For me, one of the greatest things I have taken away from this community, is the community itself! (Go figure)
But in all honesty, this forum and group of amazing individuals have made me more accountable for my own decisions regarding when and how much/hard I study.

I want to be open, clear and honest about my goals and I think it is beneficial for us to state them loud and clear.

Most of us talk about or goal and dream of what we want to do once we learn and can speak/understand Japanese, but without many smaller measurable goals along the way, the path can seem too long and treacherous. Your goals can be related to the seasons here, completing a text book on your own, finishing anki decks, learning a set # of vocab or kanji… anything you want. But ideally, something you can measure and hold yourself accountable for.

My goal is to keep up to date with my Anki every single day and to pass the JLPT N3 test this December. On top of that, I want to learn and understand the keigo and teinei (polite) forms of speech by December as well.

Let’s hear what everyone else wants to accomplish!

GL to everyone else

1.Write on Lang-8 everyday
2.Know 1000 kanji by December (I know about 300-400, 80 or so days, less than ten a day)
3.LISTEN TO MORE JAPANESE!
4.Be able to communicate with the people I meet when I go to Japan in April
5.Start using Gakuu, get a lifetime textfugu account

If I do 4 of these, I’ll be happy!

Goodluck to everyone (or should I say かんばってください？)

1. I plan to finish Core 2000 (then 6000) by… god knows when! Been so busy with uni work that I haven’t added any new words in months! :O
Once my Anki and Koohii cards are finished for the day, I WILL add some more Core 2000 – got the whole weekend! :D

(Yeah, I gave up on trying to post in Japanese haha)

2. …I’m not sure about any other plans at the moment. Finish “A Basic Guide to Japanese Particles” or whatever it’s called, maybe? And maybe finish Kanzen Master 3kyuu too? Oh, and I still need to read Japanese for College Students, once it’s returned to the library. And Japanese for Busy People II and/or III. And maybe a book on common Japanese idioms. So many books!! XD

3. Start parallel-reading Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone! :D But only once I’ve completed the first two goals.

4. Converse with ANY Japanese person for at least a few minutes without faltering ;)

I have no time-frame for these goals; they are more a “to-do list” :)

My weakest area right now (other than speaking) is writing my own sentences. I comprehend a LOT more than I can produce. So my goal:

Post at least twice per week on Lang-8. At least.

1. Continue at the pace of AT LEAST 1 chapter per day, if not more (but not too many!)
2. Practice Anki everyday!
3. I would really like to start practicing speaking in person (even though I can’t say much).. so perhaps a goal is to find a Japanese friend…. I know they’re around here somewhere… ( > , > )

Best of luck to everyone on their goals! I noticed there was some “Listen to Japanese” Luckily for me I already watch a bunch of subbed anime’s, as well as a couple of Japanese bands. So it’s always fun for me to go back once in a while to see how much more of it I can understand then before.

my goals now are :

1) Finishing textfugu vocab list by the end of october
2) Building up a big list of my own that I find in the wild mostly during november and december.
3) Coming back to Textfugu and reviewing some chapters/finishing up to were it is, January
4) Starting to read / write actively, website, manga, penpal, lang-8 and watching anime and shows without subtitles

1-4) all while reviewing with Anki and listening to podcast/radio/music on regular basis.

@winterpromise31: You’ll *always* understand more than you can produce: it’s only natural. Even in English (assuming that’s your native), it’ll probably the same.