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Language Schools Vancouver

sonder

後輩
11 Jun 2015
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Does anyone know of any Japanese language schools in the Vancouver area that teach beginner lessons within the next coming months? I have to learn some conversational Japanese by the end of this year as I'm visiting family in Japan and... I don't know anything. It's complicated but let's never mind that. I don't have big expectations, I just want to at least be able to understand the context of what people are saying even if I don't understand everything word by word. To be able to express myself in basic terms. I understand there will be a lot of self teaching involved but I feel like going to some lessons would at least lead me in the right direction and give me some guidance.

Also, I am familiar with hiragana and katakana and it will be easy for me to learn them with more practice but how does one tackle kanji? It seems so overwhelming I don't know where to start.
 
Since you're aiming for conversational rather than written Japanese, and on top of that in such a short timeframe, don't even bother thinking about kanji just yet. Focus on building vocabulary and grammar knowledge instead. Then once you're ready to start learning kanji (which will be after your visit no matter what), it's quite simple: start at the beginning of a list and keep going until you reach the end. Be aware of radicals - the common visual components that often reoccur in kanji - and use mnemonics. Most of all, keep going steadily and don't allow yourself to be overwhelmed, since that leads to giving up.

Since I don't even live in the same continent as you I can't give any language school recommendations, but just in case you don't find any [that are starting when you need them to], I can recommend the two "Genki" textbooks for self study. They also come with audio material for listening practice.

Good luck and have a fun trip :)
 
Alright, thanks! I will save kanji for later then. What I really want is to learn some phrases and be able to hold a conversation for a couple of minutes. I think that's achievable.
 
Does anyone know of any Japanese language schools in the Vancouver area that teach beginner lessons within the next coming months? I have to learn some conversational Japanese by the end of this year as I'm visiting family in Japan and... I don't know anything. It's complicated but let's never mind that. I don't have big expectations, I just want to at least be able to un
derstand the context of what people are saying even if I don't understand everything word by word. To be able to express myself in basic terms. I understand there will be a lot of self teaching involved but I feel like going to some lessons would at least lead me in the right direction and give me some guidance.

Also, I am familiar with hiragana and katakana and it will be easy for me to learn them with more practice but how does one tackle kanji? It seems so overwhelming I don't know where to start.

Hi, I actually live in Vancouver, BC myself. I actually learned Japanese first at Langara College and then transferred to UBC. I suggest you take classes at Langara College perhaps through the continuing studies department. Courses through continuing studies are done in shorter time frames so this may be good for you if your time is limited. You can also try meeting Japanese working holiday students who are also trying to learn English and have a conversation exchange. This could lower the cost of learning Japanese as there are more Japanese students wanting to meet English speakers than English speakers wanting to learn Japanese.
 
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