Job Discussion Forums

[luckyloser700]

How important is it (or has it been) for you to learn Japanese? What kind of lifestyle has learning Japanese allowed you to have? I mean, what have you been able to accomplish, what kind of relationships have you been able to develop by being able to converse (and/or read and write) in Japanese? This question is for people of all ability levels (including the zero level).

The question is not "Can you live in Japan and get by without learning Japanese?"; we all know this is possible, but if you haven't learned it, or have no intention of trying to learn it, state why you don't need the ability to speak the language of the land you live in.

And, for those of you who've been using the language for so long, it "ain't no big thing," don't brush this one off; let those who are either already here, or are considering coming here, know how you feel.

I'll thank you all, in advance, for your input.

[PAULH]

Speaking for myself, apart from my uni classes most of my daily life is conducted in Japanese and the only English-speaking foreigner I see on a daily basis is one other full timer and the part timers in the teachers room.

I have level 2 of the JLPT and this has helped me to get jobs where Japanese is a requirement for being hired as much office administration and department meetings are in Japanese only. Understanding Japanese job-sites also mean that i can look in other places for positions that English-only speakers can not go.

For the past 8 years I have had non-teaching related work where being able to speak and understand Japanese is an essential part of my job. Not to mention extra income each year it has increased my social circle of friends outside language teaching and education circles.

My wife speaks English but Japanese is used at home and my son speaks Japanese only. Being able to speak Japanese means not being left behind with children who grow up only speaking Japanese from their mother's side.

[kdynamic]

Here you go, read this.

The above link is meant to be funny. And I think it is. But some of it is so true. Japanese is hard. Sometimes I question why I spent so much time learning it (I am around 1kyu level). Speaking Japanese has opened up the whole world in Japan for me socially and professionally, and been very fulfulling personally. It just doesn't go far outside the borders of this country.

However, if I were planning to stay in Japan long term, I would absolutely say learning Japanese is essential. For people who have families and careers here, of course. Unless you speak Japanese, you're not really in Japan, as far as interacting with the people and discovering the culture. If all the Japanese people you know speak English, you only know a tiny percentage of Japanese people who do not fit the norm.

But if you're only here for a year and just want to party and have "an experience" then don't bother. You'll learn a little but you'll leave and forget it all instantly. And in one or two years of studying on the side while you work full time in an English enviroment you can't get good enough to actually make studying worthwhile, so spend your time on other things.

[PAULH]

Your link doesn't work.

Found it here

[shuize]

Absolutely essential for me. If you aspire to do anything more than conversation school classes, you'll need solid Japanese.

Personally, I don't really expect most ex-pats (up to about the five year mark) to know much Japanese. As kdynamic points out, if you're not planning on staying, there's really not much point. But if you're here past five years and still stumbling through basic phrases, it's time to get with the program. If you live here ten years and can't hold your own in most conversations, you're an idiot. Really. I'm not being sarcastic, you're just a complete tool.

I've met a number of people who've been here going on twenty years who speak amazingly crappy Japanese. Not long ago I posted about one of the worst examples: a guy who's been here well over ten years who wasn't proficient with numbers (and I don't mean the various methods of counting -- I mean a two digit number like twenty-five). After interpreting for him I had make a conscious effort to keep myself from suggesting he think about jumping off a bridge.

[Jawful]

I studied Japanese for 4 semesters in college, but it's only given me the basic foundation. I'm new in this country, just settling into my job and trying to learn my surroundings. I know very little Japanese. However, for me, regardless of how long I stay here, I want to learn Japanese such that I can have basic conversation with little difficulty. Maybe I won't become a JLPT level 1 graduate, but as said, you're not really here if you can't speak the language.

It doesn't really matter to me that I can't use it outside Japan. For me, life and learning aren't just to prepare for later. I am not a particularly ambitious person and just like enjoying life. Who knows where I'll be in 5 years, but wherever it is, I want to be happy knowing I learned this language.

[natsume]

Of course, I would not be learning Japanese specifically if I did not plan on spending some part of my life there, but I find that I have a large intrinsic motivation in studying language in general. I just find it to be a fascinating process, taking my first language knowledge and "reformatting" it into a different system. And I've always had my own theory about the long term health benefits of keeping the mind as well as the body active, alert, and stimulated throughout life.

http://www.livescience.com/humanbiology/060125_delay_dementia.html

In any case, I happen to think Japanese is a beautiful language.

[luckyloser700]

PaulH said

[PAULH]

[luckyloser700]

[TokyoLiz]

For me, speaking Japanese is a quality of life issue. It's essential to living full-on in Japan. I have direct insight into the culture and individuals, and I enjoy learning the language and expressing myself.

I don't know what my kanji's clocked at right now, as I have yet to take the JPT. My speaking skills are at an intermediate level - I recognize most grammar structures but can't use them all fluently in conversation.

I studied only one year at my home university, took night school here in Japan, and this is my fourth year living in Japan.

[kdynamic]

[guitarcries]

I think it's super important for anyone who's going for more than that one quick, drunken year. Personally I find that the more I study and the better I get, the better my life gets. I just recently made my first non-English-speaking friends, and life in general just gets easier and easier. The advantages of increased ability in menu reading just cannot be truly expressed.

I find that I have little patience for people with no drive to learn the language. I recently met an Australian woman who'd been here six months and still couldn't even say "ありがとうございます." She speaks English everywhere she goes, telling waiters, "Yes, I'd like this please," and saying, "Thank you." Give me a break! If you can't say it, please at least don't babble away in English. And who doesn't learn how to say thank you" in the native language before they move somewhere? Sorry if I sound bitchy, but damn, that really got my goat.

[johanne]

[24601]