Learning Japanese: From the U.S. to Japan (and then there and back again!)
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- Опубликовано: 30 июн 2024
- Thanks to Rhomel for sharing his experience learning Japanese both in Japan and in the United States. I could totally relate to the struggles he went through. When you’re in Japan, you would think immersing yourself would be easy, but it’s not always the case.
He wrote a great series of posts on Reddit about going to learn Japanese in Japan which I’d highly recommend you read if you’re considering doing the same thing / so_you_want_to_or_are_... .
This interview was part of a series of interviews I did about learning Japanese (and language in general). If you haven't, go ahead and watch part 1, 2, and 3.
Part 1 - Learning Japanese in Japan: • What Going to a Japane...
Part 2 - Teaching Japanese Online (and Learning English): • The Best Advice for Le...
Part 3 - Teaching Japanese at a Japanese Language School: • I Interviewed my Japan...
Part 5 will be with me, trying to figure out why I still suck at Japanese after 5 years of living in Japan.
If you've studied language abroad and then returned back to your country, what was your experience like?
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I'm loving this series and I like the different perspectives. I hope that you do more videos like this on different topics. Yours is one of four channels I follow about Japan and they each offer very unique perspectives. Rachel and Jun, Simon and Martina, only in Japan. I find that the content of the for channels is so unique to the Creator's that I learn different things from each of you even when you sometimes cover the same topic. Keep making videos.
cant wait to hear your story Greg.
I’ve been fortunate enough to go to Japan twice (latest adventure is on my channel). Even though I self-studied the language for over a year, I wasn’t even close to being able to hold a conversation. I was only in Japan for a few weeks, but I definitely noticed my speaking and listening skills starting to improve towards the end of the trip
So, answering your question, I can definitely say that I lost some level of fluency in my mother language after 4 years in Texas. I didn't have enough people to talk Portuguese with; although I would text my friends and stuff, it wasn't like I was actually practicing it. When I moved back home in 2017, I had a rough 3 months where I would constantly mistake and forget words and then would be made fun of, but oh well. A year after I got back home and I still mess up sometimes when I have to mix English and Portuguese.
P.S.: I am moving to Japan in a couple months and your videos are the absolutely best for helping me understand the culture, the people, and just how life can actually be. I kinda have a gist of how it's gonna be, and I am like sooo thankful. Anyway, your videos are he best!!!
This sounds like me learning Spanish, I studied in the U.S. but learned a limited Madrid Spanish, but then went to Southern Mexico, I had no idea what they were talking about at first. Complete immersion. I was there for about 11 weeks and at the end I actually forgot how to speak English, and English sounded horrible. (harsh and nasal) I will say that the people are great and help you there, like he says you use what little words you know and they will say, "Oh, you mean to say X?" AND Spanish is in no way as hard as Japanese. The grammar is about the same and writing and spelling are much easier than even English. Interesting interview Greg.
Speaking with a nasal tone is an accent (typically American and Canadian) and not inherent to English itself.
But now the important question, is he able to watch anime without subs now?
I think if someone is only at N2, it will be hard to watch anime without subs. I passed N1 a long time ago and my Japanese has improved a lot since then (been living in Japan a long time) and I can watch Anime on Netflix with the Japanese subtitles, and totally enjoy the programs. BUT there are sooo many words that aren't even covered in N1, and are not used in daily conversation. I'd recommend if someone wants to watch anime without subs, pass N1, then just watch lots of TV shows on Netflix with the Japanese subtitles, and learn the words you don't know, and do that for a number of years, then you may not need the subs anymore. I think it isn't so hard to get to the point where you can enjoy the shows, but it is probably impossible to get to the point where you know everything. Even if you live in Japan and live your life in all Japanese.
Can’t wait for Part 5!! I’m now suck at ALL the languages that I spoke both fluently and intermediate (Spanish, French, Japanese, Portuguese, Thai) . I understand BUT as I age it’s tough. You definitely have to be immersed in the culture to retain the skills. Use it or lose it.
Quite a while ago, I studied in Mito. Even though I remember being paralyzed due to nervousness, it was still amazing. My only regret was not hanging out with local more often.
However, I struggled with my major in my last few semesters. Japanese was my minor, so it fell by the wayside. Now, I feel like I am back on track. Picking up Japanese again is a huge side goal.
bruh your content is always so high quality
Okay so, I just subscribed to this channel and I hope I'm not dumb by replying to the question at the end. I studied abroad in the US (Wisconsin) last year, my first language is spanish and I think I did really good, I consider myself very good in english but what helped me the most was having friends of all kinds (other foreign friends from europe, asia, etc. would speak in english with me and i would be more skilled in understanding the accents of other foreign people in english, and my local friends would you know just make english a natural thing for me) and a host family. Now, I'm in this channel because I'm studying in Japan next year, but I don't know Japanese! I've always watched anime and such, but never really thought I'd be in this position and I'm really excited, so I started learning japanese on my own (with the books mentioned in the video) by myself and idk. yeah, that
I think the most significant point of having issues with learning additional languages, not only Japanese, comes from not having learned other languages than their native language. That may sound dumb but as far as my experiences go I had much less struggle with learning languages like Japanese and Chinese after my languages which I’ve learned in school.
