Okay so background, I’m a high school kid about to finish Junior year. Around here we have “College Credit Plus”, which lets me take classes for free at a local college, and I’ve mostly used it to get out of required classes at my high school, but recently realized I could take language classes too.
I’m gonna be moderately busy next year, so I don’t wanna totally overload myself. I’m going to be taking AP Spanish, and I’ve been learning Irish as a hobby since 7th grade, so I’m not completely new to language stuff, but Japanese is a different beast. I just think it might be another fun thing to do, I’ve always though Japan was an awesome country and culture, and it would be good to get a start on such a different language with an actual class instead of the semi-haphazard way I’ve started my previous languages (you have no CLUE how much of a pain in the ass getting info on Irish is as an American).
Anyway, I’m just wondering if the people here have anything to say.
6 comments
Many colleges take two semesters for one volume of Genki. That’s insanely slow by a lot of people’s standards if they want quick progress, but for a hobbyist it might not be a bad pace.
Introductory classes in community college are insanely laid back. For mine, each semester was two chapters in the Yookooso Vol 1. textbook. The workbooks are fill-in-the-blank too so homework was a breeze.
Ask the college what the expected workload for this class is, as there’s a massive range. A lot of beginner classes are pretty slow.
I’m taking Japanese at a community college right now. Each semester covers six units from Genki 1, so the pace is not hard. Maybe you can find out what book they use and how much is covered in one semester. Also, there are a few high school students in my class.
Japanese really is a different beast. but if you are motivated it can be fun. Luckily, resources for learning Japanese are very plentiful. If you decide to go for it, you can get a head start on hiragana, katakana, and kanji over the summer if you want.
You should ask them since they’ll have an idea of class and lab hours and expected homework time. Also you’re always allowed to drop out if it becomes too much. No shame in aiming too high.
If they offer the class during the summer, I recommend doing that. You’ll get a 12 week class in 6 weeks and then won’t have to deal with trying to take outside classes during high school, which personally I would not recommend. You don’t want to have to choose between your HS GPA and your college GPA if things become overwhelming, since both would be important on college apps going forward. If it’s a replacement for a class and not an addition then I’m more inclined to say go for it, especially if you’re familiar with the program in general – but learning two languages at once can be a bit tricky.
There’s also tons of free online materials for learning Japanese, especially the basics, so don’t be afraid to learn on your own time. If you get the basics down you can test into a higher language level when you do get to college.