I’m really only learning it because I want to, not that I have any need. To my knowledge there aren’t any Japanese communities nearby, or if there are I hardly ever interact with them. I see more Koreans than I do Chinese or Japanese here, and even then there’s not that many.
I’m not really anywhere beyond having the ability to do a very simple conversation, even if that with my current knowledge of Japanese. Pretty much I know everything in Genki 1 and a little extra, that’s it.
I’m very good with vocab. When speaking I need a few seconds to think sometimes. With kanji I can read it better than I can write it. I may know the vocab, and if I see the kanji I’ll recognize it, but sometimes I just blank on actually knowing how to write it.
I wish I had more in-person interactions with Japanese (at least with those patient enough to bear with me) because I feel like it would help a ton. Online isn’t as good imo because typing on a keyboard isn’t the same as writing or actually speaking.
by SNRNXS
31 comments
There is many japanese Discord channels where you can practice speak japanese, Thats how i do it.
> I’m really only learning it because I want to, not that I have any need.
I feel like that’s most people here. I think people want to “use” it to consume media.
I’m sure there are hundreds here who are contrary to this, but even then they wouldn’t be the majority.
I’m in the same place right now. It’s been difficult to find a native to practice with because of the time difference. I’ve just gotten to Genki chapter 7. I’ve been shadowing a lot with podcasts but it’s not the same as actual conversation. I’ve been trying to do short voice messages on my moments page on Hello Talk, but sometimes I don’t get responses and sometimes I do, but at least it’s something for now.
I want to practice speaking, but I am SO anxious and shy. I pretty much only talk to my tutor lol
Speaking is my weakest for this reason. I read to keep my literacy up but it’s hard to work on speaking. I do try to speak when I go to the differnt Japanese events here but there are only a handful
Same. There’s not one single person living in my town from Japan. It’s not even small either lol there’s like 200k people here. That sounds big for a town, but the way it works here is you need specific buildings to be declared a city or whatever.
I dont know if this will help you, but I have found that many/most ethnic restaurants with staff of that ethnicity, are more than willing and happy to converse with you in their native tongue if you ask them.
Just a polite” I am learning Japanese, would you be willing to help me practice by speaking to me in Japanese instead of English?”. Ive never run into people who were unwilling to interact that way, and most were excited to do so.
They end up becoming friendlier with you and recognize you when you come in. Sometimes you even get better deals, off the menu items, and better treatment. You can even learn some slang that you wont find in textbooks. Restaurants with a sushi chef/bar are great for that as they can casually talk while they are still cooking right in front of you.
Showing interest in their language and culture makes them loosen up and interactions go a bit beyond customer and employee. Its a real world setting and real world interaction that feels a bit different than the robotic back and forth you get in a clinical classroom/study environment.
ワーキングホリデーをした方がいいよ
I’m also learning casually as a hobby. I plan to go to Japan once in a couple years but outside of that I’m basically learning it for anime haha. Every once and I while I’ll just use it to talk to my wife even though she doesn’t understand just to practice speaking it.
There used to be more Japanese in the US when the Yen was weak against the dollar. It just doesn’t make economic sense to come to work in the United States only to make less money. Maybe if the Yen stays down long enough we’ll see a resurgence in Japanese communities.
I actually got to experience the inverse, the Yen was stronger than the dollar when I worked in Japan so working there was slightly more lucrative.
I feel this. I’ve been considering getting an online tutor for a while, and will definitely do it once I have some time for it. People have recommended italki and other online tutors, and the prices are very reasonable.
I’ve used hilokal and Tandem from time to time. It’s nice that you can lurk in a room and listen and see if you want to try to talk or not. The problem is that usually people are way more advanced, so I feel nervous trying to join, but I’ve had a few good sessions where I can speak mostly in English and try some sentences in Japanese when I think I have one that fits. This isn’t ideal, but better than nothing.
The best experience I’ve had was in my college Spanish class’s conversation group. 100% Spanish only. The teacher led topics, asked each of us questions so we had a chance to practice material from our lessons, and kept us right at the edge of our ability, giving gentle correction and support as needed. I have a hunch that if someone started some regular groups one one of those platforms that was graded by skill level, and led topical discussions, it would blow up. (Ahem, to any of the N1’s out there! Or anyone wanting to increase the traction of their tutoring biz!)