I grew up in Switzerland, a country with 4 official languages (I‘d say 5 since German and Swiss German are completely different). Everyone in Switzerland is taught English in the second year of school and that continuous for a regular 11 years. French will be taught from 5th grade on, that’s about 8 years. Atleast that approves to central Switzerland standards. Not to mention the Swiss German language as a native language and the official language German, which is taught in school for 12 years.
Most languages require another way of thinking, which is not easy at all. But if you have already managed to pick up some languages in school additionally to your native language, it will for sure be a huge privilege.
As he mentioned in this video, he was Born in San Diego and grew up with speaking English. Many English speakers can’t speak another language, because they don’t need to.
His view on learning Japanese as a whole is correct. Most structures I’ve learned aren’t ever used. As for learning Japanese I can only recommend living Japanese. Surround yourself with japanese music, news, movies etc. Most Japanese learners struggle due to the distance (physically and psychologically, I know that sounds dumb) to the Japanese language. I couldn’t identify myself with the Japanese language in the beginning either because some ways of thinking were completely new to me. To be come somewhat natural in speaking Japanese, there will be no way around speaking to native Japanese people. Either outside, in classes or via Voice chat.
Even though I worked a long time on getting a natural way of speaking and especially thinking the Japanese way, I still wasn’t able to hold complex conversations without misleading arguments.
I‘m really excited going my first time to Japan this October. Can‘t wait to speak to the locals.
As always great video :)
You made some really good points about, if I may paraphrase, learning how to learn languages and feeling the cultural context. Netflix has a series on called "Midnight Diner: Tokyo Stories" which my wife and I really enjoyed, and it helps to get a feel for for the culture.
Just finished watching every single video on this channel :D
I wrote this in the description, but I know not everyone looks. Rhomel wrote a great series of posts on Reddit about going to learn Japanese in Japan which I’d highly recommend you read if you’re considering doing the same thing www.reddit.com/r/LearnJapanese/comments/2on8s0/so_you_want_to_or_are_thinking_about_studying/
This interview was part of a series of interviews I did about learning Japanese (and language in general). Here's the link to the playlist ruclips.net/p/PLXw1GwgfxFvfgDG5cWvHtZT9SFCAZrZkX
Thanks Rhomel for sharing your story.
As for me, coming back to Sweden, the only way for me to use my Japanese is commenting on my Japanese friends online post or/and joining the Japanese society group here in my area.
Language is a lot like your body: use it or lose it. Living and/or working with people who only speak Japanese is definitely a huge help and classes/studying can only do so much.
Great video Greg! Rommel is pretty awkward but I can definitely identify with that haha. As for me I’m studying abroad in Tokyo for the spring semester next year. Before leaving to study abroad I will have self studied both genki books. Also in my college, by this semester we’ll only have covered half of genki volume two. I self studied Japanese for half a year before starting my Japanese learning in college. One thing I know for sure as a serious self learner and now Japanese learning American college student, is that finding ways to use Japanese and receive that immersion of both language and culture is extremely difficult over here in the states. I’m so grateful I will have the chance to study abroad next year. I honestly see myself undergoing the same steps as Rommel leading to an eventual move to Japan though I personally seek to go beyond what he says is to simply communicate. I’ve always had a strong interests in the Japanese writing system, and would like to keep building an academic background even if so many points as he and you say won’t necessarily seep into the day to day life in Japan. Overall, I can say it again and again; Japans culture and its language seem so scarce for people living in the states/outside Japan; and so if you’re keen on learning you have to heavily invest in creating multiple channels to help keep you progressing in learning whether it’s multiple language exchange partners, a significant other, and or friends. Thank goodness for technology and channels like this which keep the channels of thought flowing between our countries.
A good Japanese friend who wants to help is everything! 👌👍
I was in Tokyo for 5 weeks in January studying beginners level Japanese. Since returning to the UK, I've used NONE at all! Sad times but a good experience anyway.
Great video, thanks. Please show some Japanese speaking in Part 5. Cheers
Good seeing a fellow San Diego Japanese meetup alumni
Cool story. I'm currently studying Japanese and living in San Diego too.
I found I had a huge spike of improvement followed by a gradual decline after returning. Which was rather unfortunate, though I did manage to maintain it to a certain degree and still improve in some areas through keeping in touch with friends from Japan.
Hey, first of all thanks for these kinds of videos I really enjoy watching them.
And I want to share my story with everybody on this channel as well. I startet out 4 years ago learning Japanese at my university here in Germany and tried to find a tandem or language exchange partner. I did find a group but it didn't had the tandem character (as I know today) but was more like a "oh do you have any questions about Japanese or German. Let's answer them in English" ^^* Unfortunately I finished the classes at university and so my Japanese Level rapidly declined.
