggestions on what to start! If you’re limited to what books you have on hand at the moment, it could still be helpful to post there to get some feedback on what might match your current needs the best.
And don’t stress too much about 本好き. If you’re fine just listening through without understanding too much, then keep on! If not, drop it if you need to. The book and the club will be here whenever you want to join again.
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Do you get your notifications in Japanese for here? How do you do that?
Sorry, that kinda made me go wtf?!
For the letter to my tutor, I feel like I need to get more vocabulary as she wants me to write it all in Japanese, though I’m probably just procrastinating because of how I’m feeling atm. There’s no expectation for how much to write so writing even a paragraph or two might be more than what she’s expecting. And writing about what I’ve wrote above, even in simple vocabulary could be possible. 
Thanks, I’m going to try that and see how I get on 
Zoo book 1 was pretty scary by my usual reading standards but I did like the simplicity of the grammar and vocabulary used compared to some of the other books I’ve tried and even with 本好き which I’m finding difficult to get passed reading the prologue and understanding much of it. Though if I muddle through, I might understand more than I think I do. I think it’s just hitting me how much I don’t know and it’s getting more overwhelming alongside the stuff in my personal life atm. But I am very tempted to go back to Zoo. I hope you enjoy it if you read it
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You can switch it to Japanese in the settings:
right? like: No one is interested in your rantings, please take it to DMs… RUDE! 
Most things can be broken down into short, simple sentences. It’s just something we are not used to (especially if your native langauge is German where sentences run on for whole paragraphs. )
It’s always good to have something easy in reserve to go into maintenance mode when life gets rough… so you don’t lose progress. 
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My tutor I have been quite enjoying talking to though I think that is mostly from a place of there being no expectations for me to speak in Japanese, though she does encourage me to listen in Japanese. The pen pals I’m feeling a little overwhelmed with and most of the letters I’m writing back are about 90% in English. Only one of the pen pals has written me a second letter that I just received now, though I’ve had 18 different people write to me so far. I don’t want to not reply but it is taking me a little before I can think of what to write back.
Keeping up with the tutor lessons is definitely part of the plan but I don’t want to drop the studying if I can help it, I did that earlier in the year and have struggled since then to get back into it. And I was really enjoying reading, I think I maybe just need to look at lower level stuff to try to work my confidence back up again. I do need a break but I think to get the kind of break I need, I’d have to actually get away from the house, work and everything around me for a few days which isn’t possible atm unfortunately. Though I think I may need to look at that for myself next year once I can afford it. I think it is definitely what I need though.
Seeking recommendations thread might be an idea, but I’ll probably need to look at low level stuff or very simple language though I’m not overly fussed at what it’s about, just whether it’s easy to keep my brain engaged in it and focused on. I’ll try that and see how I get on, thank you
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Thanks, I didn’t know that could be done. Might try that and see if that helps a little, though it might just make me forget how to change it back and be lost in a sea of Japanese notifications I don’t understand
I learned a little German at School, though all I remember now is how to insult someone by calling them an ape If I didn’t learn English as my native tongue, I think I’d have given up on it a long time ago. Hats off to you for learning English as a second language. For breaking down sentences, I’m still in the process of trying to figure out how to do that. I get the 2 part sentences and can usually work those out but it’s the ones where the start of the sentence fits with the end of the sentence and there are like 2 or 3 mini sentences in between that just make my brain melt. I need more practice with those or just practice in general recognizing where each sentence stops so I can try to look at them individually.
It is, my problem just seems to be finding that and getting something that fits well so I keep at it. eefara suggested the recommendations thread so might see if I can post in there to try to get something that might help me get back into things. 
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Update 16/10/2023:
What I’ve been up to:
This week progress has been much the same as the last few weeks but I’ve got some of the reading suggestions on the way (as well as the first one of my favorite book series translated in Japanese on the way, 5 books make up the first volume). I have been reading more through Unlocking Japanese with Paul Nobel alongside his audio course which I’m studying with my friend. It’s a way for her to get back into Japanese and a way for me to work on my speaking and sentence construction skills. Other than that, I’ve been listening to Japanese voice over on Crisis Core (PS5 - Gackt still voices the character Genesis in it) and I’ve picked up WaniKani again for trying to keep something going in the way of kanji reading and recognition, though once I start reading properly again, I’ll probably drop it again to use that time for reading instead unless I use it at work.
I managed to write a full A5 side of a letter to my tutor in full Japanese. Hopefully it’s legible and I’ve had a few people write back with some Japanese in their letters but I’ve got 5 letters still to reply to. I ran out of envelopes though so bought myself a device to help me make my own (since I like creative stuff and have a shed load of paper in the house). Not really Japanese related but it’ll help me to write back since I no longer have to wait for fancy envelopes coming. Hopefully I don’t run out of writing paper or stamps
How I feel about the rest of this week:
Tomorrow and the rest of this week is looking much the same but my motivation is slowly coming back as I’m continuing to do little bits here and there of stuff that’s easier for my brain to cope with. Unfortunately, I don’t have much in the way of lessons over the next 2 weeks since my tutor is still away and although I tried to get lessons with a different tutor, their times are pretty much all taken up across the next few months so I’ll continue to work through the audio course and see where I end up.
Plans going forward:
Plans going forward, finish off MNN Red textbook again and retake the tests to see where I still need work then start working through the Blue textbook set again and see how I go. Reading, I want to re-read the Kitty detective series and then read Zoo book 2 while waiting for the other books coming that I’ve ordered since they are going to be end November/ beginning of December. I’ll continue to write back to people who are writing to me and I’ll try to add at least a paragraph of Japanese to each letter before switching back to English since that’s what they’re looking for in their replies.
If my books don’t come before I finish Zoo book 2, then I may switch across to Flying Witch manga and see how I get on, depending on if I’m in the mood for manga at that time.
How I feel things are going:
I do feel in a better headspace compared to where I was a few weeks ago so hopefully that will help. I have continued to listen to 本好き but I haven’t managed to pick up the visual novel even though I bought it for the switch. I will read through it at some point though.
I can’t make up my mind if this is just a phase that keeps recurring or if it’s still me trying to get out of the slump from earlier in the year or if it’s a little bit of both. I think as long as I don’t overdo it, I should be ok.
We’ll see what happens.
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Mid week update 19/10/2023:
Random thoughts I wanted to note down:
I’ve been doing Paul Noble’s audiobook course and also reading through his book Unlocking Japanese. There’s a lot of repetition in it but I feel both have really helped me with building sentences and looking at how to make more complex sentences.
I finished his book today (it’s only 5 chapters with a lengthy review section after each) and noticed I feel more confident trying to say and write more complex sentences. I even wrote a few more paragraphs in pen pal letters about things I’ve been too worried writing about due to not having the right vocabulary so I definitely think it’s helping.
I also think it’s helping my motivation and it’s making me want to try writing more on a regular basis about everyday stuff.
And I’m still getting letters with a few people asking if they can write back only in Japanese.
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What’s the visual novel?
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マルコと銀河竜
The one the Visual Novel book club is working through atm.
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tbf, that VN is all over the place story- and pacewise, so I struggled at times to know what the heck is going on. 
but the art is great and it’s overall quite fun - if occasionally a bit fanservice-y.
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