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Conversational Japanese

rapid_jap

後輩
11 May 2005
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I want to be able to speak conversational Japanese and get a finance job ASAP. How much time does it take on an average to reach such a level? If I study Japanese for, say, 2-3 hrs. daily, when can I expect to be ready for conversational Japanese?
I am doing some self-study from a book plus, have also joined the Ward Office classes, just for practice.
 
This is going to sound more smarta55ed than I mean for it to....

It all depends on your definition of "conversational". And entirely aside from your (or anybody else's) definition of "conversational, your prospective employer's definition of "competent" may be a larger issue.
 
If you want to learn just conversational Japanese, the quickest way is to live with Japanese people.
However, you said that it's for the job, then perhaps you need to learn business Japanese which is more formal.
I'm afraid I cannot tell you how long it will take because I don't know your comprehension level.
Anyhow, good luck with your study! 🙂
 
It will take a while. I worked in Finance in Japan (tech-side) for over 5 years. There's a lot of jargon you're going to have to pick up, but you can only do that AFTER you learn how to talk. You're in Japan though, so if you study 2-3 hours a day you should make excellent progress after a year, assuming you're at least average. It may not get you a dream job in finance, but it might help you get your foot in the door. I think you'll realize that your background will have a large impact on you getting a job... experience (not school) being the main factor.
 
GaijinPunch said:
It may not get you a dream job in finance, but it might help you get your foot in the door. I think you'll realize that your background will have a large impact on you getting a job... experience (not school) being the main factor.
Indeed, work experience in the field is the most important factor. The new CEO of Sony, former CBS executive Howard Stringer, is an American citizen. He's a native of Wales and speaks no Japanese.
 
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