End of 2016 I went to Japan for a study abroad program in Saga (beautiful place and far to underrated..) and there I met my significant other ;) as my language exchange partner and also I visited the Japanese classes there. I improved by bounds and heaps there and at the end of the 6 months I was basically able to lead normal conversations about everyday topics.
So how do I maintain/improve my Japanese today. I still struggle with the Kanji Adventure and chose one of the many mnemnotic systems out there ;) the one with the Crab and Alligator Hybrid, which helps surprisingly well. On the other hand I found another language exchange partner, who I meet at least once a month and we just talk half an hour each language and then switch.
Last but not least I still have my Japanese girlfriend, who is finally here in Germany for her university degree and we found a really useful way to keep helping both of us. We blew up the "Tandem Idea" to first daily change in language and now weekly change. So one Week we just speak in German, over SNS, telephone or real live and the next week Japanese. This helps a lot and I can't stress that enough to try that, even with a Japanese language partner. It's far easier to "stay in the language" than with changing every 30 minutes ; )
dl:dr: keep practicing, keep speaking, keep reading
I’ve actually come across his series of posts on reddit!
I’m curious about the experiences of people who went to Japan to work, then study the language, and those who went to a language school first before working there. Any info on this, by any chance?
Great video!
I have been studying Japanese for 3 years now, in both Hong Kong and Australia (sounds strange I know, but I have been taught by native Japanese teachers). The cultral immersion thing is vital to the process of language learning. As I've met some Japanese friends in Australia, they taught me more about the colloquial use of Japanese through our interaction, and I got a taste of what it is like to use Japanese outside of the classroom setting too. That's beneficial for speaking and listening, but when it comes to reading and writing, especially for formal stuff, you need the textbooks. That's how I feel about learning a language that is not the major language in a place. It's not totally impossible to do it like this, but you need to put more effort to maintain your motivation and the authenticity of your learning sources.
Your accent is wonderful!
Japanese is not my second language, it's more like number 9. And as with the other languages that I have learned, being in the language environment makes learning easier. Not easy, just easier. Before going to Japan, I went through some good teaching videos on RUclips, tried the Genki books, and watched some TV In Japan, I made everuy effort to make every situation a learning moment. It was very difficult. And rewarding.
This is one of my greatest concerns because I know the moment I move back to my hometown, I will have next to no Japanese practice. I find because I’m still at a relatively young age I have a bit of privilege where I can live in a shared house in japan where I’m forced to speak Japanese on a daily basis. At the same time I have an advantage because I come from a multilingual background despite being Australian so the concept of being multilingual is more natural to me which aids me a lot. In the end it’s about how much effort you put in
I have it with English. tho when i am when at my best as near to native speaking if not just native (with a Dutch accent) i noticed that when i am living in the Netherlands my English goes down a good bit. I do speak English at my work often but only to people who only speak broken English. So i actually have to keep it very simple.
Whe i am visiting my father who lives in the U.S.A. it starts very rusty. (And even there i speak Dutch to my father because for him it's almost a novelty to speak Dutch)
Can you make a video on hikokomori. Just came across it recently.
I’d like to hear more about how this guy is doing. Is he in Japan still, how’s his Japanese progressing, etc.?
I want to visit and possibly move to Japan one day but its so expensive
I am so interested in learning Japanese since that would make me be able to watch anime or read manga without subtitles. Lol 😂😂
Anyway, I did realize that Japanese is not easy to learn because of the kanji system, which again has multiple ways to read depending on the scenario or the sentence. So yeah, if I'm able to move to Japan to learn Japanese, then I'm all set ☺☺☺☺
I SWEAR I'm doing it for this reason! In the process I've fallen in love with the culture! Like I'm obsessed with Japan now. Hopefully I'll get to live there someday! (I'm still trying to learn it. )
I learned basic Japanese online☺☺ can't say I'm good at it😀
I've been trying to teach myself Japanese in England for the past year and a half :) I'm not very good yet but I can understand a few simple sentences in anime.
So far my best spoken sentence is 私は猫ではありません which makes people laugh :')
Jaz N I'm glad you laughed :D The extent of my Japanese is "Hello, my name is Cassie. I'm English." And then an extensive list of everything I'm not like a cat or a sandwich xD Plus I've had to teach my fiance the basics he'll need like "meat rice please" , sorry and thank you.
I never had the option of learning Japanese in school sadly so everything I've learned is from native speakers on apps, RUclips and my own reading. It's so stressful but fun.
Would have been nice to have him talk about a topic for about 3 minutes, IN JAPANESE.
At first i just want to learn japanese because of anime . But along the way i felt i really like to learn the culture not just the anime . Still dont know how to speak it .
i had the same problem living in the Tibetan refugee communities in India whilst trying to speak Tibetan.. You can get by with English because India was colonized by the British and there's a long English tradition there..
whoa im early
The guy in the video looks like Greg but younger.
Is Rhomel a nisei or sansei hafu? He should learn about his ancestral culture of Japan.
So is Rhomel basically saying that the average Japanese person would not pass N1?