Learning Japanese

Post by **Sideroller** » Sat Jun 04, 2011 10:21 pm

Interesting. I've been considering taking Japanese next year at my college since they offer it and I've been considering teaching English over there after I graduate. Looks like a good excuse to watch a bunch of Anime now as well. xD

Post by **Bradtemple87** » Sat Jun 04, 2011 11:10 pm

Sideroller wrote:Interesting. I've been considering taking Japanese next year at my college since they offer it and I've been considering teaching English over there after I graduate. Looks like a good excuse to watch a bunch of Anime now as well. xD

Be careful because Japanese programs go WAY too quickly for someone learning the language!

Post by **Sideroller** » Sat Jun 04, 2011 11:29 pm

They offer it in degrees I believe. Like there's elementary through advanced, I'd just need to keep taking it. Even afterwards I'd probably try to keep studying it on my own though.

Post by **MrEco** » Sun Jun 05, 2011 12:21 am

Inazuma wrote:I became fluent in Japanese after only 2 years. 2 years may not sound like much, but I spent most of my time being immersed in the language. I played the Japanese version of Phantasy Star Online Blue Burst as much as possible, along with watching anime while I ate. I also listened to Japanese music in the car.

I learned it the same way I learned English as a baby. Immersion. You put yourself in an environment that is all Japanese, and you have to learn it to survive in that world.

I'm curious, when it came to watching anime did you use English subtitles?

Post by **Inazuma** » Sun Jun 05, 2011 12:41 am

MrEco wrote:I'm curious, when it came to watching anime did you use English subtitles?

At first I watched with subtitles, but as soon as I reached the point of understanding around half of what was said, I switched to anime without subtitles. I found that having subtitles off actually helps me learn faster, since I am forced to understand the Japanese in order to enjoy the show.

And earlier when I said I became fluent after 2 years of playing a Japanese MMO, I had actually learned a lot of random vocab prior to that (from anime), so if you factor that in, it was longer than 2 years. But I didn't start forming sentences and learning written Japanese until I had to do so, in order to play the MMO. After 2 years of that, I had reached the point where most players thought I was Japanese, because I was able to communicate fine with them. I should also add that I played that game like a crazy mother fucker. Work and sleep aside, I was in the game, talking to Japanese players.

In a 5 year period, I had played 4k hours of PSOBB and 8k hours of the sequel, PSU. So that's a total of 12k hours being immersed in a Japanese virtual world. That's an average of 6.5 hours a day. It was probably the best way for me to learn Japanese, outside of actually living there.

Post by **hashiriya1** » Sun Jun 05, 2011 1:34 am

Inazuma wrote:. After 2 years of that, I had reached the point where most players thought I was Japanese, because I was able to communicate fine with them.

I am sure you know that if you just type any simple word or phrase in Japanese they will assume you are Japanese. Most Japanese people tend think people outside of Japan that aren't Japanese can't read or write or even speak Japanese. It's strange they think that given the number of non-Japanese famous TV personalities (the most popular being Dave Spector and Girolamo Panzetta) there are in Japan who only speak Japanese.

Post by **MrEco** » Sun Jun 05, 2011 2:27 am

Inazuma wrote:
MrEco wrote:I'm curious, when it came to watching anime did you use English subtitles?
At first I watched with subtitles, but as soon as I reached the point of understanding around half of what was said, I switched to anime without subtitles. I found that having subtitles off actually helps me learn faster, since I am forced to understand the Japanese in order to enjoy the show.

OK, that makes sense. I was wondering because I've been watching anime for a while now and its definitely helped me pick up a few words and phrases but nothing major (I wouldn't be able to hold an actual conversation for example). I guess I should try watching some stuff without subtitles once in a while. Maybe some shows I've already seen, since I'll already know the plot and can just focus on trying to figure out what they're saying.

Post by **hashiriya1** » Sun Jun 05, 2011 2:30 am

MrEco wrote:
Inazuma wrote:
MrEco wrote:I'm curious, when it came to watching anime did you use English subtitles?
At first I watched with subtitles, but as soon as I reached the point of understanding around half of what was said, I switched to anime without subtitles. I found that having subtitles off actually helps me learn faster, since I am forced to understand the Japanese in order to enjoy the show.
OK, that makes sense. I was wondering because I've been watching anime for a while now and its definitely helped me pick up a few words and phrases but nothing major (I wouldn't be able to hold an actual conversation for example). I guess I should try watching some stuff without subtitles once in a while. Maybe some shows I've already seen, since I'll already know the plot and can just focus on trying to figure out what they're saying.

If you want to stop using English subtitles try using Japanese subtitles. This helps a great deal. Then after that stop using subtitles altogether.

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