So while I have a month off I am focusing on preparation and review. In America, review (復習-fukushuu) is a common study method, of course. But here in Japan, equally ubiquitous is yoshuu (予習) or studying ahead. At first it seemed kind of strange to study lessons I hadn't worked on with the teacher, but it's become a necessary tool. At the rate we study, the only way I can survive is to come into class with a fair idea of what we are going to work on. If I have any questions, I can ask, but during the class, we practice the pronunciation and usage. The rules, etc. I work on at home.
So I'm trying to learn the Kanji for the whole semester during my winter break. For me, Kanji is the easiest part, because it is just memorization. Plus the more I can learn, the more billboards and text seems to jump out at me. It's neat. For example, a few months ago, when we were studying body parts and professions, all of a sudden around my train stop, dentists and ear, nose, throat clinics were everywhere!! It's funny to think I walked right past 5 of them in my neighborhood, to go to into the city to find one.
So I practice Kanji, I write about 150 now, and add 20 a day. In a few days, I will have covered all the Kanji I am going to learn this semester. Then I can work on the vocabulary that uses them.
Also, from my textbook and the accompanying CD, I do about 20 minutes of shadowing. I put on my headphones and repeat the stories that is being spoken. I then do the same thing with a 25 minute daily news (Yomiuri) podcast. This is a pretty new exercise for me, it's kind of hard now. We will see in a few weeks, though. I hope it will improve my listening and speaking abilities.
As far as reading goes, I split my time between easy reading like Doraemon etc, and various websites, textbooks, more difficult manga, and various periodicals I have picked up since I got here. Sometimes this gets pretty ponderous, but I need to improve me reading. Reading manga helps, because it's more interesting than the textbooks ("Let's go on a trip! What should we bring?") .
I need to add more writing to the daily chores, but I will wait until after Christmas.