Day 33-41 of SilverSpoon – what I think of SilverSpoon so far
Sorry to say this again but nothing has really changed as of yet, in regards to what we do and I think it will be like this for a while. The only difference is that more “serving suggestions” and more resting.
Today, I’d just like to write about how I’ve interpreted what SilverSpoon so far and this could change in the future^^”:
The point of SilverSpoon is to “just get use to Japanese and have fun” I always thought of them as activities that must be completed! And of course have fun along the way. But Khatz has stated that we are just getting used to Japanese and it’s just “serving suggestions’ and there’s “nothing to be done” SilverSpoon is just being lazy, yes that’s right, being lazy. And it’s just about taking it easy; not stressing, no worries and just cruise along. That’s how I’ve interpreted it so far now, after one of his posts on SilverSpoon.
More than 90% of SilverSpoon is just relaxing and the other 10% and probably even less than that is “short sprints” He also encourages that the smaller we break down the tasks, the better. Which I agree, who wouldn’t want the easy way out of things?
He suggests some things to do, to get used to Japanese. You don’t have to follow it exactly, word for word
For example, Do 3 minutes of Kanji rep or less, then take a 20 minute break.
Heck you can even have a 30-50 minute break, until when you want to come back to SilverSpoon. I for one use to follow it on the dot, word for word in regards to breaks and what not. Now I take a much more carefree attitude towards it, I start when I want and what not.
He also says that “The SilverSpoon is just “serving suggestions” and “you” are the one who adjust it to fit your lifestyle” As some people may not have the 5hrs+ to be sitting on the computer. People have commitments such as a job, university, high school, etc.
I’ve always thought of SilverSpoon as activities that we must complete by the day but I guess I’ve been completely wrong? or maybe it’s just the wording of it. If so, then what I’ve written so far on SilverSpoon is a contradiction to what I’m saying now. I’ll just refer to what we’ve been doing as activities in regards to my posts about what’s happening with SilverSpoon, as it’s probably easier for people to understand what we are doing and what not.
During the whole SilverSpoon, Khatz really encourages us to immerse in Japanese by having some form of Japanese playing in the background, anything you like, anything interesting and nothing boring. I think the important thing of the whole SilverSpoon is just immersion of Japanese everyday and just slight tasks.
Overall, I really feel that SilverSpoon is really suited for people who are busy with daily commitments, lazy, have had several attempts at Japanese but to no avail. It’s already stated on the SilverSpoon page who it’s suited for and I think it’s right in most aspects.
P.S This is just my thoughts and opinions, other SilverSpooners may think otherwise but everyone is entitled to their own opinion. So please don’t take what I say as a generalisation.
If there are any questions you would like to ask, please feel free to comment!
I think it’s good that you can take part when you are a busy person. But I could imagine that it can be hard for the more lazy people to keep themself selfmotivativated all the time, when there is no one who kicks them in the butt sometimes ^o^
hahaha yeh, it’s very important these days. hahaha yeh, indeed it is. But I think the point is to have fun and play games in Japanese + listen to music XD There’s actually not much work! But yeh, I know what you mean, some people need a kick in their butt=p
Given that you had already finished RTK before starting SS (like me), how do you deal with the “Add new kanji to your SRS. Go from #XX→#XX in RTK1.” recommendations?
Do you just skip them?
I have just sent an email to Khatz to know his thoughts about it, suggesting that we could add sentences instead of kanjis, but I am also curious to know yours.
This idea came up to me when I read this article again yesterday: http://www.alljapaneseallthetime.com/blog/success-story-from-frustration-in-japan-to-ownage-in-japan
The guy says: “I coupled your ideas with a program called Kanji Odyssey.” If we added a sentence from such a program instead of each kanji we are supposed to add (because we already have them in our SRS), wouldn’t it be good?
I always still add them, nothing wrong with more practice! If you really want to, you can drop your current RTK deck or just do a couple of mins of reps each day. I’ve done this for like 8 months, with nearly 20k+ reps and I still don’t know most of them^^” I’d add them if I were you, it doesn’t take that long, since it doesn’t take much time.
