Before even starting anything, it is necessary to get in the right mindset. Learning Japanese will take years without missing a single day before reaching fluency. Even just being able to read a low level native material will take around a full year.
People say learning Japanese is hard. I say the only difficulty is to never stop. Burnout is your only enemy. You can't just stop before being able to at least read, an half-learned Japanese won't serve much purpose. And trying to come back after a burnout is always difficult as it's difficult to judge what has been forgotten, on top of having the memory of the previous burnout haunt you.
So before even starting, you need to make sure you have a strong motivation. A motivation that will fuel your studies until the language becomes natural enough. I personally had never done anything that required such a long time of dedication, so I had to come up with a few tricks. And so here's what I found:
-The point of no return. If you set a goal of reaching fluency, it will seem like you will never get there, and that's a big toll on the motivation. My first goal was rather to learn only what I would need to be able to play my first game in Japanese. I had to split my free time between hobby and learning, but once I could mix then both, stopping suddenly became almost impossible. All I had to do is to never touch an english game ever again, and my Japanese could only go upwards from that point. This 1-year goal now seems very reachable!
-Read all points of chapters 0 and 1 on this site: AJATT. This is a pearl I have stumbled upon in the middle of my studies. Now, I personally don't believe that going full immersion from the start works for me, and that's why I don't suggest the later chapters. But all the points in chapters 0 and 1 are pertinent to everyone, no matter how you choose to study. There are a lot of interesting points, such as how trying to tackle something too hard for your current level takes a great toll on motivation. You are free to agree or disagree on what you want, you are free to pull out your own conclusions, but reading this site pumped me up for the remaining of my studies. Some of his points will surely coincide on what I say in the future.
-Do not rush, and enjoy the path. As long as the practice remains enjoyable, it's always easier to start the practice the next day. Doing too much every day is the easiest way to make it no longer enjoyable. And so burning out will just be easier. Don't try to reach your goals in a set time. Rather, determine how long you can devote yourself to your practice. Don't sacrifice your whole free time to practice. Stopping all your hobbies altogether will just make you eager to finish the practice and return to your old life.
Once you feel you have enough motivation, it's time to move on to the next step.
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