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When to add another language after Jpn | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Questions About Your Target Languages |  | |
| Maximus Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 6691 days ago 417 posts - 427 votes  Studies: Spanish, Japanese, Thai | Message 1 of 2 19 April 2009 at 11:19pm | IP Logged |
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I would like to ask about your opinions of when it will be OK to study another language after Japanese.
Firstly I will explain my level and situation. For Japanese Kanji and Vocabulary are my strongest points. I can reproduce over 1600 characters at this point and know passively a few hundred more and can read comfortably. By the time I arrive in Japan in September and start my year long intensive language program I will have learned all the Joyo Kanji. When it comes to grammar, I have covered almost all the grammar for the JLPT level 2. I am going to keep revising this. During the summer I am going to cram all the grammar for the JLPT level one in order to get into a high level class when I participate in the program. For listening comprehension, I can get through most Anime without subtitles, but I really want to make this area better. I guess all I can do is listlen to more and more movies. Like I have mentioned already, starting this Semptember, I will be participanting in an immersion program at a university in Japan. This will have a duration of a year. My goal will be to get as fluent as possible in Japanese. I will attempt to learn as many non-Joyo Kanji as possible and advance my spoken Japanese as much as possible. In fact I aim to live life entirely in Japanese including speaking, reading, etc... So that means I will drastically cut English language internet surfing time, only watch movies in Japanese, 80 percent of my music will be Japanese, etc... However, I am unsure at what point I should add a new language. On one hand, maybe Japanese should be a monopoly in terms of my time and effort. Maybe I should spend 100 percent of my effort on Japanese so that I can master it as thoroughly and deeply as possible. After all this is my most loved language and as Barry Farber puts it, a marriage language. On the other hand, this particular period of my life when I don't have to work a full time job and should naturally have more time for self-improvement may be ideal for adding another language. Since I already will be immersed in the language, maybe I will be left with more time to invest in another language. What are your opinions? For someone aspiring to become a polyglot, would this year abroad be best spent tackling another language while at the same time furthering my command of Japanese? Or is isolation and total devotion to one language the key? At the university to which I will go, the language studies department offers language modules for Chinese, Korean, English, Spanish, French, Italian, German and Russian. Forgive me if I have missed any. These language classes will of course be transmitted in Japanese as a base language as they are aimed mostly for Japanese people although foreign students can participate too. This may be a an incentive to study another language because 1)I will have more Japanese practice just by participating in the classes alone 2) I may have the opportunity to meet people with similar interests. Now the languages which I have interest in (in general, not from the list of available language at that institution) are Korean, Hungarian, Russian and Serbo-Croat. I also have some curiosity for Turkish and even Quechua. I would say that I think that I would like to learn Hungarian more than Russian. It seems a little more manageable and interesting for me. However, of those I have listed, only Russian and Korean are on the university's options. Maybe I should study one of these two because I will have the chance to take classes in them in Japan. I have a base in Korean although it is nothing but the basics. However I am unsure whether I would like to learn another East Asian language straight after Japanese. Even though I like Hungarian more, should I ignore it for now and take on Russian because of its availability at the university? I could even go old school and take the Spanish class so that my Spanish doesn't go to shit and so that I can have to opportunity to make Japanese friends in class. However, would it really be worth it at the expense of having to endure tedious classes of Spanish? I already know the grammar and just need some exposure to revive this language. Maybe I should just look to do something new. After all, I don't really have much passion for this language. It is not a "marriage language" just one I happen to have learned. My questions are: When do you think will be the right time given my cirumstances to take on another language at the same time as Japanese? Out of the languages I mentioned, what should I study? Should I definitely decide to study only another language with classes available? Please give me some guidance and thoughts on what to choose. Thank you for reading. Awaiting your advice and suggestions. Edited by Maximus on 19 April 2009 at 11:26pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Kuronue Groupie United States Joined 5941 days ago 45 posts - 45 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Japanese | Message 2 of 2 20 April 2009 at 4:10pm | IP Logged |
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In response to your questions:
Once you are at an intermediate level, taking on another language should pose no problems. Since you are obviously there, and since you'll be immersed into it, I don't see why you couldn't take another on now. Just be mindful of your mind and body. If you notice too much stress, if it isn't very enjoyable, or if you feel overwhelmed, pull back. As to what you should study - there are many thoughts that go into this question. What will you enjoy? The viability of a language doesn't matter if you don't have the drive or ability to do it. Making fast progress in a language you love would be many times more fruitful than baby-steps in a language you don't. Also, the matter of availability. It's not only the courses, but what other materials can you get (there or where you're at now), to assist you. To keep up with a language you won't be delving into (mainly because you'll be inside of another one), you will have to have a wealth of resources. Do you have or do you like movies and music in those cultures? What about television and radio? My thoughts on classes are what they've always been: I am glad they are useful to some, but they are not to me. Your mileage may vary. Good luck abroad, and good luck on your JLPT! 1 person has voted this message useful |
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