Quote:
Originally Posted by Nyororin
I would say that picking up the language to a level that was truly able to converse about anything and everything took somewhere between 3 and 6 months. At the 3 month point, I was okay in person with the backup of hand gestures, pointing, expressions, etc... But sort of floundered on anything difficult if on the phone. Especially with friends who talked quickly.
At 6 months, I wasn`t having much of any trouble at all - on the phone, chatting online, etc etc. I would say that reading novels wasn`t within my reach at that point though. It`s been a long time, so I only really have memorable references at the 3 and 6 month points to contrast. (3 month point was my first visit ended, and the 6 month point was when I met my now husband).
As for accent - that just came from learning the language in Japan in a native environment... And maybe luck or some inherent language ability. I really don`t know. There was no point where my accent was bad and I fixed it, etc. With fluency came accent.
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Nyororin, if i may ask, I know that you took courses in highschool, but once you're in japan, where do you start in regards to learning the language in a foreign land when you can't understand anything? I realize that immersion is the best way to learn a new language, but i find it hard to believe that just walking around pointing at things so people know what you want is an effective way to begin. Taking courses in my home country would be the best bet i understand, but even if you do that, how did you personally get out of difficult conversations with an answer to your question? especially those of importance like a dispute over a payment for example. I guess i don't understand how immersion begins to work with little to no language background.