Week Two: Chunking

How do we learn? It's been noted that "action comes before motivation". We are motivated by our previous success, by a sense of efficacy. And once we have this we want to build upon it. So action comes first. By this logic, it's been recommended to have an easy, go-to study method or routine that you can always start with. Perhaps nearly mindless transcription in the language of study. And then that action can propel one forward. Accountability also helps to spur action, which is why Benny Lewis began interacting with a large audience that looked forward to new blogs and videos documenting his progress. I am impressed with Shannon Kennedy and Olly Richard's persistence and dedication to learning. Also notable is Richard's use of comprehensible input, that means always trying to read slightly above your level. 

But with what action do we begin? If we learn by chunking, in a hierarchical, fractal "memory palace", then how do we know which chunks to form? Perhaps we begin with the opposite of chunking, that is "divide and conquer". Begin with the entire unformed "mass" of language, then try to “carve nature [language] at its joints” until we can get divisions that are small enough to be called chunks. And then we begin the laborious process of putting the entire mass back together again, in its complete fractal structure. This reflects a three part process. Recall Seigen Ishin's saying: 

"Before I had studied, I saw mountains as mountains, and waters as waters. When I arrived at a more intimate knowledge, I came to the point where I saw that mountains are not mountains, and waters are not waters. But now that I have got its very substance I am at rest. For it's just that I see mountains once again as mountains, and waters once again as waters." 

The process of adult language learning is not unlike that. We begin unconscious of words and phrases, then we become very conscious of them, and finally with fluency we forget the words and can (hopefully) navigate conversations effortlessly. As Feng Youlan notes, this is the meaning of the common Chan saying: 

"To eat all day and yet not swallow a single grain; to wear clothes all day and yet not touch a single thread." 

Language tutors counsel the importance of finding an area of interest or objective to pursue when studying. I find that I must face the reality that intuition is present everywhere and in all cultures, not only in, say, the "enactive intuitionism" of Nishida, and that the cosmos is conscious (as Whitehead and McGilchrist aver), and that in distinguishing between kataphatic (to affirm) and apophatic (to deny) descriptions, we can be aware of the power of the "not looked at, the implicit, the thing that has to remain outside our diminishing consciousness, our world of words, because it simply is too great for it and can only be conveyed through imagination". This is all true, but it doesn't help me... There is a cultural renaissance that awaits. Is it close to Whitehead's "philosophy of organism", to the Gaian superorganism of Lovelock and the ecological civilization of Arran Gare? In such a cosmopolitan Gaian culture, we are all autopoetic, learning from ourselves and teaching ourselves. Again, all true. But what is it that we learn and teach? We learn that perspectives come in no fewer than two main sorts. In the first we see narrow, fragmented, disembodied, and unrelated parts. In the second we see broad, continuous, embodied, and relational wholes. We see that these apparent opposites are complementary and coincide in a cosmic culture. We can attend from both perspectives, or from just one. If we attend in both ways we may be preserved whole. If we attend in just one way then, thus blinded or hobbled, we suffer and die prematurely. We need them both for different reasons. Effective action comes from being able to attend to the world from both perspectives, not just one. So as I study Japanese, I can see that the ways in which language either opens up or closes down on these views, and I can shape the "chunks" within my memory palace under that perspective. This is the process of teaching myself and others the two views of the twin brothers in Iroquois myth.

In order to cultivating a more intuitive understanding of Japanese I first see the main divisions:
Hiragana and Katakana (kana)
Kanji (composed of 214 radicals, aka graphemes)
Words and Phrases

These further subdivide into ad hoc chunks based on my resources. And this is where I'll be breaking new ground. I'll first refresh my kana memory. Then basic vocabulary. Then I'll go through the Genki textbooks I have. Interleaf: extensive reading and writing, retrieval practice (SRS), accent mimicry, and listening comprehension. Then I'll add more kanji and phrases using Halpern's dictionary and Andrew Scott Conning's book. All the while chunking, and tracking my total vocab count/ chunk count for progress. 

Week One: Intuition

I learned a few things for helping with learning Japanese today: 

Switch the language settings on your phone and apps to Japanese. Download language learning apps like Anki and Duolingo that use the Spaced Repetition System (SRS). Listen to Japanese podcasts. Try something called the "Mimic Method" (developed by Idahosa Ness, mentioned with other polyglots here), which basically focuses on listening comprehension and speaking like a native. It’s about learning to mimic what you hear and focusing on the sounds so you can speak like a native. I wrote a long article about the importance of imitation, so this resonates with me for that reason. 

In a recent podcast, Barbara Oakley recommended "retrieval practice coupled with spaced repetition and interleaving" (interleaving: switching between ideas while you study). Although interleaving and spacing are different interventions, the two are linked because interleaving inherently introduces spacing. Benny Lewis notes that an important "language hack" for himself is to practice listening comprehension.

A few suggested "chunks" to practice from online resources:
Japanese Question Words
25 Essential Japanese Phrases for Travellers and Tourists
101 Core Japanese Words
150+ Japanese Words and Phrases

In that list of "34 of the Most Inspiring and Famous Polyglots in the World" a few stand out for their preferred study methods. Judith Meyer learns a language by "finding an area of interest in the language (TV series, music, or book) and concentrates on being able to understand that." Emanuele Marini also "picks up books he finds interesting in the language he wants to learn. Then, using a dictionary deciphers their meaning." Emily Liedel's goal was to "learn all of the UN official languages and become fluent in them, thereby communicating with close to 35 percent of the world’s population". And Luca Lampariello "mastered the art of the accent". I've mentioned how important accent is before, and learning languages for greater exposure to cultures and ideas is a noble idea. But I particularly like the idea of concentrating on an area of interest in the language. For many Japanese learners this has been anime. However this is not my area of interest. I do have a recent interest in brain lateralization, Gaia Theory, and a relational account of the world (see Iain McGilchrist or Carlo Rovelli). Very little in Japan exists on the topic of Gaia, but there is animism. And no easily accessible body of work on brain lateralization, but there is Eastern philosophy. Again, not an easy topic to read! What part of Japanese culture is accessible and interesting? The right hemisphere's view of the world has a greater appreciation for context. So I could attend to the social world of Japan, perhaps how the humanities in Japan contextualize everything. How the culture shapes the aesthetic senses. Not just what is beautiful, but how this in turn informs social values, norms, and customs. The process of fragmentation and continuity in the context of the language and culture of Japan. McGilchrist wrote that, compared with Western culture, the Japanese culture tends to reject reason in favor of intuition. This may be the single most significant cultural difference, and my biggest obstacle in relating to people who grew up in a Japanese culture. So I could let intuitive expressiveness be my guide while studying Japanese, effortlessly imitating the natural way in which the higher aesthetic values (cf. Max Scheler's pyramid of values) are expressed through cultural norms and patterns of speech. ...And then, if that all works, it could open the door to W. Ford Doolittle's intuitive understanding of Gaia Theory.