So, I’ll be getting some extra money for the next 2 years which I’m planning on saving this money to make a month-long trip to Japan at the end. Language-wise, I’m currently at a level where I’m kinda good at grammar, but I’m held back tremendously by vocabulary and kanji. I tried using Anki for some time but it’s been quite a while ago, and I stopped mostly due to laziness. I have studied Japanese from multiple sources for like… At least 3 years, but I hold myself back by lack of practice for long periods of time, which is why my vocabulary is currently lacking.
My question is… If I start studying today, is it possible to reach some kind of fluency for my trip 2 years from now? Surely, I don’t mean to speak like a native, but some fluency for communication, being able to read most texts, perhaps with help from a dictionary… Also, this question might be a little annoying, but I tried finding the answer for myself and found many conflicting answers so I’ll just say it again… What would you recommend me doing to optimize the 2 years time that I have? For context, I’m getting a master’s degree so I’ll have quite a lot of my time busy, but I think I could find one or two hours per day at least to study… What do you think?
3 comments
One-two hours of study will be good enough. If your grammar is good then mostly focus on vocabulary. Do as much wanikani and Anki as you can
Since time spent studying a language is a bad measurement – What’s your current vocab and Kanji total like? Even at 2 hours a day you should be able to be N3+, though if you worked even moderately you should be able to handle interactions well.
Get a tutor on italki or wherever to drill conversation, with a focus on what you’ll need for travel. E.g. asking times and directions, ordering food, asking questions in shops, casual conversation that you might have with people you meet, etc.
Align your practice materials similarly. Plenty of menus and signage available online. Museums and similar have info online about tours etc, any particular thing you want to visit/do, that specific info is available.