|
 |
Learning Japanese and choosing a language | ||
Tags: Choosing a Language | Japanese | ||
Share with:
| ||
 Language Learning Forum : Advice Center |  | |
| kanaka_peach Newbie United States Joined 5810 days ago 12 posts - 12 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Japanese | Message 1 of 6 03 January 2009 at 6:41pm | IP Logged | |||||
|
Hi! This is my first post so I hope I do good! My first question is choosing what language to take in high school. They offer Spanish, German, French, and Latin. I want to learn Spanish because I live in a state with a diversity of Spanish speakers, but my dad wants me to learn German so I can go to Germany one day. French is a out of the question because of a past problem, and Latin I heard is not used anymore. My second question is how can I teach myself Japanese or better yet, find a tutor? In my area, there are no (none at all) schools that offer classes of Japanese.
Thank you to anyone who answers my question 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| farrioth Senior Member New Zealand Joined 6096 days ago 171 posts - 173 votes  Speaks: English* Studies: Russian, Esperanto, Sanskrit, Japanese | Message 2 of 6 04 January 2009 at 12:58am | IP Logged | |||||
This seems to like a good enough reason to chose Spanish. Motivation (and therefore desire to learn) plays a big part in language learning success.
As for teaching yourself, there are plenty of resources online. For starters, take a look at AJATT and IKnow. If you put out a request on this forum, you may be able to find a language exchange partner / tutor for Japanese; not necessarily someone local, but an online tutor can be just as effective. You could also consider posting a local add (on a community noticeboard or somewhere) for a tutor if you haven't already. 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| Sprachprofi Nonaglot Senior Member Germany learnlangs.comRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 6476 days ago 2608 posts - 4866 votes Speaks: German*, English, French, Esperanto, Greek, Mandarin, Latin, Dutch, Italian Studies: Spanish, Arabic (Written), Swahili, Indonesian, Japanese, Modern Hebrew, Portuguese | Message 3 of 6 04 January 2009 at 4:04am | IP Logged | |||||
|
Yes, I would only look at my personal interests when choosing a language, because otherwise you can't guarantee you'll do well.
Latin is a dead language not used for communication anymore. The idea of learning Latin is for the ability to read historical texts, to get an understanding of what life was like for Romans, to read their amazing literature, to read the Bible in a less altered version and even to read medieval scientific or religious texts. For example, even Christopher Columbus wrote his report about the discovery of America in Latin. As for Japanese, I believe that if this is your first foreign language, and especially something so exotic, learning it on your own will be difficult (but possible, if you're motivated enough). I would recommend getting a tutor especially for the start; later it won't be so hard. Have a look at http://www.myngle.com/boost/ - if you have a good internet connection and intend to learn a lot quickly, this deal is the sweetest offer you can find for online tutoring. 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| TheElvenLord Diglot Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 6086 days ago 915 posts - 927 votes 1 sounds Speaks: Cornish, English* Studies: Spanish, French, German Studies: Portuguese, Mandarin | Message 4 of 6 04 January 2009 at 4:47am | IP Logged | |||||
|
I think that if you learn German because your father wants you to, you are doomed to failure. You cannot learn a foreign language like that! You have to want to, or you will end up hating it, and language study - and therefore will not be compelled to learn other languages you DO want to learn in the future.
Spanish is a very good option. There are many speakers in the US - it's estimated there are more than English now! Because of this, there is Spanish TV, Radio, Newspapers etc. This means you will get a HUGE amount of exposure which most of us live without! That is a big thumbs up for deciding a language! I think that a tutor would help to get you on track for Japanese - but it is perfectly reasonable to start on your own completely. Remember that this is a site about teaching yourself languages - stick around and you will quickly pick up the "tricks of the trade". With Japanese, I reccommend you read All Japanese All the time (AJATT) because it is very very good. Follow that method, and you will succeed. There are, obviously, other methods, but when/if I learn Japanese, there is no doubt I will use Khatzumoto as a base for my study (I have a few adaptations to his method) The last thing I would say is that you can learn all 3 at once! I am learning 6 over the course of this year - and this is my second year of learning languages! Best of luck TEL 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
 Fasulye Heptaglot Winner TAC 2012 Moderator Germany fasulyespolyglotblog Joined 5853 days ago 5460 posts - 6006 votes 1 sounds Speaks: German*, DutchC1, EnglishB2, French, Italian, Spanish, Esperanto Studies: Latin, Danish, Norwegian, Turkish Personal Language Map | Message 5 of 6 04 January 2009 at 5:14am | IP Logged | |||||
TEL has got the point of it. You yourself have to make the choice of a language and to have your own personal motivation to learn it. Otherwise you will quickly lose your motivation and the whole language learning process will be ineffective. Every language has its own difficulties and you will be in danger to give up easily. Fasulye-Babylonia Edited by Fasulye on 04 January 2009 at 5:35am 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| kanaka_peach Newbie United States Joined 5810 days ago 12 posts - 12 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Japanese | Message 6 of 6 04 January 2009 at 3:04pm | IP Logged | |||||
|
Thank You for the replies!
I think that if you learn German because your father wants you to, you are doomed to failure. You cannot learn a foreign language like that! You have to want to, or you will end up hating it, and language study - and therefore will not be compelled to learn other languages you DO want to learn in the future. Yeah, thats what I told my dad, and he started to understand that I'm not really intrested in learning German (He lived there for 3 years when he was in the military;he loved it.). But it would be cool if I could visit Germany. Spanish is a very good option. There are many speakers in the US - it's estimated there are more than English now! Because of this, there is Spanish TV, Radio, Newspapers etc. This means you will get a HUGE amount of exposure which most of us live without! That is a big thumbs up for deciding a language! Funny thing is, I have a lot Spanish speaking friends (and boyfriend :) ) I hear it's a very easy language to learn, but still takes a lot practice (I can't roll my r's). That's really my first choice. It seems that Japanese tutors here are almost extinct, but I'll try posting a request somewhere and see how it goes. In the mean time, I'll try using the websites that you offer and reading the books thay I have. I REALLY want to learn Japanese. Thank you very much! Ja ne! Edited by kanaka_peach on 04 January 2009 at 3:05pm 1 person has voted this message useful |
If you wish to post a reply to this topic you must first login. If you are not already registered you must first register
|  | 
Printable version
|
| Copyright 2024 FX Micheloud - All rights reserved No part of this website may be copied by any means without my written authorization. |