If you really wanted to, you can add sentences in your own SRS deck! which I’ve been meaning to do but I’m lazy lately^^” There’s nothing wrong with doing your own thing on the side. I’ve already done 3k+ sentences and still review them daily. Have you started on sentences?
Hmm, it’s not a program? It’s more of a book I think? from my google search. Unless I’m wrong, please excuse me.I think the idea of sentences is to pick what you like and what you don’t want. Kanji Odyssey seems to just list the important vocabs you are to come across in xx levels. Like frequently used, not frequently used. Hmm you can experiment and see how it goes?
Overall, I think the most important factor is to always be in contact with Japanese. If you wanted to do sentences, go ahead. No one’s stopping you. If you feel like you don’t want to add the kanji, feel free not too. He said they are just serving suggestions^^” If you know your kanji well, (If I did) I wouldn’t bother adding them and keep reviewing my current deck. But I find it refreshing to start again.
Hopefully that answers your question, if not. You can ask me again and I’ll try again^^”
Thanks for your answer. I am surprised that you decided to create another deck despite the fact that you already had your own similar deck before.
I also got an answer from Khatz, who told me this; “Yeah, just do whatever (especially reviewing kanji…review is good). Or wait for the post-kanji SilverSpoon to come out (so that would entail leaving SilverSpoon for now).”
I am reluctant to leave Silverspoon because I like the immersion material suggestions, so I guess I will just do follow his advice and do kanji reps instead of adding anything when he asks us to add kanjis. Actually it’s really a good idea since I still have 1587 kanji cards which are queueing to be reviewed because I neglected the deck for 5 months, and I didn’t really know how to deal with it… So it will allow me to manage it little by little.
No problem at all, any time;) Haha you didn’t create another deck?
Haha sounds typical of him! Ah post-kanji SilverSpoon, would that mean that you would only join for xx days depending on your skill level? I am also reluctant to leave SilverSpoon and wait for the other programs for more advanced users. I feel that by the time it comes out, it would of been like day 300+ or something and I would of regretted it XD I’m already on day 45 or so, so I don’t really mind, what’s the rush?
I really do feel that starting on the basics is really fun from time to time, as you slowly build on your immersion environment from day one. Heck, I didn’t know about shadowing, time boxing, etc. I do find it a valuable experience from Day 1. Some days aren’t valuable as others but there sure are some pretty interesting methods
Haha where he states, do kanji reps for xx minutes, just do your deck for xx minutes. I’m a review freak so I tend to finish all my reviews for the day^^” and days where I can’t be bothered, I just let it be.
Here’s a suggestion: you could go through 2042 OTHER Kanji (RTK3 and then whatever other stuff looks interesting) if you’re already done with/reviewing RTK1.
Nothing wrong with knowing 4000+ Kanji before moving on to sentences.
Haha that’s a good idea. Most people don’t seem to go behind RTK1 ^^”
I’m loving your SilverSpoon blog so far. I’m currently on Day 9 and have enjoyed every day of it. It’s the best money I’ve spent on Japanese ever and definitely beats my very experience classes that I took here in Japan.
I definitely agree with your assertion that SilverSpoon is for learners of all levels. Even though the pace is slow for more advanced students what you are really learning is how to learn a language. That is something that language classes should be teaching, but they never even attempt to and thus fail miserably.
What’s particularly amazing about SilverSpoon is that it’s all bottled up and packaged for you. You just buy it, un-wrap it, and eat! You don’t have to worry about if you are doing the write or wrong thing or if you decrypted Khatz’s cryptic blog posts correctly. I’ve been reading Khatz’s blog for almost 4 years now and it wasn’t until I joined SilverSpoon that I finally started to understand what his methods were. I could read it but I just couldn’t put it into practice without examples.
SilverSpoon has already helped me immensely and I’ve lived in Japan for five years now and speak Japanese every day often more than I speak English. Yet I’ve never been able to get into a pattern where my Japanese level was steadily improving until now. Having it all laid out for you every day is amazing because you really have no excuses left. Even on the days I feel the worst I still have enough energy to complete the tasks.
