First off, many who claim theyve grasped the language through “Immersion” alone, have watched/Done some kind of Textbook studying, whether its watching Grammar from YouTube, or anything like that. That does NOT fall under the immersion category. If you watch anime 24/7 and claim fluency, yeah right…
To learn a new language, many people believe that immersing oneself in the language’s environment is important for quick and effective acquisition. This is also true for Japanese, known for its unique culture and language. However, immersion alone is not enough to master Japanese.
It is important to understand that immersion is not enough for language learners. Although being in a native-speaking environment and using authentic materials can improve listening, it does not provide enough structure for learners. Without a strong foundation in grammar, vocabulary, and sentence structure, learners may have difficulty expressing themselves accurately even after immersion.
Learning to read and write Japanese is difficult because of the complicated writing system. Immersion alone is not enough to become proficient in using Kanji, Hiragana, and Katakana, which are important for written Japanese. Practice and instruction are necessary to master these scripts. Immersion can help with recognition, but it does not guarantee accurate writing and comprehension.
Explicit language instruction is often ignored in the immersion approach, despite its importance in language learning. Simply being exposed to a language is not enough, as learners also need systematic teaching that includes grammar explanations, vocabulary practice, and targeted exercises. Immersion may not offer the necessary guidance and support for learners to address their specific language questions and difficulties.
Simply experiencing a different culture is not enough to become fluent in a language. While it can help improve communication by providing context, it cannot replace the importance of studying the language itself. Cultural immersion should be seen as a supplement to language learning, offering insight into social norms and communication subtleties. Nevertheless, without a strong foundation in the language, learners may struggle to fully understand and appreciate cultural aspects.
To become fluent in Japanese, it is important to invest time and effort. Simply being immersed in the language is not enough to achieve fluency quickly. Language acquisition requires consistent practice and a gradual process. It is recommended to combine immersion experiences with structured learning methods like textbooks, online courses, or language exchange programs for a more effective approach to learning.
5 comments
These recent immersion threads are seriously getting ridiculous. I haven’t seen a single person say you should immerse without looking up grammar.
At this point it just feels like both sides are arguing over statements nobody is making. No one is saying textbooks are useless, just like nobody is arguing that reading/listening to japanese is useless.
Can we please just all accept that both are important and move on.
This doesn’t explain the “why” about anything, it just takes the same stance that’s already been stated in the argument and says it again, worse.
I read the first three paragraphs and quit when it sounded like you’re trying to sell an app, textbook, or bootcamp of some kind. Maybe that’s not what you’re doing, but you should think about why your thoughts are following the same tracks as a marketing spiel – and why that might be a bad thing if you’re giving advice about acquiring a skill you don’t have yet.
Its like every thread ala “Immersion is NOT all you need” seems to be a strawman of “no you can’t get fluent by only immersion”. Nobody says that you can/should try to, at least none of the prominet figures or most of the learners. The difference to “traditional learning” (whatever that may exactly be), is just in where the focus lies for immersion focused learners. 99% still use materials like Anki, textbooks (thought in a specific way) and similar along the way.
Sincerely, an immersion learner
I agree, however I’ve seen a stark decrease in immerzers over the years.
Ones who claim immersion only is the key to fluency.
They were more prevalent in the AJATT era and I’ve only seen 2 this year and only on the AJATT board.
Since AJATT has fallen out of fashion, and Refold is a lot better at pointing out the often missed important aspects of AJATT that made AJATT work (anki, looking new words and concepts up, comparing and contrasting with official translations, and parroting) this hasn’t been an actual problem for years.
Even the immersion guy from the earlier post I’m sure this is a reply to wasn’t claiming immersing without study resources. Only that output was unnecessarily.
Hell anymore a lot of language learners get up in arms if they find out you’re only using ONE learning resource.
Honestly I think the worst thing immersion related that still needs nipped in the bud is probably the people who think that when they go to media it should be immediately as leisurely, easy, and enjoyable as consuming media in their NL, and when they find out it’s not they retreat back into the comfort of traditional learning. Or the ones who push through but never look up the unknowns and expect them to intuitively fall into place.
It doesn’t really hurt anybody else, and I don’t really see anyone pushing that idea, but there’s more than a few learners who think that and it will slow them down in the long run.