I’m well into my first month of study abroad in Japan and really want to make the most out of my time here to improve my Japanese. My listening comprehension is good and I understand what my Japanese friends are saying most of the time but I’m struggling with speaking about deeper topics and a few every day life essential vocabulary. I don’t know if I’m thinking too hard but I’ve been told I speak better and more freely while drunk.
I’m taking Japanese courses here and it’s been a lot of fun but I feel as if the classes are targeted at formal Japanese and preparing us for the N2 exam.
Any tips on how I can use my experience in Japan to aid in improving my speaking?
2 comments
Talk with friends!
You may want to cultivate two relationships:
Someone easy to talk to who will let you talk (or where you can talk easily)
And a nit-picker to hammer out your mistakes.
Other than that – TALK, have fun! Do things!
Language exchanges were fairly common where I lived. (Usually found via MeetUp iirc.) Also, your local international relations organization might hold cheap or free classes that are usually run by retirees. I felt like those were good opportunities to learn more casual levels of the language and it was also really chill.