Here’s an interesting subject..
Hashi, you definitely get credit from me writing this article.
Now I agree that having words of anther language (e.g. Japanese) floating round in your head spontaneously doesn’t necessarily denote skill.. I’ve found that if I have a really productive study session, I wake up the morning after with all the words/sentences just kind of in the middle ground of my mind.. Topically, I am unable to describe the sensation, it’s a bit like an SRS review just going on in my head. I know that when this is happening, I have definitely stimulated the learning aspects of my brain.. And seem to find that the words being blurted out by my subconscious into my conscious stick.

It’s very much in the same way I think about work when I’m at home.. “Have I done that..” “I need to send soandso an email about X tomorrow” – It’s that constant exposure to a subject that gives my brain the need to overflow it’s processing into my conscious thought (however, defining my subconscious and my conscious would be a very difficult thing to do.)

I found my Japanese take off recently, mainly due to an over-exposure as such. Instead of ‘Oh 1 hour a day should be enough’ I’ve changed my thinking to.. ‘Every free moment I can muster, I will fill it with some kind of Japanese exposure, a podcast, quick look over some Kanji, Naming objects in Japanese..’ etc.

I don’t think that actively/passively thinking in Japanese means that I am skilled in anyway, actively/passively thinking about my Job doesn’t necessarily mean I’m good at it.
However, feeling the language in my brain means, to me at least, that I am learning something.. And that is what really matters to me.

Just like anything I’ve learned.. If I can feel my brain processing it on some level, I’m learning.

Bit off topic, but just felt like typing.

Thank you for making me analyse my head some more Hashi!