What’s also really amazed me about the whole thing is how you have all of these little “ah-ha!” type moments every day. Like I had always read about watching movies you’ve seen before dubbed into Japanese, but I rarely acted on it. Now I’ve realized I can just go down to the video store and rent a bunch of old movies I love and just watch them! (It seems so obvious in hindsight but I seriously never put this all together.)
I realize that there are some people who are so self motivated and so self organized that they can do this on their own. Now for the rest of us there is SilverSpoon!
Thanks a lot! means a lot to me^^ Haha glad to see you’re enjoying it. It definitely is, for a dollar a day+ (depending which plan you got) Most people drop out as they think it’s not worth the money but the value of it is in the “long term” Of course at the start, you won’t get many things to do.
Haha I do find it slow but I do other things besides just SilverSpoon and the things we do, barely take less than 10minutes.I agree too, they never seem to tell you to “immerse yourself in Japanese” more about grammar points and Kanji. I’ve never attended Japanese classes out of high school, so I can’t really comment on Japanese paid tuition classes.
Yup, indeed it is! and then into short spurts for you to do, something easy. Haha I so agree, for the first few days of SilverSpoon, I was so worried about if I’m doing it right or wrong! Only after a week or so, I realised it doesn’t matter, as long as I’m in “contact with Japanese” I’ve only read his blog since last year and have taken some points like Heisig RTK and the 10k grammar sentences. One important thing I didn’t do before SilverSpoon was having fun and immersing myself more.
Oh wow, awesome that you live in Japan. Hopefully I can live in Japan one day! You must of found SilverSpoon quite simple for now? since you seem advanced in terms of speaking/listening. Haha yeh, indeed you have no excuses! The things you do are so small that just make you wonder, “wow” is this it? What I liked is that you don’t have to do the thinking, Khatz does it all for you. I’m also surprised someone who has lived in Japan for 5 years is doing SilverSpoon, as I thought people who are living there now don’t need it.
Haha don’t worry, you’re not alone! I was like that too, although I’d have to purchase dramas and what not through Amazon. As there is no japanese rental stores here and what not. The plus side for you living in Japanese is you can just rent your videos, without ever purchasing them. Dramas and tv shows cost quite an arm and leg. Apparently it also helps you as well, as you’ve seen the show already and know the general gist of what’s happening. I’m not a fan of western shows besides How I met your mother (sadly there’s no dub for that) or else I’d get myself a copy of the show. There’s shows like 24, Prison Break, Glee, which are popular in Japan.
Haha, I was one of the self motivated. The one thing I lacked was “guidance and self belief” if I’d actually get there. SilverSpoon for me is more of a guidance and the methods laid out for me to use easily. i really do believe many of will reach fluency before the 595 days in some degree. Haha good luck to you and me!
Unfortunately SilverSpoon is not necessarily easier for me, it’s just different. For example let’s say you understand 10% of any given video and maybe I understand 50%, yet since neither of us understand it perfectly we both have a strong desire to understand more and that desire level is personal and doesn’t have anything to do with our ability. (Also, in reality you’ve studied much more kanji than I have so it’s possible you could get more out of things that have Japanese subtitles.)
Being in Japan makes it easier to learn Japanese, but oddly enough it does not necessarily provide you with the motivation. There are foreigners both inside and outside Japan that have lived here less time and have much better Japanese skills than I do! The great thing about living here is once you do decide to immerse yourself in Japanese it is quite easy to do so. My neighbors throw away more Japanese material in a month than I could read in a year! However the reality is most foreigners do the opposite, we immerse ourselves in English.
Also one small piece of advice: It is never too early to start planning a study abroad. Do your research early and often because even as a high school student there are scholarships and other programs to help you get here. Often some of the local programs end up sending no one because no one applies! (Check with your local civic organizations, especially Rotary clubs. Often they have access to this but don’t really promote it.)
haha I never thought SilverSpoon as a difficult thing. Very true but the thing I think we all should know is that, we should stop comparing ourselves to others. Although I can make out some of the subtitles, it goes past way to fast for me to be able to decipher it!
