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 Language Learning Forum : Immersion, Schools & Certificates |  | |
| cameroncrc Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 6523 days ago 195 posts - 185 votes  2 sounds Speaks: English*, Japanese Studies: Ukrainian | Message 1 of 12 12 September 2009 at 10:09am | IP Logged | ||
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I am currently in Japan as a foreign exchange student, which has so far been very exciting! But it seems the more I study Japanese, the more difficult it becomes. I've been having a hard time expressing simple thoughts, and mastering basic sentence patterns.
I always agreed that the best way to learn a foreign language is by being in the country in which the language is spoken. But now I'm here, and I'm still struggling. What are some good methods to get the most out of my year abroad? Edited by cameroncrc on 13 September 2009 at 3:23am 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| hombre gordo Triglot Senior Member Japan Joined 5589 days ago 184 posts - 247 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish, Japanese Studies: Portuguese, Korean | Message 2 of 12 12 September 2009 at 8:07pm | IP Logged | ||
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Hi cameroncrc,
Firstly I would like to say that I am pleased that to have a great opportunity for your language studies. In response to your first paragraph, I believe that facility to express ones thoughts in the target language is mostly down to having a solid grounding of grammar, vocabulary and passive understanding. What I want to say is that if you have already heard/read an expression before (passive knowledge), you already have a template to reproduce. This is much easier than improvising while trying to get a thought/concept into words in your target language. So what I am urging you to do is to get a lot of passive japanese down. This will make expressing yourself actively much easier. In concrete read a lot of Japanese written by native speakers (internet, depending on your level of Kanji comprehension even novels/short stories) and pay specific attention to how things are phrased, fixed expression, commonly ocurring structures. Do the same with Japanese television. Watch a lot of TV, Anime, etc... Observe the actions of the characters, observe their situation and pay specific attention to fixed formulas and expressions which they use in these situations. By doing so you will build a template of fixed expression and phrases in your own mind which you will be able to use actively by imitating. Building on what I have said, I will give an example. The first time I wanted to compose an Email in Japanese and the first time I wanted to contribute to a discusion forum in Japanese, I spent a day beforehand reading emails and discusion board posts written by native speakers. I payed specific attention to the wording and fixed expressions and catagorized them. For example, Category one - REQUESTS/ASKING FOR THINGS - Fixed expressions いただければ幸いです For example, ご説明いただければ幸いです （Lit. If I could have you explain it to me, I would be fortunate） いただければあ りがたく存じます いただければ幸 甚に存じます and any other expressions of gratitude Category two －Thanking ー Fixed expresions いただきありがたく存じます etc... Category three - Conditional + Appology (if this happens, I am sorry) Fixed expression verbたらすみません/ごめんなさい/勘弁して ください etc... Category four - Appology for something that has happened - verb + 申し訳ございません For example, 遅刻してしまい申し訳ございません Can you see what I'm getting at. After reading various Japanese forum posts, I made the previous catagories in my notebook, made a mental template, internalized them and then started writting my own posts only after getting some good passive knowledge based template down first. If you get a lot of passive knowledge in context through reading, watching TV, etc... your active expression should improve considerably. I hope to have helped you in some way. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| hombre gordo Triglot Senior Member Japan Joined 5589 days ago 184 posts - 247 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish, Japanese Studies: Portuguese, Korean | Message 3 of 12 12 September 2009 at 8:22pm | IP Logged | ||
Like I have mentioned in my previous post, still take the time to be on your own so that you can do a lot of passive learning in order to create that template. Be a little bookworm! (However please find a balance between socializing and lone bookworming/anime geeking. Don't neglect socialization in which you can use Japanese actively.) Find good company and avoid bad company Avoid hanging around with your fellow countrymen or capable English speakers just because it is easier. Find Japanese friends but avoid those who are only looking to befriend the foriegner for cheap and easy English practice or just to make foreign friends to look cool. Only hang around with other foriegn students who are serious about learning Japanese. Generally be sociable. Go out and find clubs. Participate in activities. Make friends. Make a point of only using Japanese. Get rid of your English music, films, books ect... a replace them with Japanese ones. Try to speak Japanese all the time even if it is hard. You'll soon get used to it the more you do it. Remember speaking, listening to, reading English will waste your time. You have had plenty of time to use English back home. Now just focus everything into Japanese. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| lancemanion Triglot Senior Member United States Joined 5578 days ago 150 posts - 166 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish, Thai Studies: French, Mandarin, Japanese | Message 4 of 12 13 September 2009 at 5:39am | IP Logged | ||
Are you there to study Japanese, or something else? Is this your first foreign language? What have you studied so far? What are your study methods? How much of your time is spent with Japanese people, using the language? The more we know about your situation, the better we can help. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| cameroncrc Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 6523 days ago 195 posts - 185 votes 2 sounds Speaks: English*, Japanese Studies: Ukrainian | Message 5 of 12 13 September 2009 at 1:49pm | IP Logged | ||
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I'm living with a Japanese family and going to a normal Japanese school. I have studied other languages, but none to the point of fluency or even what I would call an "advanced" level. I'm with Japanese people every minute of everyday, and all of my classes are in Japanese. So it's truly an immersion!
1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| lancemanion Triglot Senior Member United States Joined 5578 days ago 150 posts - 166 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish, Thai Studies: French, Mandarin, Japanese | Message 6 of 12 14 September 2009 at 2:01am | IP Logged | ||
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A normal Japanese school - does that mean a school that teaches Japanese to foreigners, or is it a Japanese high
school or university that teaches all subjects in Japanese? Mostly I'm curious whether or not you are actually taking the subject of Japanese in your school. You are with Japanese people all the time - communicating only in Japanese? 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| cameroncrc Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 6523 days ago 195 posts - 185 votes 2 sounds Speaks: English*, Japanese Studies: Ukrainian | Message 7 of 12 14 September 2009 at 9:56am | IP Logged | ||
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A normal Japanese school as in a public high school that doesn't cater to foreigners in any way. I'm taking the same classes as other Japanese 16 year olds, biology, history, etc...My Japanese courses are all at the high school level: Classical Japanese, Japanese Composition and Speech, Modern Japanese and Literature. I'm living with a Japanese family that speaks very little English, and I am one of three Americans in the entire city.
The fact that it is a total immersion is great for practice, however I'm still at an early stage in the learning process. If nobody can explain to me what is being said in a conversation or class, then I can't learn what those words mean. Edited by cameroncrc on 14 September 2009 at 9:58am 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| lancemanion Triglot Senior Member United States Joined 5578 days ago 150 posts - 166 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish, Thai Studies: French, Mandarin, Japanese | Message 8 of 12 15 September 2009 at 1:34am | IP Logged | ||
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So you're in a Japanese highschool, taking Classical Japanese, Japanese Composition and Speech, Modern Japanese
and Literature, living with a Japanese family communicating almost exclusively in Japanese. Yet you have a hard time expressing simple thoughts, and mastering basic sentence patterns. Didn't you learn to express simple thoughts, and master basic sentence patterns before coming to Japan? Is it possible that you have just hit a rough patch, and want some ideas of how to get out of it? How long has this been going on? My final question (I promise) - what are your study techniques? I have some ideas for you, but I need to know what you are doing now that isn't working. 1 person has voted this message useful |
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