Tips for immersion while studying abroad in Japan

14 comments

1. I’d say Japan is the best place to immerse yourself in the language

   Just leave the dorm every once in a while

2. Make Japanese friends – join clubs and circles, depending on your level try some classes in Japanese (programs rules will vary).

   Travel alone, if you can. Even if it’s a day trip.

   Make friends with other international students who don’t speak English as well as they speak Japanese.

3. I live in Japan, and trust me, it’s very immersive even in Tokyo 😁😁 Tokyo is more international than rural areas but still heavily Japanese, and in my experience, most Japanese people who speak some English will still be a bit reluctant/hesitant to use it. You should have no problems! Plus, I’m sure many of your fellow students are there for similar reasons. It will be nice to have some respite where you can speak English… it can be a bit overwhelming to be surrounded by Japanese all the time, especially as a beginner (like myself) who can’t read (yeah that’s me too). Haha

4. Being in Tokyo is not a problem at all. The problem is if you only hang out with the other international students and create an English bubble around you. That would be as true if you go to an international program in any part of Japan.

   But looking at Rikkyo University dorm… they seems to mix the international students with the Japanese students, so there should be occasions to hang out with Japanese people there. And as other people have said, you can try to join some club/circle to meet more people.

   And literally anytime you are not with international students, you will be surrounded by Japanese people. It can be as simple as going to the convenience store, doing your grocery, asking a question at the train station, ordering in restaurant, you will be using your Japanese all the time. And you can force yourself to use your Japanese as much as you can, for example if a restaurant have English menu, try the Japanese menu instead.

5. Become friends with me. I’m moving back to Tokyo at the end of August.

6. Hey, ill be in Japan to in September studying abroad!, but at a different University in Tokyo.

7. My preferred immersion method is hanging out in bars, having a couple drinks / snacks, and chatting with other patrons.

8. This is like being dropped into the middle of a lake and being worried you will die of dehydration and won’t have any opportunities to work on your swimming skills.

   Just walk out the door and go somewhere. You’ll never find a place on the planet with more opportunities to apply what you’ve learned. There’s nothing that says you have to hobknob with your fellow foreign students.

9. Hang out with people who don’t speak English, so that Japanese is your lingua franca. Or make a point of having at least as many non-English-speakers along as those who do speak the language, so that it would be rude to use English.

10. just take a walk outside once in a while, or get a part time job if your school allows it. that’s how I learnt most of my spoken Japanese during my time learning in Japanese school.

11. This feels like a joke post, Tokyo isn’t Japanese enough for immersion…

    Get a job, go outside, try talking to locals, buy books, start a diary… There’s so many ways to immerse yourself.

12. “I heard Tokyo isn’t the best place to immerse yourself in the language”

    This is simply not true. It all depends on you, if you only hangout with people who speak English etc. you’re not gonna learn much, no matter where you are in Japan. Like others have said, make as many Japanese friends as you can(I mean, you don’t have to actually count them or anything), hang out with them a lot, and you’ll be fine.

    I did four years in a Uni in Kanagawa (made it sound like prison or something lol), spent a lot of time in Tokyo too and while I did also make a lot of new English speaking friends, I made way a lot more Japanese friends(mostly hobby and/or school related) and spending time with them did help me level up my Japanese a lot. I also had to use JP for other things like day to day living, setting up internet, looking for an apartment to rent, school stuff (in and outside of class), working part time jobs etc.

    Have fun, its a great country to be a University student lol I’m biased obviously

13. Just don’t rely on the other students to speak. That’s it

14. Go out of your way to not be around other gaijins. It’s hard, especially since they will probably be your first friends there, but you need to put yourself in situations where you are surrounded primarily by locals.