I just can’t do “all Japanese all the time.”

The Ajatt method is one of the ways you can learn Japanese, but it works only for certain types of people. Can you consume “all Japanese all the time”? You are a perfect example of those people.

“All the time” in this case doesn’t mean 24 hours, although that is fine if you have a lot of time to spare. The AJATT method is exposure to the Language via consumption of Japanese media at a more intense than normal level.

Normal Japanese language learners will watch anime and Japanese dramas only a few hours a week. But AJATT learners will do that 20+ hours a day, and then they will read manga in the time left.

That is productive because they are learning a language! If my only goal in life were to master Japanese and I had zero social life (surprisingly, I still have a social life), that might seem like a good idea to me.

I could be a couch potato in my own bubble, watching Netflix for hours on end, and my bills would magically be paid by my dedication. Yey!

But even if I had that option, I still wouldn’t choose to live in that way because that is boring. And that is also a recipe for headaches! Binge-watching always gives me a headache.

AJATT is not for a lifetime, though. You will need to do that only for a year or more before you go to Japan and *actually* consume and produce all Japanese all the time (this is usually the case).

Still, it is not for everyone because people have different priorities and responsibilities in life.

But I believe it works because it has worked for others and I have seen firsthand how my English skills improved because of exposure, which is just a milder version of AJATT and a good alternative if you have a busy life.

With exposure (the normal kind), you will study grammar before or as you consume content in your target language. Textbooks are involved in the learning process, and they build the foundation.

You don’t learn grammar with AJATT. You basically just remember the words you read or hear just as how native Japanese learn Japanese. That is actually the idea behind that — to learn a language the native way!

Sadly, it is hard to try to be Japanese and do Japanese things most of the day in a country full of non-Japanese people.

For Whom is the AJATT Method? was originally published in A Writer in Disguise on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.