Heeeello!

[Obviously]

Hello from Norway!

I usually end up writing very tedious "about me" threads, so i think i will skip the main introduction altogether this time. However, i have a little problem that needs to be adressed before i venture on the road to japanese-learning:

I am currently fluent in two langauges, english (or atleast almost) and norwegian. In almost all the foreign countries i have visited i have been able to function to a certain degree using only english. This includes the countries where the population does not speak english very well, meaning that i could propably travel around Japan, where the habitans have had atleast 6 years of english teaching, using only english for a small period of time (under 6 months) and function well "enough".

With that said, let us get on to my problem; I am currently an 18 years old student who is moving to another city in Norway to live there for a year or so, which means that i will not be able to move to any other country (Japan for example) before that year has passed. Now, i feel a craving in my body to learn another language. A feeling that has been growing more and more in the past few months. The problem here though, is that i am not certain on which language i want to learn. Japanese has been on the top spot for a while, but the more i think about it the more i doubt it. I am thinking about how long it will take (maybe 10+ years before i am satisfied), and the fact that i have not been to the country yet. I KNOW i will like it, but what if i do not love it? What if spending 1+ year of my life will result in nothing? Furthermore, i am afraid that i will lose motivation after 3 or 5+ years. This is, after all, something that becomes a big part of my life if i choose to undertake the task. I do not want to stop a project like this halfway trough, when halfway is 5+ years!

So there it is. I am afraid. Afraid that the motivation i have now for learning a language in a country where english might be enough will not last. That it will decay slowly over time and i will not find a new source for it. Still, i am only 18 once, and being fluent in three languages in the start of my 30's seems like something i could appriciate as i get older.

Hopefully you guys understand what i am trying to say here. What should i do?

Thanks in advance! ompous:ompous:

 

[Mike Cash]

As a purely practical matter, Spanish or French would probably be much more useful.

While Japan does give six years of English education, in truth very very few people develop any real useful English skills....only those who make some extra effort outside school. You can travel around Japan without knowing any Japanese, using only English, but you shouldn't expect the level of English ability that you might find among Europeans who have studied English.

Learning a language creates its own opportunities for using the language. The more Japanese you learn, the better you can communicate, the more things you can do, the more people you can interact with, the more interest you will have and consequently the more you may visit and deepen your relationship with Japan....and the cycle keeps repeating itself. The more you put into it, the more you can get out of it.

 

[Obviously]

As a purely practical matter, Spanish or French would probably be much more useful.

While Japan does give six years of English education, in truth very very few people develop any real useful English skills....only those who make some extra effort outside school. You can travel around Japan without knowing any Japanese, using only English, but you shouldn't expect the level of English ability that you might find among Europeans who have studied English.

Learning a language creates its own opportunities for using the language. The more Japanese you learn, the better you can communicate, the more things you can do, the more people you can interact with, the more interest you will have and consequently the more you may visit and deepen your relationship with Japan....and the cycle keeps repeating itself. The more you put into it, the more you can get out of it.

Thank you for the response, i see what you mean. However, i am still unsure wether the actual culture fits me in reality, and not just from what i have read on the internet. I think i will start out though, as this is the only language that excites me the way it does.