Hi All,
I recently moved to japan approx. 3 months ago and am planning to stay for a min of 2 years (depending on work contract at the end of the 2yrs).
I am studying Japanese at a language school 5hrs a week (2x 2hr group lesson and 1x 1hr private lesson), using the Nihongo Fun and Easy series (just finished the first book and about to go onto the second grammar focused textbook). Also using Wanikani (up to level 4, taking it slow with 1-2 lessons per day and clearing all reviews everyday), supplementing my study with Genki 1, basically just reviewing and filling gaps from my other study rather than using it to study by itself.
I would guess on average I do focused study 1-2 hours per day on average plus general immersion time e.g. shopping, ordering food, hearing and reading Japanese on the train everyday.
I did study Japanese a bit before moving, i.e. came able to read hiragana and katakana poorly, very basic vocab/grammar etc. but never was consistent or had a constant direction with my study until after the move.
Ultimately my question is what should I be aiming for / what is a realistic goal post? I should be on approx. 90 to 180hours practice but feel like I am learning at a very fast pace (every week I understand so much more than the week before). I want to eventually take a JLPT test but don’t know whether to aim for n4 in Dec this year, n3 end of next year, or higher or lower?
Also happy to take any suggestions how to better structure my study. (I was using Anki but stopped due to getting more value as a beginner in other forms of study, but planning to jump back in soon).
Thanks,
6 comments
usually with some amount study you can get to N2 in 1 year living in japan. so for 2 year if you study kanji a lot N1 might be doable at the end of the 2 year (would require a certain amount of constant study tho)
I think N2 after 2 years is a decent achievable goal, and then potentially N1 after 3.
In the beginning it feels like you’re learning super fast (and you are!) but unfortunately after a while once you’re past the basics it feels like a long hard grind learning vocabulary.
I understand you want to benchmark yourself however you can do this every day by checking how much you are able to understand and communicate in your daily life. Just try to enjoy the process and work out levels later.
頑張って下さい！
Sounds like a good plan! I usually combine my Japanese language studies (language books + dictionaries) with:
1. Listening to music in Japanese.
2. Watching shows in Japanese with double-subtitles.
3. Communication / language exchange with natives.
4. Language-learning apps.
Check out [https://learnjapanese.moe/](https://learnjapanese.moe/) and r/ajatt
I can pass N2 after roughly two years of study and never having visited Japan, so maybe that can motivate you to go for N1? On average I study 1-2 hours a day, but this is a bit difficult to track. If you do attempt N1, you should start with Anki now. You’ll definitely need the vocabulary.