Try the app Hellotalk
You can post things on your thread that natives will correct for you and you can also DM people to talk and practice
Ever tried Tandem? I found quite a few Japanese people looking to learn a new language, many of them highly interested in practicing their English. I have found 2 fix talking partners and casually texted with 3 others.
Going through this thread, I realised, we can create our very own discord and make it user friendly and open, can’t we?
Imo best way is to join a Japanese Discord server and talk to the people there, on the Internet you usually talk to people through text first and later on VC if they’re willing to.
I mean Discord servers made for Japanese people, not Japanese learners, you will barely find any natives on those aimed at learners for obvious reasons
Honestly I have tried VR or just getting an actual tutor. I did meet a couple on Hello talk but they want to learn english and it ended up being 1 sided.
Play multiplayer games in JP servers. The kinds of games where VC is expected. You’ll definitely get crash course exposure lol.
If you’re lucky enough to be in a relatively busy place/major city, then you may be able to find Japanese-English exchange groups on meetup.com. It worked a treat for me!
Is there any jaoanese food in your area? Even ordering food is good practice
why are you learning it then? if it’s just for the fun of learning then you can get that without. if it’s for practical reasons then those are the times to practice using it.
if I didn’t have some use for it I wouldn’t learn it.
I know how you feel bro. I live in London and there is hardly any Japanese people here.I often hear stories from American Japanese learners about how they encounter Japanese people often and it makes me jealous lol.
If you have some extra money, find a cheap tutor on iTalki to chat with once or twice a week.
What I can recommend is ITALKI or VRCHAT, a fantastic game tp practice speaking japanese, and try out new grammar points you have learned and hone your skills.
I use the Japanese voice room on HelloTalk to practise listening and (if I’m bold enough that day) some speaking too. Sometimes there are even Japanese teachers on there doing lessons which is great.
Hellotalk!
Same. I’m also super nervous about speaking in Japanese because of so few opportunities to do so.
Italki lessons, specifically conversation practice is what really helps me with learning languages, specifically speaking/listening.
I learned Spanish before I started learning Japanese and after a few years of Duolingo etc I wanted to see how good my Spanish actually was. So I went to Mexico for two weeks and realized my speaking was VERY behind everything else. I could understand exponentially more than I could say, and thinking fast enough to have a real conversation was almost impossible. After weekly “conversation practice” lessons on italki with my man Miguel, it has drastically improved how well I could communicate. We just have conversations about day to day life and what we have going on so I learn things I actually need/want to know how to say, slang, etc. And just having an hour long conversation in Spanish every week or two has done wonders.
This is my plan for Japanese too once I’m further along and it’ll be useful (I’m too novice now to get much out of it) I really can’t recommend it enough as a way to get better conversationally and thinking quickly.
Something I’ve found helpful is connecting with Japanese people through Bumble BFF. Many of them want to improve their English and are willing to do a language exchange. I currently have a couple budding friendships where we genuinely enjoy each other’s company while being able to practice the other person’s language. I’m lucky to live in a city where there are a decent number of Japanese immigrants, though, so I know it’s not the most practical way for everyone.
I’ve made any and every excuse to use Japanese in my everyday life. Whenever I’m playing videogames, watching Youtube Videos, or even scrolling through Instagram, I change whatever app, console or webpage into Japanese.
If you’re interested, I highly recommend talking to native speakers on social media, interacting with livestreamers or influencers on instagram, and or pay for some sessions on platforms like Italki.
The best part of self-studying is that it really is up to you how much you want to learn and how much you want to expose yourself to that specific topic. When I was learning Spanish, in a previous life, I would even train myself to *think* in Spanish. You can do the same in Japanese.
This is one reason why I’m glad I work for a Japanese company full of Japanese people. It’s a great motivator to learn and I have plenty of bilingual people to bounce stuff off of.
Hey! If anybody is thinking about a Japanese discord to join! May I suggest Japanese English international School discord 😊
I’ve been with them since the animo days then we shifted to discord
Everybody is very willing to communicate there is lots of Voice Chats and Regular message chats
It could be a good place ? 😀 so far all of the new members said they love it