On the 25th I begin my last year of college and my first class of Japanese. In the past I’ve self studied and so I know all katakana, hiragana, and a few common kanji. I know some common phrases and whatnot, so at least I’m not starting from the very beginning.
However, life caught up with me and I had no time to continue self studying, so I gradually stopped. I also believe that a classroom setting will be much more beneficial to me, and this semester and next I have time in my schedule to take the classes, so I thought “why not?”
Back in high school when I learned Spanish, we often did online material at home, and though it was more supplementary, I always preferred the in-person classroom instruction. I also feel the same way about mathematics.
From what I hear, my professor seems to be nice. I understand the challenges I’ll face given that Japanese is a difficult language, but I think motivation is key and I am motivated to learn it. I’m doing it purely because I want to, not because I’m majoring/minoring in Japanese, and this is also unlike when I took Spanish as back then I was taking it because I needed to (instead of particularly wanting to) for an honors diploma.
I’m also expecting a high drop out rate for the class. I believe there’s about 30 of us. Now, it’s not like Japanese is an elective, so I imagine the people there will be so because they really want to learn it. Maybe some are getting a degree in it, or are like me and are doing it just because they want to. I will say though, my college has a lot of weebs and I totally expect them to drop out of the class. I’m not sure how many of 30 that will be, though.
So, what’s a Japanese college course like? Should I expect anything I may not have thought of?