Most effective way of learning japanese~

TLSS_N · Dec 23, 2014

I'm going through college right now, and I am actually about to transfer to a new school with the ability to minor in Japanese, however If I did that I would add significant time to my "college life" and that equals more debt. (I currently attend online and once I transfer, I'll have enough credits for a general study degree) . I've been mining bitcoin for a bit now, and plan to pay off the debt that way, however I want to spend my money the most effective way possible. I plan to either take the courses on campus and that is fine, but I have read that once I decide this option, my language will only be at 4th grade level. On the other hand, I could go about with a 2 year intensive course, that would actually put me in japan and I would be able to live off of the bitcoins I've saved up and also continue to mine remotely. What do you all think would be my best bet here?

Blebleman · Dec 23, 2014

Go for immersion, pal. Getting a degree in Japanese is worthless as you would end up here as an unskilled worker. Get a trade skill, then learn the language. Nothing's preventing you from studying the language on the side either.

prowler · Dec 24, 2014

I learned Japanese through my animes and mangas.

RevPokemon · Dec 24, 2014

Try roseta stone if you want to try it. As for language school I knew someone (a missionary in Mexico or Peru if I'm correct) who went to a language school and spoke highly of it so that's always an option (although you'd obliviously would be learning Japanese not Spanish)

TLSS_N · Dec 24, 2014

Blebleman said:
Go for immersion, pal. Getting a degree in Japanese is worthless as you would end up here as an unskilled worker. Get a trade skill, then learn the language. Nothing's preventing you from studying the language on the side either.

Well, I never actually intended to get a degree with a major in Japanese, however I know a friend who is doing that at another school back in washington state, so I threw the major in because I know that people still do it. I was going for game design, but 6 weeks to learn C++ and to pass Trig just wasn't in the cards for me, so I figured I would just switch schools and go for general studies, If I wanted to later, I could go back for a major degree.

prowler said:
I learned Japanese through my animes and mangas.

I have a friend who watches anime constantly, he's better than me but at the same time, he has countless hours to do so. On the other hand, I don't particularly like spending countless hours watching tv/ reading doujinshi/manga alone all day like he does, but that's just me.

RevPokemon said:
Try roseta stone if you want to try it. As for language school I knew someone (a missionary in Mexico or Peru if I'm correct) who went to a language school and spoke highly of it so that's always an option (although you'd obliviously would be learning Japanese not Spanish)

I have been thinking about this for a long time, I've spent my entire life from 16+ moving around, keeping no real contact with people outside of my immediate family, I wanted to do this as a way to "get out" and be alone for a while, I keep thinking about moving to japan and being a trucker HAHA, but seriously, I still am thinking about my best options.

RevPokemon · Dec 24, 2014

TLSS_N said:
Well, I never actually intended to get a degree with a major in Japanese, however I know a friend who is doing that at another school back in washington state, so I threw the major in because I know that people still do it. I was going for game design, but 6 weeks to learn C++ and to pass Trig just wasn't in the cards for me, so I figured I would just switch schools and go for general studies, If I wanted to later, I could go back for a major degree.

I have a friend who watches anime constantly, he's better than me but at the same time, he has countless hours to do so. On the other hand, I don't particularly like spending countless hours watching tv/ reading doujinshi/manga alone all day like he does, but that's just me.

I have been thinking about this for a long time, I've spent my entire life from 16+ moving around, keeping no real contact with people outside of my immediate family, I wanted to do this as a way to "get out" and be alone for a while, I keep thinking about moving to japan and being a trucker HAHA, but seriously, I still am thinking about my best options.

Yeah this is an important decision that you need to think over

Also if you happen to be in one of the lucky cities with a Japan Foundation branch (http://www.jpf.go.jp/world/en/) then I HIGHLY recommend you visit. Library accounts are free and you can borrow language and culture materials. Also they might be able to put you in touch with a language school (http://www.jflalc.org/?act=tpt&id=159). If you're starting from 0, you need to have some kind of base to build on, and it needs to be a correct base. Without a Japanese speaker helping you, you could be learning mistakes

Ryukouki · Dec 24, 2014

I have a friend, Densetsu, who actually wrote a thread about how to be ~~sugoii kakkoii desu in Weeabooese~~ awesome in Japanese, which you might be interested in.

http://gbatemp.net/threads/learning-japanese-the-nihongo-faq.290986/

Unfortunately for me since I have little time to learn Weeabooese, I'm just baka desu. Good luck!

RevPokemon · Dec 24, 2014

Ryukouki said:
I have a friend, Densetsu, who actually wrote a thread about how to be ~~sugoii kakkoii desu in Weeabooese~~ awesome in Japanese, which you might be interested in.

I skimmed that thread and it look great even if only for the helpful links
http://gbatemp.net/threads/learning-japanese-the-nihongo-faq.290986/

Unfortunately for me since I have little time to learn Weeabooese, I'm just baka desu. Good luck!

