How long did it take you to become fluent in Japanese?

Konata

Hi guys,

As I've mentioned here before, I'm studying Japanese in college. For those of ye who are fluent or fairly fluent speakers, how long did it take ye to progress to that level? How many years of classes/learning/living in Japan etc?

Obviously I know all people are different but just curious as to how long/how much experience was required before you felt confident in your ability to speak fluent Japanese?

Giruilla

Konata wrote: »

Hi guys,

As I've mentioned here before, I'm studying Japanese in college. For those of ye who are fluent or fairly fluent speakers, how long did it take ye to progress to that level? How many years of classes/learning/living in Japan etc?

Obviously I know all people are different but just curious as to how long/how much experience was required before you felt confident in your ability to speak fluent Japanese?

I passed JLPT 2 kyuu just barely after about 15 months living in Japan. Wasn't really comfortable speaking at that stage, but after a second year I could hold a conversation pretty well.

It takes a lot of study, but I think the most important thing is to push yourself, and not get daunted by the amount of kanji and vocab to learn. If you just focus on the kanji, learn the meanings and each saying, then you pretty much know all the vocab intuitively anyway!
To get fluent at speaking, you really need to just get out there and hear how people talk, have converstations with them and joke as its something you won't learn in a book in my opinion.

just-joe

Giruilla wrote: »

I passed JLPT 2 kyuu just barely after about 15 months living in Japan.

Do you mean, without studying before you came? If so, that is remarkable. If not, that's still awesome!

This is a question I'm struggling with all the time. It seems it's a case of (so far anyway), the more you know, the more you know you don't know. It also depends a lot on the person, how much of an aptitude you have, but probably more so on how much you study, and how much you practice. Studying beats aptitudes ass.

First, I only started when I came, and have been doing well so far. But, all those who have done 3 or 4 years of Japanese in college have a massive headstart, and most seem to have quite a decent level of proficiency. If you have a study abroad year here, really do it, get a language partner, or better a bunch of them, and speak as much as you can! Having a job while here makes you realise that yes, it is possible to learn while you go; but being a full time student (maybe even in a host family) would be so much better for learning. It also makes you think about how much you could improve in a language school or something in comparison with working, would 3 months in a language school be better than a whole year while working? I think it maybe could be.

So sorry yeah, to actually answer the question, it seems to vary with people, but most people who I see are decent, have done the 4 years in college, a year abroad, and then 2 or more years here. I'm thinking of people who have the level 2, maybe going for the level 1, and can speak really well. I have asked a few people who are really decent, and one springs to mind - a guy who in his words, "passed the level 2 a few years ago, been living with a japanese girl the whole time and I still wouldn't say I'm properly fluent".

Another great Japanese speaker, one of the best I know, studied in a business conversational school of some sort, and did 6 hours talking every day one on one for 6 months. If you do that, you'll get good quick like! He also said, and it makes so much sense, "to get really good, you just have to be addicted". He watches tons of anime, reads manga, lives and breaths Japanese, and told me he always thinks in Japanese too. If you can do that, then you're gonna become really good. This is harder than youd think though, there is no way I could do Japanese 24/7, I can't study when I'm tired, and having English speaking company is necessary for me.

In reverse, all the Japanese people I know who are great English speakers have spent a couple of years abroad, probably in a language school, and are still learning.

I guess it depends what level of fluency you want.. enough to get around, maybe enough to play sport and chat a bit; or it could be a level up, read books and understand telly and have deep complicated conversations... or you could mean actually fluent as in bilingual, how cool would that be?! I don't know if it is possible to get that good if you're learning it as a second language, although I wouldn't really know.

Ok, ramble finished. A short answer would be it takes years anyways!

Konata

Thanks so much for these replies. My dream would be to be bilingual but I'm realistic to know that that's highly unlikely :P 3rd year of my course is a compulsory year abroad, attending university in Japan and I'm sure I'll learn more than I did in 2 years of college there!

Sure we'll see how it goes anyway

JonnyM

18 months

Just Like Heaven

Konata wrote: »

Thanks so much for these replies. My dream would be to be bilingual but I'm realistic to know that that's highly unlikely :P 3rd year of my course is a compulsory year abroad, attending university in Japan and I'm sure I'll learn more than I did in 2 years of college there!

Sure we'll see how it goes anyway

I'm sure if you spend a year there and are enthusiastic you really could become fluent. It's just going to be difficult really making the extra bit of effort all the time.

Would you ever consider Vlogging it?

I'v watched a few people on youtube vlog their homestay/year in foreign university and it was really, really interesting.

Konata

fewtinsoffroth wrote: »

I'm sure if you spend a year there and are enthusiastic you really could become fluent. It's just going to be difficult really making the extra bit of effort all the time.

Would you ever consider Vlogging it?

I'v watched a few people on youtube vlog their homestay/year in foreign university and it was really, really interesting.

Vlogging might be a bit much for me... but I certainly plan to blog the hell out of it While away yet though - sure, I can have all my grand plans ready :P

just-joe

Do you speak Japanese these days? I've been wondering how much of a Japanese community there is, do you know many Japanese people in Ireland?

How is Japanese taught as a university course? I'd be really interested to know, it would be cool to be in full time japanese learning.