I think the motivation will depend on the individual. Haha yes, that’s the great thing, when you live in Japan. Being able to immerse “fully in Japanese” Haha wow, must be a lot^^” Haha I agree, they read english news, associate with other english people (not saying that’s a bad thing) It reminds me of the international students here, they all hang in their own little “group” That’s fine if they want to do that, I haveno problem with that. The problem is when they just hang out with other international foreign students who are preferably from the same country. They don’t speak to the locals and rather talk with their international friends and they speak not in english but in their own native language.
Thanks for the advice! the planning is on it’s way;) I know for my high school, you can spend 1 more year in Japan as a home stay student after completing high school.
Wow, I’m surprised that no one would gets sent. I’ll be looking forward to doing an exchange during the final years of my uni degree. The only problem now is the funds, so I gotta start saving up.
Maybe one day we can meet up in Japan;)! Anyways the best of luck to both of us!
So what kind of media does Khatz have you listening to/watching?
Sorry if you’ve already explained this. I was just looking for people’s opinions on SS and stumbled on your blog and haven’t read much. Sounds like you like it though. =)
Hmm at the start you get just random jap videos. Ah you can listen to anything or watch anything you want. He just lists recommended things to listen to. Example, podcasts, jap artists. Most of this info could be taken from his blog already. Recommends where you can purchase dramas and what not. But I think most people know, it’s just more orientated for beginners who don’t know where to get things.
Haha it’s ok, some things I write don’t make sense^^”! haha it is quite enjoyable and 45 days has already passed.
A somewhat cheeky, but correct answer:
1) Go to http://www.youtube.com
2) Scroll to the bottom and change your location to Japan
3) Click any video, if it has English in it find a new video.
So it seems there will be a version released for more advanced learners, huh? Good thing because I am past the 2042 kanji of RTK 1, and into sentences (I’m halfway through RTK 3) so it seems to me that I would be bored for the first few months then if I would have jumped on board from the start.
However, judging from what you mention, it seems like most of what the program offers is found already on his blog for free. Could be wrong, but that’s the impression I get so far. I’m curious though as to how things will turn out in the long run, as you said.
I was a little disappointed that I got into his mailing list and did not get a note when the last round opened. I should have contacted him about that…
Anyway, I will keep reading your reviews and see how things develop. Good luck with your Japanese learning!
Yeh, most likely. I still think his working on it as Raphael mentioned above there in the comments.
Ah I never decided to do RTK 3. Ah it’s not that boring, I do find restarting the Kanji from start again refreshing but that’s just me and most likely depends on the individual^^” I do find the methods and techniques valuable but you could also find this on his site.
Yes what the program offers can be found in his blog. What SilverSpoon does is practically explain these methods in a more simpler term and tells you when to use, how and what not;) So you don’t have to search his site and decipher what techniques he encourages learners to take. He tells you what optional resources you need and where to get it, how to do it, etc. This is really helpful for beginners but could also be found on his site. Some people don’t have the time to search around and just want to know what they need, where they can get it, etc
Ah I see, bad luck about that. I also did one for Round 2 but got no reply. I was able to sneak in for the 1st round somehow^^” but I am behind the people who signed up first by 2 days or so.
hahaha thanks;) and you too!
Ah SilverSpoon. If only there was a SilverSpoon for everything huh? Haha.
I was in the first round, and stayed for about 20 some days. But I moved during that time and had final tests….so I started missing days. I was paying by the day. The truth is I don’t have 600$+ everything I would have to buy to do this.
I am self-motivated though. I should be fine. It just takes more time for me to find things and what not. But I need to save my money to actually go to Japan for next year…..but I don’t know. Maybe I should wait and go to Japan after University. I just like seeing the way he works and organises his days.
What do you all think? Would it be more beneficial to go to Japan during University and take classes in Japanese and fail hard if I can’t keep up? Or should I learn something else in University with Japanese as a fun side project and stay here, and then go later on?
I’m taking Japanese courses and it’s just annoying sometimes, having to learn specific things, which is especially dumb for Kanji. I know now that I could learn Japanese without classes, which I didn’t know before. I’m only going into my second year of college, so I still have time to pick something else that would be more useful to learn, and more worth the money….
What are your guys’ suggestions?
Go to Japan as much as you can, as often as you can, and stay as long as you can.
