I’ve been studying at a Japanese language academy for two years and regret doing so. I’ve spent USD$1692 worth of Colombian pesos on a weekend course, still stuck at N5. If I hadn’t gotten sick of barely progressing and not using Anki, I wouldn’t even be close to comprehending a Japanese short story for toddlers.
I mainly signed up so that I could get some language tutoring, but after realizing how slow, inefficient, and unnecessarily strict it felt; I just don’t know what to do at this point. I tried teaching myself Japanese back when I was starting out, but things went south quickly due to school and a huge lack of self-discipline. This was before even I knew how to use Anki, in fact, I didn’t even know what was Anki exactly. I’m 17 years old and a native Spanish speaker, so I guess I’m pretty dumb; but I still believe that taking sixteen years (because the Minna no nihongo Book #8 takes about 8 years to reach at a pace of one 2 hour class per week) and USD$13536 dollars simply to reach an advanced level of Japanese sounds utterly atrocious. Worse yet, the “intensive” study plan only gives you A SINGLE MORE DAY of study, and the classes are transfered to weekdays. Should I really keep going at this? Is a more strict way of learning and having a native speaker bash you for the smallest of mistakes really worth it?
I have to admit, maybe I went a little overboard using the term “bash”, but it feels very unrewarding to be forced to go with the basics because the basics are the most likely to give you green check marks. And it’s even more unrewarding when the most basic of topics take so long to learn and are so monotonous sometimes because you have to go with everyone else’s pace. How is it that I understand so much more Japanese using a free app like Anki when a Japanese academy is supposed to give me the tools to communicate in the language?
I know deep down that it is not the academy’s fault, it’s my fault. Because I was stupid enough to sign up for all of this. My lack of self discipline doesn’t help either, so all that I have left to do is ask: Should I quit this course? Should I keep going? Is language learning only for the most disciplined and dedicated (like Matt vs Japan)? Should I quit altogether?
My parents are to busy to be bothered with this. And all of my friends have abandoned me after I moved to the US. Could you, my dear friend, give me a hand? Maybe a little bit of advice? Please?
Thank you so much for reading this. Stay safe.
14 comments
I’m confused. When you say that you are stuck at N1, do you mean the JLPT level N1? Because that’s the highest level. At that point, you won’t see progress as quickly as you did when you first started.
You’re so incredibly young, so I wouldn’t rush it. I’ve used only Wanikani and Bunpro for years and that’s been a boon for understanding. Those are my recommendations. Much cheaper than official courses, as long as you can get yourself to do reviews and lessons regularly.
The other half, which is ideal, is to get some native speakers as friends. That’s easier said than done, especially if you live in the US.
My advice though, is to slow down and think about what your goal is.
Do you want to be able to speak Japanese? For fun? To live there? Do you want to be able to read? Good advice will be very dependent on your goals.
This is an academy in Columbia? Not in japan right?
You can go to an academy in japan and get actual immersion. But honestly, most Japanese language programs suck. I have worked closely in programs at top universities in the world and it still sucks there – students complaining about the same stuff.
Why not try italki or immersion school if you want more of a challenge and don’t want to self study? Just put yourself in a situation where you have to speak it. That might be best for you.
I’ve been going to a Japanese language school here in Melbourne Australia for the last 4 years and while I still think I suck (because I definitely don’t study as much as I should – work full time wife and kids ECT) I still really enjoy going. Maybe you need to try a different course or a different language school.
What are your Anki decks like? Self-made or premade? Words or kanji?
2 years of weekend courses and still stuck at a level where you can’t pass N5 is definitely not ideal. As a personal anecdote, I, too, did weekend courses at a language school in my area when I was 19-20, and managed to pass N4 at the end of the second year.
Personally I would recommend using the money on film school (since you said something about becoming a film director) and leave learning Japanese for later when you mature a bit more to have the discipline to learn a new language.
Well, I definitely wouldn’t be calling yourself dumb; you’re already fluent in two languages. (That’s already more than most people.) Learning a language simply takes time, so I wouldn’t be in a rush to see results. You may have been studying at the academy for two years. But in reality, from what you’ve posted, you’ve only been studying a couple hours on the weekend, which isn’t going to advance you leaps and bounds in any language quickly.
Some people are simply gifted at learning languages, others, like me, spent 21 years of their lives to get where they are. For comparison, I started studying Japanese when I was 15 years old, and I’m 36 now. I have a nearly perfect Japanese accent, with my speaking ability being around an “N1 level”. However, my reading/writing skills are still stuck around an N4 level. (I just never prioritized reading/writing skills).
But I exposed myself by diving all in when I was younger. I took every opportunity I could to study the language, I had my High School classes 3x a week, community college classes 3x a week, and a Japanese tutor for four hours on the weekend. I kept up that pace for two years and I learned a lot from it. After graduating High school, I went out of my way to make as many Japanese friends as I could so I could have someone to talk with. Now-a-days, you can use applications like iTalki and Hellotalki as a substitute for having a speaking partner.
My suggestion would be to do whatever you can to immerse yourself in the language. The advantage of today, is you have access to so much free resources. You can find plenty of podcasts to listen to on YouTube that will be subtitled, or are even geared towards language learners.
