The End of my Year Studying in Japan Pt 1: Language Improvement
Grace Gettig
The End of My Year Studying in Japan Pt. 1: Language Improvement
Roughly one year ago I was packing up my things to come to Japan to study Japanese language. Man, I can’t believe it’s over already. It feels like just yesterday that I arrived in my cute little countryside town in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. And yet, now I’m on my way back to America.
I want to share my thoughts on wrapping up my study abroad with you guys, but I realized that I have so much to say, so I decided to break it up into a 3-part series. Now, I’m going to share my Japanese language journey from when I first arrived in Japan to returning home. The other parts will be about my final speech I gave at the closing ceremony for my language program at Daito Bunka University, and life lessons I learned while studying abroad. Stay tuned for those!
Upon Arrival
Before arriving at Narita Airport, I though my Japanese language abilities were decent. I had taken four semesters of Japanese courses at my university, and I was supposedly at a higher level there. Well, turns out I basically knew nothing. I quickly realized that I was not prepared for daily life here.
I couldn’t really communicate with my friends in Japanese, which was frustrating. I ended up using a lot of English during the first half of my year here. I mainly hung out with other English-speaking international students, or when I would go out with Japanese students, we would use a lot of English. I kind of felt like a failure. What was all of that studying for? I lost all confidence in my language skills.
When I would go to restaurants, I would only go with friends that could order for me. I couldn’t read most of the menus, and I was too afraid of making a mistake while ordering. The only times I would go out to eat by myself was when there were ticket vending machines for ordering. That way, I wouldn’t have to talk to an actual human using actual Japanese. Scary!
I took only Japanese language classes at my host university for several hours a day, 5 days a week. The classes weren’t that challenging, but I did have difficulties in certain areas. For example, my input is pretty decent (listening, reading), as for output…? Not good. I would end up replying to people in English after they asked me a question in Japanese. In class, we would work out of the Minna No Nihongo textbook series. I had separate classes for grammar, reading, kanji, conversation, listening, and writing.
The one bight note is when I was starting to recognize more words when I was out and about. For example, I learned what the train conductors would announce for every train that would go by. Basically just that the train was coming, where it was going, and to stay behind the yellow safety line. Hey, that’s improvement, right?
6 Months In
After my first semester, I still didn’t really feel like my Japanese had improved that much. I did really well in all of my language classes, but I didn’t feel like my output had improved. My friends said I had, but I didn’t feel it.
One form of practice I had was speaking exclusively Japanese to two of my Japanese friends. They studied abroad to my university previously, that’s how we met, so their English is really good. And yet, they told me and one of my other friends that they would only speak to us in Japanese while we were studying abroad. Practice, they said. It was a wee bit frustrating at times, but I’m glad they did that. It pushed me to think more in Japanese.
Another thing that ended up being helpful was buying a Japanese children’s dictionary. Since dictionary is made for Japanese kids, it’s all in Japanese and the word definitions are fairly simple. It’s better to have words defined in the same language so you can see the way it’s used and notice the nuances. Direct translations end up confusing me.
I had a couple of breakdowns where I felt like my Japanese was horrible, I learned nothing, why was I even trying, etc. Thankfully, these didn’t last too long and I was able to persevere.
Leaving The Country
Oh my gosh. I can talk to people! Well, it’s not perfect, and I still take a bit of time to get my thoughts out, but I can do it!
A huge thing is that I mostly got over my fear of looking stupid if I make a mistake. I believe this is partially due to getting my mental health in check and getting on the right medication for me, and just being surrounded by the language for so long.
I still do a mix of both Japanese and English with my boyfriend, but the Japanese portion has increased greatly!
I’ve even had some days where I’ve only spoken Japanese. I would go to class, speak Japanese. Hang out with friends, speak Japanese. I was so happy at the end of those days. It showed me that if I really keep at it, I can do it.
Ordering at restaurants is for the most part not an issue anymore. Every once in a while, the server might ask something I don’t understand, but then I just ask for clarification. I go out by myself sometimes, and even order for my boyfriend sometimes.
During my last semester, I took dedicated speech and writing classes. In the speech class, we had a presentation every week, and most of the time the teacher would only give us roughly 10 minutes to prepare. That was stressful in the beginning, but it became easier the more I would do it. In the writing class, we started off with an easy essay (your favorite thing) but then at the end of the semester, I had to write about my dream of changing the world and that I don’t want to waste my life. Imagine trying to explain that in Japanese. Whew.
Lastly, I’ve mostly gotten over my awkward fear of telling someone when I don’t understand something. I was originally afraid of looking dumb, but now I just keep in mind that the other person understands that I’m still learning this language. It’s better if I just ask for clarification instead of being lost.
Future Language Goals
Pass the JLPT N2 next year. After some research into what kinds of grammar and vocabulary, I think with a year of dedicated studying, I can pass the N2 test.
Pass the JLPT N1 within the next 5 years. I know the difficulty level jumps dramatically from N2 to N1, so I’m giving myself a bit more time to prepare for it. I want to get to a point where I can use Japanese in my career. I’ve heard that a lot of people stop after they pass the N2, they’re happy with where they are. It’s more of a personal goal that I want to achieve the N1.
Not have issues while talking to my boyfriend. As my native language is English, and his is Japanese, it can be hard at times. Thankfully, we are both learning the other’s language, but his English is way better than my Japanese. I want to be able to talk with him in his native language without having to stop so often to ask what something means. I’m thankful for his patience with me!
Be a tour guide to my boyfriend’s mom in my hometown. As his mom doesn’t speak English, we have to talk in Japanese. I still get pretty nervous when speaking with her, but someday I want her to come to my hometown and I’ll show her around. I’ll have to explain this and that in Japanese.
TA the beginners Japanese course at my university. I’m hoping I can do this during this upcoming Fall semester.
Help Japanese students studying abroad to my university with life. If they need things explained, if they want to go explore somewhere, or if they just want to chat, I’d like to help them. I had many wonderful people help me in Japan, so I’d like to return the kindness.
