Mastering Japanese-Lesson 12-Wrap Up!

For this final lesson of the program, I wanted to share with you one
final principle to eventually be applied in conjunction with the absorption
principle that you are presently putting into practice via your daily
marathon listening sessions.

As I mentioned before (maybe a million times already), the super solid
foundation that you are presently laying down one brick at a time is the
backbone that you will have to possess no matter what you decide to do
with the Japanese language from here on out. Whether you want to
become a professional translator or just be able to have basic
conversations with your Japanese friends, you will still have to learn
and absorb what you're presently studying. There is no way around this,
just like all babies have to learn to walk before they can run.

Now, today I'd like to talk about something called the "Specificity
Principle", which although is a term I borrowed from the sports
world is something that we can apply with great relevance to our
language studies today. Let me try explain what this principle is
all about.

Once training begins in a chosen field, one is exposed to a variety of
drills and exercises designed to enhance our overall performance.
For example, cross country runners or swimmers will cross train by
lifting weights and doing stretching. Likewise, for Japanese language
learners, there are a myriad of supplemental textbooks and language
schools out there geared towards developing our fluency.

However, the "Specificity Principle" while not downplaying the
importance of supplemental training methods, essentially states
that the best way to develop one's ability in performing a certain
act is to repetitively and specifically perform that very act.

That is why outside of supplemental training, basketball players
spend more time practicing playing basketball than anything else,
swimmers swim more than anything else, and professional fighters
fight (spar) more than anything else because both experience
and wisdom has revealed that the best way to achieve excellency
in doing something is to deliberately practice doing that very thing
over and over, while consistently honing one's skills throughout
the entire process.

Hence, this leads us to the next big step of your program. After
about a year or so of doing your listening sessions, I want you to
ask yourself the following big question:

************************************************************
"Eventually, what do I want to end up doing in Japanese?"
************************************************************

In other words, why are you studying Japanese? Do you want to
be able to enjoy Japanese television? Do you want to be able to
enjoy Japanese comics and animation? Do you want to
become a professional translator or maybe even an interpreter?
If so, in what field, because translators usually specialize?
Is there a particular position in a particular industry that you
are interested in working in? Are you a Christian missionary
who wants to bring the gospel to the unsaved. Whatever it
is, the easier you can specifically identify whatever it is you
want to do in Japanese, the sooner you can begin acquiring
the specialized vocabulary, knowledge and know-how needed to
succeed in your field.

Once you have specifically defined what it is you want to do
in Japanese, begin the practice of that very activity on a
regular basis. For example, let's say you want to prepare
yourself to become a professional financial translator. Try
translating one article a week from the Wall Street Journal
dealing with the stock market. Or let's say you have a dream
of acting in Japanese movies or television. Join a theater club
and/or partner up with somebody to practice scenes from
famous plays or movies. If you want to become a Christian
Pastor, maybe try to prepare some sermons in Japanese or
maybe try to create an FAQ pamphlet that would answer
common questions that your average Japanese person would
have about the Christian faith. If you just want to develop
conversation skills, join a Japanese-speaking only conversation
club (trust me, there are plenty out there) or maybe even take
a class dealing with a subject that you're greatly interested in.

And of course while you're doing this, continue on with the
marathon absorption listening sessions as they will only serve
to strengthen the primary Japanese activity you have chosen.

So there you have it The two principles you need to achieve
great success in the Japanese language.

THE ABSORPTION PRINCIPLE

and

THE SPECIFICITY PRINCIPLE

In closing, I just wanted to thank you, the reader, for giving this program
a try. Without your persistence, I myself might not have had the
persistence to keep writing these lessons week after week. Hence,
your passion and enthusiasm served as fuel for me too. What I wrote
was basically a distillation of the accumulation of my experiences and
thoughts pertaining to the study of the Japanese language over the
years. I hope they are useful to you.