I thought it might be good for beginning Japanese learners (such as myself) if we could see how others are progressing (i.e. make up a timeline of when you were able to do what, how you studied, etc).
Here's my example:
Japanese study timeline:
Began studying Japanese at an American university in Sept 2003.
Major in Japanese and will graduate from American university in December 2006.
Been to Japan once for four weeks on a intensive Japanese program.
Planning to go on an academic year study abroad beginning in September.
Study habits:
I study for a few hours every day. I mostly read Japanese literature and try to translate into English. Also I watch Japanese movies to work on listening comprehension. Recently, I began trying to translate English literature into Japanese with the aid of the book already translated into Japanese.
During school, I mostly reviewed grammar and vocabulary. Didn't really practice expressing myself in Japanese. We had no real practice speaking or listening to Japanese, only translated from Japanese into English.
The first year I studied Japanese, I got good grades but didn't really get it. I went on my study-abroad after that first year. When I got back, I really found myself beginning to be able to understand what I was reading. Now, after two and a half years of intense study, I can read almost anything with a dictionary. I can barely speak, and my listening comprehension is hit-and-miss. Sometimes, I can perfectly understand what's being said, and sometimes I can't get even basic sentences. I can identify kanji and meanings very well but it is very hard for me to recall them when I'm writing them. I'm not too worried about this because most of my writing I can do on the computer and I usually can remember the hiragana.
Anyway, I thought if people gave profiles of themselves like this, others may be able to see what to expect when, and see how people are getting to where they are. Perhaps we could also give others suggestions on what to do to improve.
Mostly though, I thought it could give some encouragement to all those learning Japanese. It might be nice to see what others are doing and that others are having a hard time as well.
Good idea? Yes? No?
But I get a decent amount of exposure to Japanese most every day thru a combination of games, anime, manga, and jpod101. I'm planning on taking the JLPT level 2 this year (and maybe next year, too), so my study habits will probably need to change soon. I've been neglecting my journal lately too, which I need to get back to doing.