Konata

just-joe wrote: »

Do you speak Japanese these days? I've been wondering how much of a Japanese community there is, do you know many Japanese people in Ireland?

How is Japanese taught as a university course? I'd be really interested to know, it would be cool to be in full time japanese learning.

Well, there are quite a few students who are Japanese in DCU. Most are on exchanges but there are some living here full time. The Japanese society in DCU is very active and I was really surprised at the amount of Japanese people in it!

The Annual Japan Day also proves that there's quite a few Japanese people living around Dublin. There are conversation classes for Japanese speakers in one of the libraries in town every week too so there's obviously demand for native speakers to meet up.

The course I'm doing is Applied Languages & Intercultural Studies in DCU. You have to study 2 languages for at least the first 2 years of the course so it's not 100% Japanese. There are also modules in the Study of Language, Culture, International Communication and that sort of stuff. After a year and a half you choose whether to do translation studies or intercultural studies and you can drop one of your languages after 2 years if you wish. The 3rd year is spent in a foreign university and then final year back in DCU. At the moment I have 6 hours of Japanese a week - 2 hours of kanji learning and 4 hours of speaking/grammar etc. etc.

Giruilla

just-joe wrote: »

Do you mean, without studying before you came? If so, that is remarkable. If not, that's still awesome!

Yeah I learnt hiragana/katakana and a few kanji in a couple of weeks before leaving, but basically from scratch when arriving in Japan.
I passed the 2 kyuu, just barely, but I wouldnt say my speaking fluency level was 2 kyuu level. I basically studied for the test. I needed to speak Japanese in my job and looked at the level of 3 kyuu but I thought it wasn't a good enough level to be comfortable in Japan with, so I pushed myself to go for 2 kyuu. I think if you just make the effort to go over all 2 kyuu kanji/grammer - while it might not necessarily sink in straight away - its a huge block to get over, and then you'll see the kanji/hear the grammer day to day and think oh I've seen/read that before and be suprised by how quickly you can remember it. If you never push yourself, you are always limiting what you can know.

That said, the new set up of the JLPT (N1-N5) is seriously tough. Its way more directed to speaking fluency, and grammer/kanji play a way smaller role. You really need to know spot on a wide range of vocab... especially non-kanji orientated vocab. One wrong question costs almost 3 times more marks than the previous set up.

On speaking fluency.. its so important to get talking to people.. go for a few beers or hang out. Reading manga and watching tv shows is obviously a big help too. Also, if you are a guy, you need to be careful not to speak like a woman too much in Japanese! For a girl either way is probably ok really.

hibby

I just sat the JLPT N3 yesterday and I would agree with everything Giruilla said above.

My proficiency is nowhere near the level that is being examined at N3, but it is possible to pass it (and to do well) by sufficient effort of study and memorisation, combined with some careful time management and exam planning.

At the same time, someone who has lived in Japan for a year, and speaks Japanese much better than me, could easily fail the exam if they hadn't spent time preparing and getting used to the kind of questions. You really do have to know the answer spot on.

Having said all that, the 11 weeks of intense exam preparation were not a waste of time by any means. I have vastly increased my store of vocab and kanji, and can read some Japanese now that I wouldn't have been able to.

I've really got into a TV drama called kaseifu no mita (it's wildly popular in Japan right now). That's helped a lot too.

So how long to get fluent? I don't know yet. So far, about 20 years!:rolleyes:

funky penguin

Konata, as a matter of interest, when and where will you be heading for your year abroad?

Maybe you don't know the where yet?

Konata

funky penguin wrote: »

Konata, as a matter of interest, when and where will you be heading for your year abroad?

Maybe you don't know the where yet?

I'll be going for 3rd year of my course so Sept 2013! I won't know until nearer the time but DCU is partnered with universities in Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka, so one of those!

Just Like Heaven

Konata wrote: »

universities in Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka, so one of those!

I knew this is what you were going to say, but when I read it I still riggled in jealousy

just-joe

Konata wrote: »

I'll be going for 3rd year of my course so Sept 2013! I won't know until nearer the time but DCU is partnered with universities in Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka, so one of those!

Tough choice?!

Any idea where ya would go?

funky penguin

Personally, I'd go for Kyoto, if you have the choice. Osaka 2nd, and Tokyo last. All great places though.

Since the academic year starts in April here, how do you fit in, since you start in September? Is it purely self enclosed modules designed for European exchange?

Or have you been told yet? :pac:

Konata

just-joe wrote: »

Tough choice?!

Any idea where ya would go?

Well, we get to put down our 1st, 2nd preference etc. but it's ultimately decided on results. So if you have the best results in your year, they'll give you your place first, then the next best etc. So gotta work hard to get my 1st preference! Apparently Sophia University in Tokyo is generally the most in demand one.

funky penguin wrote: »

Personally, I'd go for Kyoto, if you have the choice. Osaka 2nd, and Tokyo last. All great places though.

Since the academic year starts in April here, how do you fit in, since you start in September? Is it purely self enclosed modules designed for European exchange?

Or have you been told yet? :pac:

I have no idea about the starting times :P It goes by our academic year so there must be some system in place! I believe that it's mainly self-contained modules for exchange students but I think you get a chance to join in on some other modules in the uni too? Not entirely sure yet! Been finding out a lot more this time next year.