MED

910. A 12-month Plan

3 min read

This plan was created by ChatGPT, based on input that is specific to my goals and experience. I have yet to decide whether I will use it as is or not.

Below is a 12-month, execution-ready study plan, calibrated for:

  • a senior / principal IAM architect
  • a target of foreign Tier-1 tech companies in Japan
  • a realistic outcome of strong N3 / weak N2
  • ~45–60 minutes per weekday, light weekends

Guiding constraints (do not violate these)

  1. Daily SRS† (miss this → failure)
  2. One primary grammar spine
  3. Early professional language
  4. Listening from month 1

†Spaced Repetition System: the practice of increasing the intervals between practice sessions, which helps better cement what you are learning.

Primary resources you already have or should adopt:

  • Genki I
  • Genki II
  • Tobira
  • Anki
  • Tofugu
  • NHK World

Months 1–3: Foundation rebuild (N5 → early N4)

Goals

  • Kana automatic
  • Core grammar internalized
  • ~300 words, ~100 kanji
  • Comfortable polite speech

Daily (45 min)

  • 15 min Anki
  • 15 min Genki
  • 15 min listening

Study plan

Month 1

  • Finish hiragana + katakana (2 weeks)
  • Genki I Lessons 1–4
  • NHK Easy Japanese (daily, passive is fine)

Month 2

  • Genki I Lessons 5–8

  • Begin short self-introductions:

    • role
    • background
    • what you work on

Month 3

  • Genki I Lessons 9–12
  • First iTalki-style speaking session (1×/week)

Outcome

You sound simple—but accurate. Recruiters won’t laugh.

Months 4–6: Functional Japanese (solid N4)

Goals

  • Verb forms comfortable
  • Reading short texts
  • ~700 words, ~300 kanji

Daily (50 min)

  • 15 min Anki
  • 20 min grammar / reading
  • 15 min listening

Study plan

Month 4–5

  • Finish Genki I
  • Start Genki II Lessons 13–17

Month 6

  • Genki II Lessons 18–20

  • Begin writing:

    • 3–5 sentence explanations of your job

  • Weekly speaking focused on:

    • describing systems at a high level

Outcome

You can survive daily life and basic work interactions.

Months 7–9: Transition to intermediate (early N3)

Goals

  • Long sentences
  • Reading adapted native material
  • ~1,200 words, ~500 kanji

Daily (60 min)

  • 20 min Anki
  • 20 min Tobira
  • 20 min listening / speaking

Study plan

Month 7

  • Finish Genki II
  • Start Tobira Chapters 1–3

Month 8

  • Tobira Chapters 4–6
  • NHK News with transcript (slow, careful)

Month 9

  • Tobira Chapters 7–9

  • Speaking:

    • explaining IAM concepts simply
    • asking clarifying questions politely

Outcome

You stop translating everything in your head. This is the real inflection point.

Months 10–12: N3 consolidation + professional edge

Goals

  • Comfortable meetings (with support)
  • Reading work email / docs
  • JLPT N3 readiness

Daily (60 min)

  • 20 min Anki
  • 20 min reading / grammar
  • 20 min speaking / listening

Study plan

Month 10

  • Tobira Chapters 10–12
  • Begin mock N3 grammar review

Month 11

  • Light N3 practice tests

  • Role-play:

    • customer calls
    • internal discussions

Month 12

  • Sit JLPT JLPT N3 or equivalent mock

  • Update resume:

    • “Japanese: Business conversational (N3 level)”

Outcome

You are credible in Japanese tech environments.

What this enables professionally

At the 12-month mark you can:

  • interview with foreign tech firms in Japan
  • handle mixed-language meetings
  • present architecture at a high level
  • reassure hiring managers you won’t stall teams

You will not:

  • argue contracts
  • lead all-Japanese meetings
  • sound native

That’s fine. That’s not the bar.

Optional accelerators (use sparingly)

  • WaniKani (kanji only)
  • Weekly speaking starting month 3
  • Reading IAM blog posts in Japanese (even painfully slow)

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