How to keep up the japanese?

I've realized that within the next year I should finish the last rocket Japanese course (it's gone so quickly!) and I was wondering, what should I do when I've finished the courses to stay good at Japanese? I'm planning on taking Japanese in university, but that won't be for another three years, so what can I do between now and then to stay on top? ありがとう for any help!

I'm on the point of finishing the platinum course and I have Nihongo Nouryoku Shiken this december and the MEXT scholarship exam next summer. I have absolutely no idea on how to revise for them or how not to forget everything I have learned here except from reading books, listenin to jp music and studying kanji from Heisig's Remembering the Kanji 1,2 and 3. If there is anyone left on this forum who has finished the courses here, please tell us how do you keep up the Japanese language :D.

Personally, I just listen to the "all conversation" tracks every week, and then read Japanese literature or play video games. Basically, replace whatever english language materials you have access to with Japanese ones. For instance, my computer has Japanese as the default language, as does my phone. Also play around and see just how much Japanese you need to be doing daily to not forget stuff. If you're somebody like コッドさん who has deadlines for exams, you might want to go over more text books, otherwise you could probably just get by with some light reading. As to Japanese at university, there may be some clubs at your school or in your region that deal with Japanese language/culture, so perhaps you could use those as a substitute for the interim. Also, a lot of universities are affiliated with ones in Japan, and tend to have exchange research programs, so if you're not up for MEXT (as I am; I'd have to fly overseas to take the exams both for MEXT and JLPT), you can always look at what programs universities offer. Asian Language and Civilization programs almost always have some sort of overseas program, and even if you only opt to minor in Japanese Language and focus on a different degree, there's still plenty opportunity to keep up the language. I think さやかさん has a story about someone she knew who spoke Japanese fluently, had never been to Japan but had immersed themselves in the language entirely. So yeah, unless you're aiming to take exams in Japanese, go over the "all conversation" tracks, do some light reading, gaming and maybe join a fansub group. Oh, and help on these forums. And then when you're at university, see how free you are to choose elective courses with respect to whatever you're doing and then have a Japanese Language component.

Thank you for the useful advice Pascal さん! I think listening to the 'all conversations' will definitely help keep the language stuck into my head, and I guess changing the default languages on things will keep us immersed in the Japanese language throughout the day. I was considering bringing a Japanese club into my school actually, so I'll put more thought into that, and I'll keep an eye on the forums for anywhere I can help out, although I'm sure I'll never be as helpful as you, コッドさん and さやかさん are! ^__^;; Once again, thank you for the help! 助けてくれてありがとうございました！

どうも、パスカルさん

Try and go on an exchange program... ask your high school if they'll let you attend a nearby university in lieu of language classes at your high school.

My idea to keep up japanese is to watch a lot of Japanese movies. It will help you with actual conversations and also give you a touch of the Japanese culture. There are a host of Japanese movies on Youtube. Furhter, you can also watch some nihongo TV programs.