Study Regiment

I will be self studying every day for at least two hours.

The JLPT site recommends 150 hours of studying Japanese in order to take the JLPT level 4 exam. In order to ensure that I understand the material, especially since I am not enrolled in a structured course, I will aim for 250 hours of Japanese study. In this way, I should be fairly competent at reading and speaking within two months and after over 200 hours of studying. Much of my time will probably be spent re-learning forgotten terms as well as trying to gain a better understanding of grammar points. Every two weeks I will try to engage in a conversation of sorts with any one of my Japanese-speaking friends and perhaps play a round of shiritori.

Each day will consist of kanji review, listening to podcasts, reading kana from manga or online, and/or studying particles and grammar.

Based off of what I read online in forums and blogs, the listening section is the most difficult section. In order to increase my listening comprehension and automaticity, I will listen to Japanese radio, audio blogs, or dramas on a regular basis.

Here's my weekly schedule:
Monday, Wednesday, Friday
o. Review the previous day's post.
1. Anki Review (List: JLPT4 Kanji)
2. JapanesePod101 (2-3 lessons at a time)
3. Write about the podcast lessons
4. Add to Anki (List: Everyday Phrases)
5. Human Japanese
6. Write about HJ lesson
7. Add to Anki (List: Everyday Phrases)

Optional:
KanjiPop review
Practice Writing Kanji
Read Manga

Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday
0. Review the previous day's post.
1. Anki Review (List:Everyday Phrases)
2. Write Kanji from Everday Phrases list
3. Japanese with Beb and Alex (1-2 lessons)
4. Write about lesson.
5. Add to Anki (List:Everyday Phrases)

Optional:
Other Japanese Podcasts +Anki
HJ Review

Sunday
0.Review the Past week
1. Write Kanji from Everyday Phrases list
2. Watch Japanese Drama
3. Study Cultural Notes
4. Write about Cultural Notes & Drama
5. Reflect on the week and revise as necessary.

Optional:
Anki Review (Everyday Phrases list)

Personal Thoughts:
I'm not sure if I'll be motivated to get up and follow this strict plan. I think my motivation will come from being able to listen and understand little bits and pieces of the drama that I'm watching on Sundays. While the motivation to keep to the schedule will be difficult, I have been keeping myself exposed to Japanese language for the past few days and learning new words sporadically. Whether or not I can keep that up is really up to myself. However, I will try to focus mainly on this for the rest of the summer.