Hey everyone I’ve been lurking on this subreddit for quite a bit! I’m currently struggling a bit and wanting some advice.
I’ve been studying Japanese for about one and a half years. In college I took three semesters of Japanese and I’m probably borderline N4 level (about to finish Genki 2). I recently just arrived in Japan as a part of a study abroad program, and quite honestly, I’m getting very discouraged about the language.
I see tons of comments online about people achieving conversational fluency after merely 1-2 years of Japanese studying, or becoming fluent after only living in Japan for a few months. However, despite being here for a few weeks, I find myself utterly lost. I feel like every social interaction is difficult. Additionally, it seems like almost every one on my study abroad program is so much better than me.
Often people say that you should speak to Japanese people to improve, but if I’m at a restaurant, I often can not figure out one word of what the waiter is saying. Furthermore, if I’m talking with a Japanese friend and they start speaking Japanese, I am usually completely unable to follow along. I just feel super discouraged, and am honestly wondering if language acquisition is not for me and if I should give up. I feel like I’m constantly making a fool of myself in Japan, and whenever I go somewhere, I’m a burden. My listening ability is definitely my weakest skill, although my grammar, vocab, and speaking are nothing impressive either…
Has anyone else have had feelings like this? Did you manage to push through it? I’m wondering if choosing to study abroad in Japan was too ambitious of a decision.
9 comments
Never compare yourself to others; it only distorts your view of yourself. I’ve known people who have studied for 20 years and are still beginners, and I’ve known people who’ve studied for 3 years and aced N1. (And I’ve even known one or two who have one Japanese parent and weren’t much better than those who hadn’t). Some people do better because they put in a massive amount of work; some are naturally gifted with languages and absorb them like a sponge; others are a native in languages that make pronunciation or grammar far easier to learn.
At N4 level, it’s only natural you’re going to struggle with listening. Hell, when I went out to Japan, I was probably between N3 and N2, and my listening was absolute trash. I couldn’t have anything more than a basic conversation for at least five months, and I avoided restaurants and stuff for ages. I couldn’t understand men at all because all my teachers had been women.
After a while, there was a day when it just clicked. Whether it was classes conducted mostly in Japanese, feeling more confident, or just osmosis, one day I just felt I could try and strike up conversations and join university clubs. People were really accommodating and would try their best to repeat themselves for me.
A lot of people reported having a time where they, without noticing, went from being lost to suddenly knowing far more than they ever knew they knew. You’ve got this far, and this is a really common thing to experience. がんばってね！
I guess you’ve never read about the people who spend years or their entire lives here and still can’t speak well or at all. If you need to compare, compare to them. But really, don’t compare to anyone but your past self. Are you improving?
Some people take years to get good, some take longer. Just keep going.
I recently realized this too. For reference I have been involving myself with the Japanese language for the past 10 years (studying would be an overstatement) and I thought I have a talent for language learning too, but I keep getting corrected every day, even over stuff I was pretty sure about. At this point, I gave up to achieve a level of fluency that I have in English, where the only thing that gives me away is my accent (because native speakers themselves often make grammar mistakes as well). There are gonna be nuances we will never really grasp, I think, but that’s alright, Japanese people will correct you but then move on, so all you need to do is continue what you like doing (i. e. study and speak Japanese) without the expectation of becoming perfect at it.
As for not being able to understand others and feeling discouraged by seeing other people’s achievements, they’re definitely not the norm/average so it’s not really useful to compare yourself to them. Everyone is good at different things, some people have a talent for learning languages in 1-2 years but that doesn’t mean that anyone who doesn’t have that exact talent should give up. The wonderful thing about learning Japanese is that you do it for yourself and not because you’re forced or expected to.
I was the same like you when I first arrived in Japan a few years ago, just remember that each one is different and people learn at different paces. It was only after almost 2-3 years that I was able to understand and speak Japanese. If you are living for a longer time, don’t give up, keep studying (like I did) and you’ll see the fruits sooner or later.
What you’re feeling is definitely normal and part of the study abroad experience. Just keep getting up every day and going to class, do your homework and try to have some fun in your free time.
When you start to notice flower buds on the trees and the days start to get warmer and longer, you might notice that you start feeling a little more positive and your language skills will have improved too.
A lot of us have been there! Think of this as a letter from your future self. It’s going to be okay!
Speaking to people is a dead end at your level. Your instinct is right that if you can’t figure out what people are saying, you can’t really improve through talking. A lot of the people who got fluent in 1-2 years did so by reading and watching videos for several hours a day and strip-mining the content they consumed for vocab and grammar. Listening and reading are far more important than speaking, especially as a beginner, because you simply can’t say words you don’t know— it’s better to focus on input to build up your vocabulary and comprehension first.
Then, when they started talking, they had a much better foundation, so they could understand people much better and, having already heard Japanese sentences thousands and thousands of times, had a much better time figuring out what to say themselves, and made progress much quicker.
I would highly recommend checking out the TheMoeWay discord server. It’s where a lot of those super-hardcore, N1-in-two-year people meet up. You don’t have to be as hardcore as them to benefit from their advice and help— It took me five years to pass the test and to reach a level where I’m comfortable with everything, and they were still very helpful to me.
Yes that feeling is normal. However, you have to realize that you don’t understand Japanese and that’s why you are learning. You are a learner. Try to frame your mindset in a way that views your real life Japanese interactions as adventures and learning experiences. It’s all in your head.
I recommend trying to interact with and use Japanese to the best of your ability without worrying about how you are perceived. Just focus on trying to learn/adapt and having fun exploring.
>In college I took three semesters of Japanese and I’m probably borderline N4 level (about to finish Genki 2).
I took Japanese 1-3 at university years ago, too. You have to realise that universities teach Japanese at a snail’s pace. You’re reading the stories of people who self study, who go at 2-4 times the speed you are (Genki 2 in as little as 6 months). They’ve already got thousands of words in their vocabulary and have learned most of the jouyou kanji in a year.
I think the real issue is that you’ve realised how inefficient you’ve been, and how university courses are a horrible way to learn a language. It’s up to you to learn from that lesson and pick up the pace while you’re in Japan, otherwise nothing is going to change while you’re there.
Once you’re in Japan, speaking Japanese has a whole new facet added. Have to deal with nuances, trying to ensure your pronunciation is understandable, etc. You’ll be fine.