[Iffy]

Thank you for your detailed reply. I still have a ton of questions, but I suppose I could save the rest for tomorrow. Or...maybe just now.

So...you think the Heisig method is not so good? I was wondering if it was possible to somehow combine Heisig with my classes, even though AJATT took the rather extreme line "no classes ever, classes suck". Since I've already been taking classes and learning basic vocab "kanji first, sentences later" and basic grammar "never learn grammar, ever", I've been skeptical of AJATT/Heisig from the start, even though I loved the (severe) simplicity of its method.

At the same time, however, I've noticed some failings in how I've been learning in my classes, and AJATT has agreed with me. In a typical 50-minute class, we spend maybe 10-15 minutes listening to the instructor (who is a native-born Japanese woman, BTW) speaking Japanese to us, and maybe another 10-15 doing group work, most of which is slow and confused, as few of us feel comfortable enough with the material (we're still learning it as we go, and if even one of us doesn't get it, it slows us all down), so in a typical day, we spend no more than a few minutes actually speaking or writing the language, and the rest of the time we just sit and listen, while I understand maybe half of what the teacher says. When AJATT says that classes suck, I can see where they're coming from. However, I don't know of any better method to learn other than to keep up with my classwork and sneak in a little extra kanji on the side.

If you don't think Heisig is so hot, then how do you suggest I approach independent study? I've listened to Japanese music videos, watched some anime non-subbed, non-dubbed and tried to pick up what I can (AJATT recommends exact subbing series, which sounds very smart, but that would cost me $200 to buy a series that way and I'm still looking for my first college job), and after a couple of months of that, I still feel confused. I'm slowly learning the kanji and learning more in my classes, but listening to the language and understanding it is still very difficult. I've started reading manga in Japanese, but I have to look up at least one kanji in every other word. I even tried reading a Harry Potter book in Japanese last month, and even that was far too difficult; it wasn't the kind of kid's book I was expecting. I guess I need more kanji/reading practice.

I really want to learn the language as quickly as I can, but it's very frustrating. It all boils down to endless repetition of vocab/kanji. My SRS - Anki - helps with that a bit (it's SUCH an improvement on the flash cards I used in high school), but it's...well...still not that fun. And, to once again echo AJAAT (can you tell I've been following it for a while?), if it isn't fun, it doesn't seem worth the stress. At least if there's some other way.

So is there? Is there some way I can watch Japanese TV shows from home (I'm in the US, BTW)? Is there a really fun and effective way to watch Japanese TV shows and still learn something? Is there anything I can do to spice up my current routine of 2-4 hours of Anki everyday, plus my Japanese coursework? I'm not expecting language learning to be easy, but if there's any way to make it easier, I would dearly love to know. I don't want to burn out, and I really don't want to learn to hate language study.