For ease of reading, the directory of this series of posts is organized as follows:
　　1. How to Learn Japanese Effectively [1]: Resources
　　2. How to Learn Japanese Effectively [2]: Kana
　　3. How to Learn Japanese Effectively [3]: Textbook Irodori
　　4. How to Learn Japanese Effectively [4]: Japanese Pitch Accent

★ A Few Reminders at the Beginning

◇ About “Essence”

　　First, a reminder that language is not “learned” through conscious study but is naturally “acquired” through use and immersion. It is not static knowledge but dynamic practice. In the process of language learning, there is no absolute “can” or “cannot,” only continuously deepening understanding and application.
　　The optimal solution for language learning lies in spending a significant amount of time engaging with Japanese content, understanding and attempting to express, while only using a small portion of time to study vocabulary and grammar.

◇ About “Traps”

　　A common misconception in language learning: staying too long with beginner resources and fearing to enter real language environments, thinking that practice should only begin after being “fully prepared.”
　　However, language learning is like climbing a mountain; merely weaving ropes (learning theory) won’t get you to the top, only actual climbing (engaging in practice) will. Early exposure to real language contexts is essential for quick adaptation and improved comprehension.

◇ About “Immersion”

　　The breadth and complexity of language far exceed what can be taught in classrooms or through apps. These methods often try to teach language using patterns like “X equals Y” or “X is used for Y,” but this approach is insufficient for learners to truly achieve a high level of mastery.
　　Therefore, the core of language learning lies in “immersion”—that is, reading as much content written by native speakers as possible and listening to native speakers’ expressions.
　　Language acquisition is essentially a process of subconsciously remembering language patterns through comprehensible input. When you encounter comprehensible content during immersion, your brain automatically stores these language patterns for future retrieval and use.
　　Technically, we refer to this as “input,” but I prefer the term “immersion.”
　　Because you are familiar enough with Japanese, this process is almost effortless. You not only understand the meanings of words but also the logical relationships between sentences, and even the tone and formality of the text—all thanks to your brain continuously storing and recalling language patterns you’ve encountered in previous readings.
　　Note that I haven’t mentioned “mastering grammar” or “memorizing vocabulary.” This is because language use does not rely on deliberate analysis of grammar rules but on extensive immersion and intuitive responses. Many non-native speakers may have studied Japanese grammar, but when they encounter Japanese in daily life, their understanding does not depend on actively recalling grammar rules but on long-term accumulation that forms a natural cognitive pattern.

★ The Three Core Skills of Language Comprehension

◇ Ability to Discriminate Phonemes (Bottom-Up)

　　Different languages have vastly different phonetic systems. For example, English speakers learning Chinese might struggle to distinguish between “yīng” (eagle) and “yīn” (sound). Even after learning the theoretical aspects of these pronunciations, their brains may still find it difficult to discern these subtle differences in real-time conversations. This shows that knowledge and ability are two different things; merely learning phonetic symbols or pronunciation rules won’t enable the brain to automatically recognize these phonemes. Extensive listening practice is necessary to develop this ability.

◇ Adapting to Liaison and Phonetic Changes (Bottom-Up)

　　In natural conversations, words are not pronounced as clearly as they are in written form. For example, in spoken English, “don’t + you” often becomes “don-chew,” and “want + to” becomes “wanna.” Similar phenomena are common in languages like French and Spanish. Without sufficient listening input, language learners’ brains often still expect words to appear in their standard written forms, leading to difficulties in listening comprehension.

⚠️ Note:
By “bottom-up,” I mean starting from the sounds you notice and then putting these sounds together to see what words they form.
/k/ + /æ/ + /t/ → cat
However, due to the high degree of phonetic ambiguity in spoken language… bottom-up processing alone is usually insufficient to identify which words are being spoken.

◇ Using Context to Infer Meaning (Top-Down)

　　Phonetic ambiguity refers to multiple words or phrases having the same pronunciation. For example, in English, “bat” could mean a baseball bat or a bat (the animal), and “I got a letter” and “I let her go” might sound similar when spoken quickly. Learners need to rely on context to infer the correct meaning, and this reasoning ability can only be developed through extensive listening practice in real contexts.

★ How to Effectively Improve Language Comprehension

  • Extensive Listening Input: Engage in several hours of listening practice in the target language daily, even if you don’t understand everything at first.
  • Listen to Native Speakers’ Natural Conversations: Choose original podcasts, movies, TV shows, etc., without subtitles to train your brain to adapt to real speech.
  • Imitate Native Speakers’ Pronunciation: Use methods like shadowing to improve phonetic recognition and pronunciation skills.
  • Use Context to Guess Meanings: Avoid word-for-word translation and try to understand the overall meaning of sentences.