I have been “studying” Japanese for 11 years since elementary school. My Japanese teacher is great. But, our education system really only gets you to about a N5/N4 level of Japanese ability and as a result I feel like I know very little useable Japanese – for example, I am set to go to Japan later this year and wonder how much (or how little) I will be able to understand or even do while there. Any suggestions (i.e., resources?) that would help compliment my Japanese learning?
5 comments
When learning a language just like anything, the years matter less than the hours. How much japanese TV do you watch or japanese manga / books / news do you read?
Making japanese more than just studying but just a part of your everyday life will take you to that next level.
Also consider studying on your own outside of school. Maybe start using Anki to get that N3 level knowledge and then start learning from shows and books you enjoy.
> and wonder how much (or how little) I will be able to understand or even do
so this kinda makes me think you havent used japanese at all outside of classes. therefore the answer is zero.
Dude. You got the basics in your neurons.
What is left to do is shamelessly immerse yourself in japan and talk talk talk
Shabete, shaberu, shabe-desu
Non stop once you are there.
Without shame, no overthinking.
Speak, articulate, discuss, vocalize
Are you coming as a tourist? Brush up on your keigo. Will be extremely useful in conbini, restaurant, shopping, etc. You’re not going to speak it, but they will be speaking to you very politely so you have to understand.
Goes without saying, but practice listening. For this, and at your level, I find Irodori very helpful.
If you are going to be a resident, you can take it more slowly especially if you have friends who can accompany you for important stuff.
I don’t think what you really need is help with finding learning resources. The net is full of them. If you want to achive results that matter before your trip, what you need to do is to invest serious time in studying. How you study is a lot less important than how much you study.