TLSS_N · Dec 24, 2014

RevPokemon said:
Yeah this is an important decision that you need to think over

Also if you happen to be in one of the lucky cities with a Japan Foundation branch (http://www.jpf.go.jp/world/en/) then I HIGHLY recommend you visit. Library accounts are free and you can borrow language and culture materials. Also they might be able to put you in touch with a language school (http://www.jflalc.org/?act=tpt&id=159). If you're starting from 0, you need to have some kind of base to build on, and it needs to be a correct base. Without a Japanese speaker helping you, you could be learning mistakes

Thanks for those links I am not in one of those cities, but the other link might come in some serious help eventually, I'll bookmark it now, I agree that it should have someone to translate. I know a former co-worker, but I would feel uncomfortable asking him to teach me anything. I've picked up a few words here and there, but it's nothing major. Life is one big book of learning, even if I do get some things wrong it helps out in the end lol.

Ryukouki said:
I have a friend, Densetsu, who actually wrote a thread about how to be ~~sugoii kakkoii desu in Weeabooese~~ awesome in Japanese, which you might be interested in.

http://gbatemp.net/threads/learning-japanese-the-nihongo-faq.290986/

Unfortunately for me since I have little time to learn Weeabooese, I'm just baka desu. Good luck!

I think I remember seeing that thread some time back, I read through it and thought it was a good bit of help, but I'll be sure to check it out again tomorrow. Pretty tired right now haha.

Thanks for the tips and the help you all.

Densetsu · Dec 24, 2014

If you have nothing holding you down in the States (mortgage, a significant other, etc.), I'd say take the plunge and go live in Japan. The older you get, you only tend to set down more and more roots as you establish a career, buy a house, get married, have kids and all that jazz. If you're in your early- to mid-twenties, that's the best window of opportunity to go live in another country.

*EDIT*
It also helps to set a concrete goal for yourself. Probably one of the easiest ways to do that is to aim for a certain difficulty level of the JLPT that's slightly above your current skill level.

RevPokemon said:
Also if you happen to be in one of the lucky cities with a Japan Foundation branch (http://www.jpf.go.jp/world/en/) then I HIGHLY recommend you visit. Library accounts are free and you can borrow language and culture materials. Also they might be able to put you in touch with a language school (http://www.jflalc.org/?act=tpt&id=159). If you're starting from 0, you need to have some kind of base to build on, and it needs to be a correct base. Without a Japanese speaker helping you, you could be learning mistakes

I spent a summer learning at the Japan Foundation in Kansai, and that was an awesome experience. Unfortunately, it was pretty far from where I lived in Ogaki City, Gifu (near Nagoya). So I couldn't make frequent trips to the Japan Foundation. After I finished my advanced intensive course at the Foundation, I think I only visited there one more time.

To add on to the part about "learning mistakes," do try to learn from a Japanese teacher first, and then if you want a casual language partner, try to find someone close to your age who is of the same gender (important). I know too many guys who went straight for the "Japanese girlfriend route" and although they became fluent in Japanese, they had some feminine speech patterns. Japanese girlfriends won't correct their gaijin boyfriends because it's "cute" when they make those mistakes =/

Ryukouki said:
I have a friend, Densetsu, who actually wrote a thread about how to be ~~sugoii kakkoii desu in Weeabooese~~ awesome in Japanese, which you might be interested in.

http://gbatemp.net/threads/learning-japanese-the-nihongo-faq.290986/

Unfortunately for me since I have little time to learn Weeabooese, I'm just baka desu. Good luck!

Don't forget I also wrote the Weeabooese FAQ

Blebleman · Dec 24, 2014

Densetsu said:
To add on to the part about "learning mistakes," do try to learn from a Japanese teacher first, and then if you want a casual language partner, try to find someone close to your age who is of the same gender (important). I know too many guys who went straight for the "Japanese girlfriend route" and although they became fluent in Japanese, they had some feminine speech patterns. Japanese girlfriends won't correct their gaijin boyfriends because it's "cute" when they make those mistakes =/

Listen to this man, he speaks the truth.

I mostly had female friends, and I ended up with some feminine speech patterns too. The dude friends I did have though, were all 暴走族・不良 so I either speak like a sailor or a really polite dude. Hard to strike a balance now that I'm used to it.

gempugs · Dec 24, 2014

Blebleman said:
Listen to this man, he speaks the truth.

I mostly had female friends, and I ended up with some feminine speech patterns too. The dude friends I did have though, were all 暴走族・不良 so I either speak like a sailor or a really polite dude. Hard to strike a balance now that I'm used to it.

Maybe you are really a feminine guy? How are alllllll of your dude friends 不良? Did they drag you on motorbike across the street and whack you with baseball bats lol. You might be an overly hardcore -desu guy thats why you cannot accept -da people in informal daily conversation... or you just simply dont understand part of how the language works in casual conversation. if the females that influence you are not 不良 they may just tend to be more polite to a gaijin like you and bent you towards the sissy speech route when you pick up their feminine/polite speech manners.