When you are done with Japan you’ll know or you’ll turn into a lifer.
haha that would be nice;)
With SilverSpoon, especially with the first 20 days and even now, there’s nothing much to do. The max amount of actual activities would only equal to around 20mins or even less a day and this is throughout the day. Even if you can’t do it, maybe have some jap music playing in the background. Best thing to do is adjust SilverSpoon to suit you, if you wanted to skip some of his activities, go for it. If you want to take longer breaks, by all means;) I think he mentioned this in one of his posts.
I can see where you’re coming from with the money. But with most of the equipment, it’s optional. Most media can be acquired in many means^^” A dollar a day is cheap in terms to Japanese classes.
I think he talked about his usual day in one of his posts; it’s nothing “amazing” as some people make it out to be.
If you want to go to Japan next year, then go for it! it will be a good experience. Why wait until uni is finished? It’s like if you want to read manga but you can’t understand it and think, ” I’ll read manga when I become fluent in Japanese” Why not do the things you have ever wanted to do in Japanese? Heck, it doesn’t matter if you don’t understand. As long as you and Japanese are in contact. I think Khatz has talked about this in one of his posts. To put it in simple terms, when you were a kid, you didn’t know how to fully understand comic books but you still read them anyways as you found them amusing;)
I think he mentioned this on the SilverSpoon sign up, classes are boring, not many people are fond of them. What I find with classes is that they test you on what they want you to know. Put it this way, do you enjoy your english classes? I don’t^^”
Maybe quit those classes, since you seem to like to do things your way. Go to the AJATT site, take what you need from there. I think most of the information you need is there.
One question I’d like to ask you, are you enjoying this?
A tip is to always have Japanese playing, you don’t even have to pay attention to it, leave it in the background. I study with music on and some people might find listening to music + studying annoying. Just leave the music on low;) I even have Japanese playing when I’m asleep, so that I don’t miss out on any Japanese.
Overall, it’s your decision. Since you said you are self motivated(I’m self motivated too but decided to do SIlverSpoon, as I wanted guidance on techniques that might make my life easier) you might be better off without SilverSpoon. Only you know the answer, I’m just making assumptions based on your comment. You can find everything on his AJATT site if you want to do it by yourself. I find that SilverSpoon is just taking extracts from his blog and breaking them down into simple steps for the average person to understand.
Excuse for the long comment, hopefully it has helped you. If you have any more questions then feel free to ask. This is all based off my own views, others might think otherwise!
Thanks for such a quick reply.
Yeah, I agree going to Japan would be good to do next year, but it’s just too much pressure really, and I’m kind of sick of it. Ever since I got the idea that I have to go to Japan 3rd year, without any friends, and have to take classes in Japanese, things just don’t seem as fun anymore. I always “have” to learn Japanese for my class, which sucks. I want to take as much time as I need and have more fun doing it my way. I want it to be a fun thing I do, instead of something I have to rely on. I would enjoy it much more this way. I would rather enjoy being lost in Japan with a friend or two rather than being lost alone, if you get what I’m saying.
I just don’t feel comfortable with my ability now, and I know one more year of classes isn’t going to do it either. By being forced, I end up not wanting to do as much Japanese stuff. I also need to save all of my money now to go to Japan, so I can’t buy cool Japanese things now, or even really anything I want. I can’t buy a vehicle either because it’s expensive and would be wasted next year.
Also, I do want to go to Japan during the summer next year, and that will give me a much better idea if I really want to stay there for an extended period of time.
All of that, plus I have many things I want to do where I am now….and leaving would probably ruin a lot of plans I have already set up for myself.
Haha, sorry to get so serious, but this stuff has been bothering me for a while, and I didn’t realise it. I’ve actually never been bothered this much in my life. I look forward for your input!
