Job Discussion Forums

[kaimana]

For all of you who had little or zero Japanese language experience before you came to Japan, how long did it take you to learn enough Japanese to the point that you were no longer confused by everything? When could you could actually follow, and maybe even decently participate in, everyday conversations.

[PAULH]

[denise]

I had no Japanese language ability whatsoever when I got here just over a year ago. Now I can read hiragana and katakana (I made myself flashcards in my first few weeks) and recognize some kanji--I've officially studied 100 but cannot remember them all. I have a private tutor who comes to my house once a week, an ikebana (flower arranging) class once a week with a sensei who speaks no English, and just recently a couple of conversation partners who are very enthused about helping me learn. Still, my conversational skills are nil. I'm finding that in my lessons with my teacher I cannot retain anything because we fly through way too many different grammar points and I spend more time trying to remember kanji than trying to learn vocab. My fault, sure, and I'm planning on telling her that I want more conversation and less grammar/kanji. I can get by in shops and restaurants and bumble through simple conversations with my ikebana sensei, but sadly that's about it.



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[J.]

Denise:

I think you are doing REALLY well in so short a time. You seem to be doing everything right; just give it more time and try to listen to as much conversation as possible. I haven't nailed it down by any means and I have been here almost four years. For the most part, I think studying the verbs and forms of the verbs is really important, but conversation is hard...there are so many idioms. In my case, I seem to understand more than I can say. A really weird thing happened this year where I get the meaning often without translating in my head. But I still can't respond without thinking, except for often-repeated phrases and sentences. So I am thinking the idea is to learn a sentence and repeat, repeat, repeat until you don't need to think about it anymore. Hopefully things meaningful in your life and not just in the textbook. Gambatte!

[Dr.J]

That's the stage you're aiming for - try not to translate everything, but just to react as if it was your own language.

This is what people mean when they say a language 'clicks'.

But you don't have to wait for it; actually try and learn to react rather than translate.

Good luck!

[kaimana]

How much Japanese do you know and how much time do you spend with people who speak only Japanese to you? Do you think that your proficiency, or lack thereof, in Japanese has a lot to do with who you hang out with and what language they speak around you?

[Laura C]

I think that has something to do with it, kaimana. I've been here for three months, living in Saitama with four other gaijin until 2 weeks ago when I moved to Tokyo. I can't even talk about 'my' Japanese cos it's pretty much non-existent, but I have noticed a slight progress in the last couple of weeks, that I can pick up the meaning of some sentences now. I lived here for a year before and didn't progress so much. I think now the difference is that I'm living with Japanese people and so am hearing Japanese a lot more than before.

I'm actually quite chuffed with this even though my spoken Japanese is virtually nil (I am studying each day though). It gives me a lot more confidence and motivation to go on studying. With French no matter how much I learnt I could barely understand a thing.

L