[SSJup81]

Originally Posted by Bugg333

Well i only recently got a book, which im starting to learn japanese from. Will I probably be able to pass this JLPT if i study japanese language for the next two years that i'm in high school? I want to actually GO to a university in Japan, not just a semester, i mean GO. I want to BE in it.

I actually doubt that you will be able to pass lvl 1 or 2, unless you have a really good memory and use Japanese every single solitary day in some way or form and associate with those who can speak it back as practice. In other words, maybe if you eat, sleep, and breathe Japanese, maybe you'll be able to reach that level, although I highly doubt that one possibly can in only two years with out being surrounded by it (but hey, everyone learns differently). I can see learning a lot and then continuing to improve upon it after going to Japan.

In the states, the JLPT is given in December every year at various test centers. The price varies depending on what level you take. I took lvl 3 this past December, but didn't pass it due to pretty much doing horribly on the first section. There are four levels for the JLPT, 4 being the easiest, 1, being the hardest. A person with a lvl 1 proficiency, "has mastered grammar to a high level, knows around 2,000 kanji and 10,000 words, and has an integrated command of the language sufficient for life in Japanese society." A person on this level, or higher, should be able to read, and probably comprehend, a Japanese newspaper and should be able to hold a conversation with practically strangers on the street. The best way to even be remotely close to this, imo, is to actually be emerged in the language.

A friend of mine studied Japanese for years...I'd say ever since he was about 12 or 13. He was great with reading, writing, and vocabulary, but due to the fact that he didn't have any formal learning until he did get to college, his speaking/listening wasn't very good at all. All his years of self-study did pay off when taking formal Japanese classes at his university. He then spent about a year in Japan as an exchange through his university during his third year.

Well first of all, how can i get a Bachelor's degree if i plan on learning in a university in japan? I would have to get a student visa to go over there to be in a Japanese university, obviously, but i can't get the visa without the degree, so am i forced to have to take college in here in america before i can even try to learn in Japan? I wanna make this work.

It'd be cheaper and more practical to just study in your home country and just do a cultural exchange. If you go to a university in Japan, your lessons will be in Japanese. I know some places offer English-language classes, like Hokusei Gakuen University in Sapporo, but, it's set up for "exchange" purposes.

Yes i plan on living there, i've put much much much much thought into it, and if i could choose any place to live, honestly, i'd want to live over there, and i'm confident that i'm not making the wrong choice. Also, i have alot of time to take care of whatever i need to get done before going over there. So i'm also confident that my goal of living there isn't an impossible one.

It isn't, but it'd still be more practical, and realistic, if you just study in your home country and do an exchange, and then return to Japan after you've graduated.

now for the work visa, if im going to learn over there, in one of their universities, will i need a work visa or a student visa? I thought i could get a student visa and then get a work visa when i graduate. and if i do that, i guess i'll have to get a job while im in the university, so that i can get the work visa? wouldn't i need a work visa for that though?

Probably a student visa, but I'm not sure of the rules for a foreigner at a university obtaining a job. Maybe someone else can answer this one.

and lastly, this is indeed a possible goal, right?

Sure, just a very difficult one due to lack of fluency in the language.