no problem at all, I have too much free time these days^^”
ahaha who says you can’t make some random Japanese friends in Japan? I know the hostels I visited, the workers socialised with the guests, it was pretty awesome;) Haha I get what you’re saying but you know, the people there are really friendly and helpful! I’d honestly go by myself, just for the experience. I know a friend who is French and went to the UK, with no english and now she’s speaking fluent english. Sometimes you just gotta take a leap;) If you do feel that it’s too much pressure, just drop it. I’m sure you can enjoy Japanese things now, even in your own country. I use to think that you need to be in a country to be fluent, now I think otherwise. Although it is helpful to be in another country to help with fluency to Japanese. I do feel one can set up their environment. For example, playing music in the background 24/7, plasting up Japanese kanji posters, etc. Khatz talks about setting up your immersion environment too and what not. Is there a Japanese community? I’m sure there’s one at your University. You can make friends with them, hang with them;) I know there’s one at my University
I think you should also quit those classes, as they aren’t doing you any justice^^” First you need to ask yourself, what do you enjoying doing in “Japanese” Don’t be too hard on yourself! I was like you, bashing myself as well! so no need to feel down^^”
if one has time to worry about their skills, why does one not put that effort? I think you need to stop thinking when will I get fluent in Japanese and just do the things you enjoy in Japanese. It will slowly come to you;) I don’t even have a car! Ask yourself, do you really need it? is it really a necessity?
Ah it’s ok, no need to be sorry! I was in the same boat as you. But I think you should take it easy, if you’re being serious, it kind of kills off the fun;) there’s nothing wrong with being serious though! I think most people, like you and me want to reach Japanese fluency as soon as possible. Now I think, what’s the rush? I’m enjoying the things I’m doing in Japanese now. For example, reading manga, watching dramas, anime, playing Jap games. Although I can’t understand the important details, I’m having fun! Think why you wanted to learn Japanese and do the those things;) What I’m trying to say here as I mentioned in my previous comment, “why wait until you reach fluency to enjoy the things you can do now?”
Anyways I hope that has helped you, you need to stop bashing yourself and have more fun! You can take this with a grain of salt;) The decision is up to you, decide what you want to do, don’t be controlled, it’s your “life” after all.
Being lost along means you have to ask Japanese people for everything.
Being lost with a friend means you stare at maps until someone nearly fluent or fluent in English comes by and helps you.
I’m not saying one is better than the other because that’s a personal thing, but one is more conducive to learning Japanese than the other. (What’s funny is even after 5 years here this still holds true. More people talk to me when I’m alone than when I have a friend with me.)
Haha yes and you know, sometimes those embarassing moments make you remember not to make the same mistake again!
Indeed and you will most likely end up speaking English for the whole trip with your friend. And during the trip, you would want to make the most out of it^^” with little english
I think stepping foot in a country that is different to one’s own country is daunting. Sometimes we gotta take that risk.
i just started day 2 and i’m a little skeptical, so i’m looking for other people’s experience with silverspoon. so far, most say it’s a good step towards learning japanese, and no one has said it was “the only thing” they needed to learn japanese.
i’ve been trying to teach myself japanese for a year and change, and i’m kind of a “binge” learner, so i also have pages of written kanji and books and movies and what not, but sometimes i wish i had structure. yea, teachers might suck and the curriculum might suck, but that doesn’t always mean that no one learns from classes.
everything is an experience. if someone doesn’t like roller coasters, they might never go to six flags. they might wonder later on in life though, what if i had gone? now that i’m older, i realize they have kiddie rides i could have tried out, and not all of six flags is roller coasters. they have water slides, and i like water. maybe if that someone goes and tries out a roller coaster, they’ll scared stupid, or they’ll enjoy it and want more!
I’m poor (and possibly lazy) but also smart (maybe) and working, so I can understand when you say going to Japan is a tough choice in terms of saving money and taking classes. Typically, when you’re unsure about anything, you should ALWAYS err on the side of experience, because then at least YOU KNOW. I hate walking to work and taking the bus everywhere, but I’ve been to Japan 5 times, and I never think about how those trips have set me back from getting a car. what I think about now is how to go back to Japan and STAY THERE. So, I have to learn japanese and hopefully get a job. Maybe you’ll visit and it won’t click for you, but then YOU’LL KNOW. Also, there’s no amount of japanese movies/anime/books/classes that can be used to take the place of actually going to japan.
so, endar, how badly do you want it, and how soon do you want it? tick tock tick tock
PS: become friends with a japanese person or hang out with international students. it will help you learn more, and if you decide to travel, guess who you could ask to visit in Japan (FOR FREE)?