CI and when to start reading in Japanese?

Hello,

when I started on this platform I was a complete japanese beginner.
I would love to start reading one day and asked myself - after how many hours of immersion and CI one usally starts with the reading exercises? Do you know maybe a general number from Krashen or Terry Waltz?

Greetings and thank you,
Philipp

2 Likes

No expert here, another beginner. But I expect it differs by person. I know I’ve seen at least one expert (can’t remember which) who said that with a language like Japanese – with confusing three-script system and words unlike English words – they’d start by spending a year or more primarily listening, no reading. That’s close to path I’m taking, though I brush up on hiragana/katakana every so often, and sometimes pay a little attention to Japanese subtitles. But I’m going to be living in Japan soon, main goal is to be able to communicate verbally, I’m fine with delaying my reading for now. (I do use romaji extensively, at some point I’ll transition to Japanese scripts.)

But if you’d “love to start reading” then I’d say go ahead. If someone were to say, “No, delaying reading until you’ve done x hours of study is optimal” I’m pretty sure it would not be optimal for someone who’s chomping at the bit to get started reading. Do what’s fun and interesting for you.

2 Likes

Im at the beginner stage aswell, hopefully about to transition into intermediate. I’d honestly just try stuff out until you find something you enjoy and that’s good for your level. If you like manga or anime try read some online if you like it buy some same with other genres. Can’t go wrong with a little bit of experimentation.

2 Likes