Quote:
Originally Posted by KyleGoetz
You cannot possibly become fluent in Japanese in four years while in the US. It is impossible.
Spanish is doable, though.
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I'm going to agree that Spanish would be way easier to pull off... but I beleive Japanese can be done. It really depends on where you live and your ability/willingness to meet people who are Japanese and actually get to know them. It also depends on your definition of "fluent"... I think that a very decent conversational level of Japanese can be acquired while in the US if you really busted your ass for 4 years.
I agree with your notion though... if you really wanna see improvements in your Japanese, then come to Japan. Again though, that too will depend on your ability to mingle with actual Japanese instead of hanging out at foreigner bars nad the like all the time.
Setting a time table on your language learning is unrealistic though... I think people all have the ability to become fluent in a second language. It's just that it takes people different times to get past that "hump" that usually seems to come in Japanese as a second langauge acquisition after about 2 years of college level learning. I would never believe any of that "you'll be able to pass JLPT X level after taking these courses" style of approach. If you remembered virtually everything provided in the course you probably have a chance, but that's simply an unrealistic proposal. There's always that like 3-5% who can really get a handle on a second language quickly (I'm sure it depends on the langauge too). Just don't expect that 3-5% to be you and approach your language learning with an understanding that you will be in it for the long haul. Otherwise you might just become one of those "dissapointed in Japan" people who give up after a few years.