Blebleman · Dec 24, 2014

gempugs said:
Maybe you are really a feminine guy? How are alllllll of your dude friends 不良? Did they drag you on motorbike across the street and whack you with baseball bats lol. You might be an overly hardcore -desu guy thats why you cannot accept -da people in informal daily conversation... or you just simply dont understand part of how the language works in casual conversation. if the females that influence you are not 不良 they may just tend to be more polite to a gaijin like you and bent you towards the sissy speech route when you pick up their feminine/polite speech manners.

All of my dude friends were 不良 because they all grew up together. I don't hang around any average guys.
Sorry if I've offended you by liking women a little more, but hey man, it's cool that you swing that way.

Seriously son, chill. You know nothing about me and I know nothing about you. Stay polite.

gempugs · Dec 24, 2014

Blebleman said:
All of my dude friends were 不良 because they all grew up together. I don't hang around any average guys.
Sorry if I've offended you by liking women a little more, but hey man, it's cool that you swing that way.

Seriously son, chill. You know nothing about me and I know nothing about you. Stay polite.

They are 不良 just because they all grew up together? Saying all of your male friends are 暴走族・不良 makes it sound like you are depicting them as delinquents... Didnt you say that they are friends? Why do you speak of your friends like that?

I should take note of what you said then, since you said most of your friends are females thats why you got influenced with feminine Japanese speaking patterns. Glad that we are gaijins so its an acceptable "mistake" for the Japaneses.

Densetsu · Dec 24, 2014

Blebleman said:
Listen to this man, he speaks the truth.

I mostly had female friends, and I ended up with some feminine speech patterns too. The dude friends I did have though, were all 暴走族・不良 so I either speak like a sailor or a really polite dude. Hard to strike a balance now that I'm used to it.

It's usually nothing blatant (such as using かしら at the end of a sentence), but it was just something about the way they used あいづち and other stuff. It was very subtle, but definitely noticeable if you're used to hearing both males and females speak natively.

The good news is that most of the guys I know who picked up female speech were eventually able to correct their speech, it just took years of conscious effort. Best to just not learn wrong in the first place, as RevPokemon pointed out above.

And as an aside, there's a distinction between "polite" speech and "feminine" speech. There's nothing necessarily "sissy" about being a guy and using "desu" as opposed to "da." I used informal speech among friends, but switched to polite speech at work.

yuyuyup · Dec 24, 2014

Yeah FUCK Janet Yellen

Ericthegreat · Dec 24, 2014

TLSS_N said:
Well, I never actually intended to get a degree with a major in Japanese, however I know a friend who is doing that at another school back in washington state, so I threw the major in because I know that people still do it. I was going for game design, but 6 weeks to learn C++ and to pass Trig just wasn't in the cards for me, so I figured I would just switch schools and go for general studies, If I wanted to later, I could go back for a major degree.

I have a friend who watches anime constantly, he's better than me but at the same time, he has countless hours to do so. On the other hand, I don't particularly like spending countless hours watching tv/ reading doujinshi/manga alone all day like he does, but that's just me.

I have been thinking about this for a long time, I've spent my entire life from 16+ moving around, keeping no real contact with people outside of my immediate family, I wanted to do this as a way to "get out" and be alone for a while, I keep thinking about moving to japan and being a trucker HAHA, but seriously, I still am thinking about my best options.

If your gonna try rosetta stone, id recommend you "try" it first.

TLSS_N · Dec 25, 2014

yuyuyup said:
Yeah FUCK Janet Yellen

Semi off topic, how is the libertatian movement in japan? I mean, it's pretty obvious they have the NAP policy kind of in the system, but other parts not so much right?

TLSS_N · Dec 25, 2014

Ericthegreat said:
If your gonna try rosetta stone, id recommend you "try" it first.

I actually own ros. stone and can never get time away from doing a million other things to actually do it. That's why I want to get into the intensive language course that you can find.

I will try to speak with guys while I am there, but I have to get out of regular college first haha.

Another thing, I am just about to turn 25, so I still have to decide on what to do once I actually get out that way, but I've been wanting to just buy some land first or maybe an old house, I can't stand moving all over the place anymore, I'm just wanting to get on with my life and bitcoin sure does seem to be a bit promising in that department, especially in this economy.

Ericthegreat · Dec 25, 2014

TLSS_N said:
I actually own ros. stone and can never get time away from doing a million other things to actually do it. That's why I want to get into the intensive language course that you can find.

I will try to speak with guys while I am there, but I have to get out of regular college first haha.

Another thing, I am just about to turn 25, so I still have to decide on what to do once I actually get out that way, but I've been wanting to just buy some land first or maybe an old house, I can't stand moving all over the place anymore, I'm just wanting to get on with my life and bitcoin sure does seem to be a bit promising in that department, especially in this economy.

Perhaps Moving Around isn't a bad thing, I suppose if you can find work in you subject in your area.

Most effective way of learning japanese~

Which is more effective (speculation is allowed)

4 year minor/major in japanese

2 year intensive language school

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