Live from Japan!

Even though I now live in japan, I still get emails from the group of friends I watched anime with in Chicago. Most times this makes me a bit sad, as they are getting together and having fun. But on occasion, there is a question I can answer, or a comment I can make. Today was one of those days. There was a question posed about how to learn japanese, where to take a class etc. I wrote a response that I think was pretty insightful (if i do say so myself). I though I might cross post it here for anyone that might be interested.

Since this topic is one that is pretty close to my heart, living in japan and needing Japanese everyday, I feel I can really weigh in. In terms of textbooks, I have now learned from four different texts, the truth is that you can really learn from from any major textbook. I used “Minna no Nihihongo”, “Japanese for Busy People”, “Genki”, and “Japanese: The Spoken Language”. All of them work. I will recommend using a text that throws you into reading in hiragana and katakana immediately. Most of these texts have either both a Kana version and a Romaji version of just a Kana version. If you get a Romaji version trade it in immediately for a kana version. You will memorize these better by using them, and you should force yourself to use them as much as possible. It will be slow at first but it is invaluable once you are in japan. That said, I will also say that my favorite text is probably “Genki” Their explanations of grammar make the most sense to me, and there is a kind of cute story in the dialogs. Of course, with most of the texts, there is also a set of CD’s that can be helpful. I have them for Genki and JBP. Minna no Nihongo has a guided conversation book (separate) that is kind of like comics where you have to fill in the bubbles, I think this is also kind of a fun way to learn and use the language.

I would heavily discourage you from strictly self learning, or from doing an online course. These can be tempting options, because you don’t have to embarrass yourself by making mistakes, and the timing is flexible. However, they are not a realistic option. Embarrassment is humbling and can be the quickest teacher. You tend to remember better when stress is involved. Also, when you use the language in the real world it will be a stressful situation and it is worth getting used to it. Also, NOTHING can replace talking with a native speaker. ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. You may think that you hear Japanese so often that you know the sounds. You don’t. You do not have the ear to hear the differences between the way you are saying something and they way they hear it.

I started learning Japanese at the age of 9, (with lots of breaks between learning so don’t let this fool you in to thinking I am any good at it), and so I have an okay grasp of the sounds. I get complimented on my pronunciation all the time, “your pronunciation is pretty good, for a foreigner.” I still can’t pronounce the ryu or ryo sounds, among others, correctly and I don’t know why. I had a humorous exchange with one of the Japanese teachers I work with where he would say a word (“Ryoshin” for example, parents) I would repeat it back to him exactly as I heard it, then he would say “No, it is ‘Ryoshin’.” and I would swear he was saying the same thing I said. Super frustrating! I could not hear a difference between what I was saying and what they were saying, yet all of my teachers tell me I am saying it differently and it is hilarious to them that I can’t hear the difference. They on the other hand can’t hear the difference between “cars” and “cards”. Even after painstakingly teaching on of my coworkers how to shape his mouth to make the different sounds, (in Cards your tongue touches the roof of your mouth, in cars it does not,) he could make the different sounds, but still could not tell them apart. He was shocked that I could when they were coming out of his mouth. Retraining your ears as an adult is a long process. A Japanese teacher will hear things in your speech and help you correct them. You will never be perfect, but you will get a lot closer this way.

Next, Flexible timing sounds great in theory, but lets face it, we are all busy. If you don’t carve out a time to do it by putting something solid in your schedule, you will put it off and procrastinate. There will be big breaks in your learning, (I am really speaking from experience here). You will never learn this way.

Classes are a great option as they mitigate your embarrassment potential. You all get embarrassed together, and it can be quite fun. I met and made friends with a great number of people during my Japanese class in Chicago, and the ones I took in college. I would not give this experience up for the world. I found it a great way to learn, as I really had trouble just coming out and speaking, knowing I would make mistakes. Plus, friends can last a life time (shiny happy moment!)

Once again however, I will throw in another possibility. If you really want to learn as fast as possible, find a one on one teacher. There are so many pro’s to this option. You can learn what you want to learn, solve the problems you want to solve. Work on your, weaknesses, and not slow down for your strengths. This gets you a lot more face time and a lot more time with a teacher helping you. You will also hear a lot less broken Japanese and a lot more correct Japanese, which is a big help. This option can be a bit more expensive, especially if you pay for a professional. However, it it not as expensive as you might think, you do not have to pay overhead, as you can meet in a public place, etc. Also, if you really need to lower the price, find a buddy and do a two on one class. The trouble is finding a teacher. But, there are many ways to do this as well, you can post something on an online board like craigslist, or look one up on an online talent service like wyzant.com (pulled from a quick google search I know nothing about this website.), but be sure that you get a native speaker.

I might try finding a teacher though one of the Japanese-American societies or university exchange societies, by calling and asking if they can recommend a private teacher. You might even be able to trade English lessons for Japanese lessons this way. If you have an amateur teacher like this, you will not benefit from their past experience teaching, but most of the books set up a good curriculum that guides you through the language learning anyway. Just make sure that you spend at least as much time following the books as you do learning what you want to learn (tailored lessons.) This will make sure that you are getting a good base to your learning. This is the method I am using now that I am in japan. It is a huge help, and it is a lot of fun too.