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This question might apply better to people who use TextFugu as their primary place for learning Japanese, but I’m interested to know how you keep notes for your Japanese study. I know that Koichi suggests using Evernote, and it is a great tool. I prefer to write my notes first on paper.
It might seem inefficient to you. I agree that it is. But I think it’s a necessary inefficiency. Writing things on paper, for its slowness, gives me a better chance to think about what I just read. I tend to restate what I’ve read as I take notes about it, even if that only means swapping a word or two for a syllable. It’s one way I make my learning my own. My kanji and kana probably look awful. They don’t usually come out well. I figure that the important thing is that I can recognize them. Periodically I type my notes from the written copy, beginning another round of subtle revision.
When exams loomed in my future, I took that one step further and gave my own lectures from my notes. There were no stuffed animals I could make my students, but, uh, walls are nice too? Oh, and my poor roommate got to listen to hour after hour of, say, middle pleistocene hominids. (They’re more interesting than it might sound, I promise!) I’m not sure how well that works for language learning because, I confess, I haven’t tried it much—maybe I’ll use it more often if my family can stand it.
So, how do you write and use your notes? Do you take many notes, or do you only write something down when absolutely necessary? How often do you review them?
I use Evernote mostly and take notes on grammar points, I have a little notebook as well that I practice writing in and keep some notes in too.
I try not to write too much on paper because if it’s lost, it’s gone forever. I mostly write because writing new words can aid your memory I believe.
I don’t really review my notes much, mostly when I start writing and I’m unsure about a certain grammar point I’ll go back and make sure I’m thinking right.
I take lots of paper notes. Mostly because I like handwriting in the first place regardless of how nice it looks (although, I do try to make them pretty). Since learning verbs I’ve been writing Japanese in my planner/calendar thing because it forces me to read what I meant to do that day. I also have a language blog. Its super nerdy but forcing myself to make a post (which I have like 3 drafts right now.. GAH) really helps me remember. It’s mostly a summary of each chapter, but the fact that my friends/ family could be checking up on it is really motivation to keep it up so they can see where I’m at.
I don’t very often look back at them but actually doing them really solidifies the information in my memory.
I have a folder of handwritten notes. For me I like writing stuff down. It helps me to process! If I type I find that I don’t think about it the same as if I was writing. It could be a pace thing as you said. I also like to use lots of colour in my handwriting notes. The prettier they are the happier it makes me. Also its another way of highlighing and deciding what you feel are the important take away points from the lesson. It’s also important for my notes not to just copy what I read. I need to read, Take a minute or two to think and then I will write in my own words.
As for reviews with my notes I do read over them again. I’ve never copied them out again. But spaced reading seems to help keep stuff fresh in my mind.
I completely agree with the mini lectures form of revision. Even at A level I felt that explaining what I learned to other people really helps because when you are speaking you are putting everything in your own words. this means you are able to tell if you really understand everything. I also really like bouncing ideas of people. A conversation about what you have just learned really helps.What I feel is most important is that notes are the instructions not the goal. You want to be able to produce the language not just understand the grammer. It’s great to find as many oportunites as possilbe to speak, read or write. I like to keep a journal in Japanese. I began when I started to learn the verbs. I was able to say what I did and what I was going to do. Then as I learned other grammer points it became more detailed. I can see my progression. It’s great to read the past entrys. You can correct mistakes you made (for a grammer review – why did you make that mistake? etc) or just read for a confidence boost. You see where you began and then can see where you are now. It really helps. It’s also a great way to use the vocab and grammer you learn in context and for me it has really helped me to produce japanese in speaking as I am more practiced at building sentences that I want to say rather than the set examples.
OK I’m gonna be quiet now. Didnt mean to write so much.
personally, i’ve found using my drawing tablet (wacom intous 3) and ‘writing’ on a drawing program is just as good as paper for practice and note taking while on the computer. you can get their bamboo model for under $100US and there are some more generic models for less if you aren’t planning on using it for anything more than writing input (not to mention all the iphone apps and whatnot utilizing touch screens these days).
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