About Experience Posts

What I regularly see online are Japanese learners arguing about whether their way of learning is better or more efficient than another. Or people who simply describe how they learned Japanese up to their current level (say, around JLPT N2 or N1) get accused of claiming that this is the "only right way" to learn (which they never claimed). I want to share my personal thoughts on this.

About Advice 

Of course, people are different, and what works for person A may not work as well for person B. As long as you enjoy your way of learning and are reaching your goals (whatever they look like for you), you are doing fine. It’s okay not to like another person’s approach (because your learning activities reflect your goals, which may be very different from the other person’s goals). However, if a person is comfortable with their way of learning, I think that choice should be respected.

But often people seek advice because their current way of learning didn’t get them the results they want. This means that what they are currently doing does not work for them. In this case, there's nothing wrong with analyzing their way of learning and giving them advice that may help them reach their goals.

However, I understand that it is a double-edged sword to tell people that their current way of learning may not be optimal. They may appreciate the advice or they may feel discouraged, depending on the person and the tone of the comment. 

I’ve seen people take feedback as a personal attack, even though the comment was not written in a rude or provocative manner. Some people are simply brutally honest, and this can easily be misunderstood as a personal attack even if it was not meant to. 

Getting feedback is often connected to emotions. Some people react more strongly to honest feedback than others. That’s why it’s not enough to give objectively good advice; you also should pay attention to the tone of your comment. Giving advice is not about being "right"; it's about helping someone grow. 

One more thought: Brutally honest feedback can hurt. But even if a comment lacks empathy, that doesn’t necessarily make the advice itself bad. In some cases, it’s worth focusing more on the message rather than how it was said.

About Experience Posts

On the other hand, there are people who just want to share their experience which may be helpful for other learners. These posts are usually not meant to say "This is the only right way" nor "Look at me, I'm better than you" but to give other learners inspiration and orientation for their own journey. 

Personally, I love reading such posts - especially if the person reached a goal that is similar to mine. In my case, that means high reading and listening comprehension, such as being able to read and watch content for adult native speakers with little difficulty.

Of course, there is no “one right way.” Still, some approaches tend to be more effective for certain goals than others. You don’t have to follow them, but if you do, you’ll probably reach your goal more efficiently. Whether or not you choose to do so is entirely up to you.

You don’t have to copy other people's way of learning from A to Z, of course. What matters more is identifying the essential points. Instead of asking “What doesn’t work for me here?” it’s often more useful to ask “What can I learn from this person’s experience?”

Unfortunately, many people focus so much on finding reasons why someone else’s approach wouldn’t work for them that they miss any potentially valuable insights. For example: “They have a Chinese background, so this doesn’t apply to me” or “They had much more free time than I do” and similar comments. Sometimes even a single word like "immersion" is enough for people to dismiss an entire post.

These reactions are understandable to an extend, but they’re just not helpful. Yes, having a Chinese background is an advantage when learning Japanese, but it doesn’t eliminate the need to invest a large amount of time and effort. And while having more free time allows someone to progress faster, it doesn’t change the fact that every learner has to spend a huge amount of time with the language. Some people simply compress those hours into a shorter period.

If you have less free time, progress will take longer, but that doesn’t mean you can’t reach a similar level or that there’s nothing to learn from someone who did it faster. A more productive approach might be to ask yourself: 

• How many hours did I actually spend reading and listening this year?
• Could I use my time more efficiently? 
• Are there low-value activities I could cut back on? (like, reducing time on social media and using this time to read or listen more to Japanese)
• If I study rather on and off, how can I improve my consistency?

In short: When we focus too much on details that don’t apply to us, we often miss what really matters. Approaching these posts with an open mind and a focus on core ideas can help to improve our own way of learning.

Focusing on the Essential Points

After reading a ton of such experience posts, I noticed that many people who reached a high level of comprehension have certain things in common. For example, one thing that comes up often is “doing lots of reading and listening.” If the writer of an experience post read lots of isekai light novels but isekai is not your cup of tea, feel free to pick something else. Just because you don’t like isekai doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try reading more (if this aligns with your goals, of course). 

The same applies to learners who mainly used anime to train their listening comprehension. Anime is not the essential point here. Pick something that is relevant and enjoyable to you. No matter what a person prefers, to improve your listening comprehension, you need to listen to the language a lot. The same goes for reading: You won't learn to read novels if you avoid reading novels. But how exactly you do that is up to you. 

But instead of taking what is useful to them and then moving on, some people feel the urge to argue about the details. Such as whether manga is “proper” reading material, whether it’s bad to start reading native material before reaching N2 level, or whether you really understand Japanese if you can’t hold a conversation, even if you can read novels and understand podcasts. 

Some people always find something to criticize. There's always someone who will tell you “This is a waste of time” or “You are doing it wrong”. That’s why it’s important to put emotions aside, compare different experience posts that align with your goals, and focus only on the essential points that come up often in these posts. The details are up to you.

Personally, I see experience posts as inspiration and orientation, not a fixed recipe I need to replicate.