Philosophy

The posts in this section discuss the guiding principles behind the Nihongo Journey framework. Think of these as the mindset underlying the site.

Note: If you are familiar with AJATT or Matt vs Japan, this section may be a bit repetitive for you. Much of the underlying philosophy behind the tools this site provides is based on the foundation created by AJATT (upon which Matt vs Japan created his method). However, there are some major differences in my approach, especially with regards to spaced repetition system (SRS) usage and immersion environments (hint—it’s not required). Consider reading this article for a full comparison.

Always a Bridesmaid

less than 1 minute read

Post to discuss: the lost promise of the SRS. Even TinyCards was discontinued on DuoLingo

Immersive Repetition

1 minute read

Immersive Repetition The problem with AJATT and Refold: execution, not idea.

Familiar But New

less than 1 minute read

Great. So you’ve taken my advice to start with the familiar. But now you’ve got another problem: the familiar is boring. Wasn’t the whole point of this proce...

Fear and FOMO

1 minute read

Reading native Japanse content in Japense is the primary allure for many of us who embark upon a dedicated years-long Japanese study. But like most motivator...

Get Rich Slowly

less than 1 minute read

Not going to say believe that you will become fluent, and that way you can trust the method. Not going to say that – it’s disingenuous, becuase

Critical Mass and Lethal Radiation

1 minute read

One of the main concerns you might have about this method is that such small time sent “immersing” yourself in Japanese is going to prevent the

Reading First

less than 1 minute read

Reading » Listening. Go for the media that is easiest to touch. If that’s audio or vidoe, that’s great. But for most of us its our phone. If you need headpho...