Mind the Gap (Patreon)

The real secret to maximizing your immersion time is minimizing the length of the gaps, that is, the length of time you spend away from the target language. So you can think of yourself as a simple machine running this algorithm:

while ( breathing )

{

if ( canHear(日本語) )

continue

else play(日本語)

}

Interestingly, it’s not really the frequency of the gaps that hurts you(r progress), it is definitely the length. So you can have gaps, but they have to be short if you don’t want your memory networks to suffer.

A short gap is like a scratch. A long gap, like being stabbed. The longest gaps are like being run through with a sword. Scratches sting, but do not kill.

The idea of critical frequency is just an inversion of this gap principle (yeah, we’re calling it that lol; physics envy FTW). High exposure frequency is mathematically identical to low gap length. It’s just up to you to decide, based on your own mood, temperament, tools and preferences, which way you want to look at things.