[NickyLouise]

Hi, I apologies if this turns out to be a long post.

I'm from the UK and I graduated with a software engineering degree last summer (from a uni here). I've had an interest in the Japanese language and culture for a few years now. Despite trying to self teach my self the language a few times I've never got very far. I lacked the motivation because I had no idea if I would ever be able to go to Japan, and then other interests would come up and I'd forget about it for a while. I've been doing some research on Japanese culture recently and it's made me decide for definite that I want to spend time in Japan. Right now in my life I'm not really doing anything so I'm also trying to figure out what I want to do next for my career.

I had an idea that maybe it would be possible to combine the two and take my masters in Japan (obviously learning the language first). But I don't know if this is a good idea or if I should plan to do something else in Japan. It made some sense to me because of Japan being technically advanced, and I would be doing a computing course.

So here are my questions:

How would you advise I go about learning the language? Self-study clearly hasn't been working for me, but I have learnt the very very basics, and have learnt hiragana and katakana and some kanji (I found a great book that teaches kanji but I need motivation to get on with it). Would a full Japanese course here or a language school in Japan be worth the money?

What level of language proficiency would I need if I did decide to study in Japan? I know some universities offer a 6 month pre-course to help with language but obviously that isn't enough time to learn the language.

Having learnt the language how hard would it be to get a palace on a masters course at a good university in Japan? And having got the degree how well recognised would it be outside Japan?

I know it's possible to get a scholarship as a foreign student via the Japanese embassy in my country, but how hard would this be to get?

Finally, if you don't think getting my masters in Japan would be worthwhile how would you recommend I experience Japan? I don't want to just go for a short holiday. I want to really get to experience the language and culture. Would it be difficult to find a job as a foreigner?

And if you read all that, thank you! Any advice or recommendations you could give me, or any information you think would be helpful, would be greatly appreciated.