You can also try out websites like [japanese.io](https://japanese.io) that will let you not only read Japanese news in Japanese, but also create word banks and help you understand the vocabulary. If you have the money, you can even buy shounen manga. Which are great because all the kanji have furigana attached to them. So you can learn and entertain yourself at the same time.
In summary, >>>input input input<<<, in my opinion as a fellow Japanese learner, and a linguist, language input is an important key to learning any language. So do whatever you can to immerse yourself in the language.
P.S. I don’t know if any of that is helpful, but don’t rush yourself to see results. It just takes time (sometimes a lot of time).. You didn’t learn Spanish and English overnight. It’s going to be the same for Japanese (even more so since you don’t have as much exposure.) So do whatever you feasibly can do, and at a pace that you’re comfortable with, and don’t rush yourself. Eventually, before you even realize it, you’ll be speaking Japanese.
If you can, try to find a school run by a Japanese cultural organization instead of an indépendant school. I find they’re much cheaper. I get 1 year of classes for $900 CAD where I am now.
Kind of an aside, but formal instruction will almost always be slower than self-study, but I find the slow pace forces you to actually remember what you learn. When I tried self-studying, I rushed through things and forgot as soon as I took a break. The class is making me actually learn. In one year, I learned to have a basic conversation and feel like I have the tools to learn more on my own if I want to.
You’re not an idiot. Stop calling yourself that bro
I’m also Colombian and I know how much money it could be so I could haven’t sign up in the first place. At least my economy wouldn’t have let me xd.Here we have to think in some points:
1. Being in a course never will teach you things “magically”. You have to put something from yourself. Your attention and discipline.
2. Try to schedule yourself to do any activities related to the language. Even if it’s Duolingo (although most of the people would say Duolingo is bad, I know by experience that you’ll be more motivated to keep your streak with it). After a couple of weeks you may be able to leave it apart and start using other tools on that time.
3. If you feel you’re wasting your time and money, get out of there and use THAT time, to do something related to the language. Same thing as Duolingo. Avoid any distractions and you’ll make a progress.
4. Give it at least 20 minutes daily, be consistent is the most important thing on everything.
5. On my opinion that’s pretty expensive to be a weekend course. You could search for alternatives or change your routine and avoid wasting so much.
6. Again, change your routines. In this case, look for things that distract you and delete them from your life. As I did, for example, I blocked YouTube form my browser and deleted the app because it distracts me for hours while I have to do other things like study.
7. Stop saying you’re an idiot. This may sound dumb for you, but I’m pretty sure your self-steem is directly related to what you can do. It’s not like you’re able to become Superman if you wish it, but, at least if you believe in yourself, you should be able to get better results. Don’t be too optimistic tho. It may depress you when something doesn’t go as you expect.
8. Concentrate on yourself. This may sound kinda hard, but your family probably cares less over your language learning progress than you think, your friends would be even less than that. Do you really wanna be good at Japanese? Don’t say how are your classes going, just do the effort to learn.
¡Saludos, compatriota :D!
You’re only 17. I took Japanese for two years in high school and am back at it in college. I’ll likely take the next level up next semester which is going to be almost all new to me. Here is my suggestion. Look for online courses while the world is still somewhat in pandemic mode, and do it that way. You’d be doing probably 4 hours once a week instead of 2 hours a day (plus homework) but it’s an option anyway, if you push yourself, & communicate with your instructor, and prepare to have homework you can likely do this within reason.
But think about why you want to learn Japanese & your end goal, there are way cheaper ways to do it. You could even potentially do a homestay over there. Good luck.
Edit: if you’re going to go to a college or uni online and aren’t still attending grade school it’s more worth your while to do 2 courses, maybe more but 2 is probably the most I would do to get a feel of the workload. This is because signing up is expensive & the fees associated with attending.
I know you’re probably not interested in switching Japanese courses, but here in Mexico I’m attending one that’s pretty great (in Spanish). They have online courses so you can sign up and take class through zoom. It’s 3 hours a week (two 1.5hr classes on weekdays or 3hrs on Saturday, your choice). We’re using Marugoto which is made by the Japan Foundation and focuses more on words and expressions that are actually used daily.
They also offer optional JLPT courses to prepare for a specific level. And they have a partnership with a school in Kyoto for summer immersion courses. For this last one I don’t know how it would work with taking someone from Colombia but you can always ask.
It’s called Academia Futaba de Idioma y Cultura Japonesa. Their website is academiafutaba.com
Each level lasts 4 months. The teachers are awesome and very knowledgeable about the Japanese language and culture. So, if it’s still too slow, they are probably open to having one-on-one, personalized lessons if you ask.
If you want to chat more about it in Spanish, send me a DM.
Hey OP, you’re not dumb. I know you’re frustrated but *you’re not dumb*. Being fluent in two languages is already amazing, definitely more than plenty of people can say. If your grades are good, that’s gotta mean something, right? Either you’re a hard worker or you are smart, both of which are good qualities. Good luck in whatever you choose.
Two years and still in n5? I don’t think it’s worth the money. I took two years with breaks in between (so less than two years) and managed to pass n4. I guess it depends on the type of academy you are in, mine focused more being able to speak than to memorize grammar rules so i was able to go to Japan and live there with the knowledge I had.