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Learning Japanese? -
07-19-2010, 08:01 AM
Hi guys! ^-^
I am in high school, I am 14 at the moment. I really want to learn Japanese, and become fluent... I'm already planning to move there when I finish school or tafe... [I've always thought about doing university in Japan... Is this a good idea or not?]  My school doesn't teach Japanese... and not many other schools here do... we usually have to learn Italian or French... I did Italian for over 10 years, and finally quit the class this year, because I had the option to do so... I became pretty fluent in the language even though I don't really like it...  I really want to learn Japanese... At the moment I have a few Japanese phrase books and dictionaries... I listen to Japanese music all the time... no english :P And I watch a lot of Japanese movies and anime... These have all been helping quite well  ...but I still only know a bit of the language. What do you suggest I do? I've searched Google and even YouTube... but, these aren't really trust-worthy sources... I'm afraid I'll learn the whole language wrong! :S Also, some other questions... How long might it take me to learn the whole language... I am 14. And... for those who have learnt Italian and Japanese... is Japanese harder? [I've already seen mixed opinions for this one...] Thanks And please be detailed with your answers, I don't mind reading :P Please help me!  ~ moi dix mois - monophobia. 
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07-19-2010, 02:16 PM
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And it will take you years and years to learn Japanese unless you move there or have Japanese friends in your town you can speak with. Without immersion, you won't be fluent. I've been studying it informally for over a decade, I lived in Japan a year, and I studied for three years at university and have a degree in Japanese—I'm still not fluent. This is a function of me not being diligent the past couple years and the fact that Japanese is not easy at all for a native English speaker. Koreans and—to a certain extent—Chinese speakers have a bit easier time because of similarity in grammar (Korean) or writing (Chinese). I studied Spanish, and Japanese is much, much more difficult. Not only is the language nothing at all like English (and has very little shared grammar), but the writing system will be a hindrance on your learning for years. That being said, it's worth it.
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07-19-2010, 04:05 PM
Your only 14 years old so there's really no point in planning to move to Japan at this moment but it will be good if you start learning Japanese properly. You are not using the right learning material. Buy a Japanese textbook to get you started. Phrasebooks are used when traveling around Japan.
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07-19-2010, 04:44 PM
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1. buy Yookoso or Genki, work through it 2. go to college 3. major in Japanese 4. spend a year studying in Japan 5. graduate with great grades 6. do JET program for 3 years 7. enjoy being fluent and 25 years old
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07-19-2010, 05:21 PM
You're young so I would suggest doing study abroad either for a year or a summer program. There are many opportunities for students in high school to study abroad but it is rarely taken advantage of.
I went to japan for six weeks through a program called youth for understanding. It's a great program that has a lot of funding to give many students scholarships and it's not limited to japan. Look into it, I highly recommend it. The program is highly based on volunteers which is cool, but it sometimes takes time for them to get back to you (I didn't know I was going to Okinawa until my predeparture orientation which was two days before going XD).
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