Exchange student need help T T...

Hey.

I studied Japanese for a few years in Australia (homecountry). I have come to Japan as 窶板ｯﾅ?wﾂ青ｶ for a year. I have been here for two months. I am studying as hard as I can, minimum of two hours a day. My goal is JLPT lv2 by the end of the year.

Obviously, since I made this decision to come , I'm serious about learning Japanese. I have just loved studying it and still do.

I attend school everyday as a normal Japanese kid would, club everyday etc. etc. I'm 16 btw.

I truly study my hardest and learn lots of interesting useful things. When it comes to conversations though, I just can't say anything. And understand is often difficult also. I can understand bits and pieces of what is going on around me, but I find coversing really hard even though I study really hard.

Previous exchange students say it takes a few months for everything to sink in. But they were all very outgoing people who would have probably talked a lot more then me. I find it easier to learn from the textbooks. I try to talk to people at school and stuff but I feel really awkward etc.

JLPT won't be a problem likely, since you don't actually have to speak, and I'll learn all the grammar and vocab from textbooks etc. However, I'm not just here for Jlpt. I truly want to learn to speak and understand Japanese, but I am having a hard time. Other then studying hard, anyone got any advice/tips/encouragement? Or if you have been in a similar situation, share how you got through it?

Thanks heaps for anyone who can help, or for just taking the time to read this. Any advice etc. is much appreciaited.

Doing something you're not good at is never fun at first. Hell, it's damn hard at first. The only thing you can do is keep doing it until you're better (and then it becomes more fun!)

Anyway. Think of it this way: if you are truly dedicated to becoming proficient at Japanese, YOU HAVE TO SPEAK IT. There are no ways around this.

The hardest thing is convincing yourself to go out and do it, and to let go of your ego that cares if you make a fool of yourself in front of others. Changes are definite that you will make mistakes, and chances are VERY good you'll embarrass yourself at some time or another, or offend someone, or make a situation awkward due to your lack of ability. Get over it.

You "find it easier" to learn from the books because they're safer. A book won't reject you if you make a mistake. A book also won't make you grow as a learner of the language. It's just a crutch.

If you want to get better, dedicate yourself to speaking or trying to speak at least 2-3 hours a day. Even just sitting around people and eavesdropping on their conversations is OK - just do it.

In my first experience in Japan, I had about one year of study under my belt. Once I got there, I cut class and hung out with Japanese friends for about 10 months. At that point, my speaking ability had surpassed many people who arrived with me who had 4+ years experience.

When I got home every day, my head hurt. I can't remember a single day during that 10 months that I wasn't tired from the mental strain of speaking/listening... but... then everything got easier. I just started understanding things without having to work at it - it was a glorious time for me.

From what you've written, you're looking for this type of experience. The only way I know how to get it is to do what I just did - you'll only learn as much of the language as the amount of pain, work, fatigue you're willing to endure.

My position in a nutshell: be stubborn, just do it until you're good

P.S. Getting a girlfriend also helps tremendously

Ok thanks . That was really helpful. I'll take all your advice, except getting a gf- a bit above me atm> <

Now seems like a great time to begin *goes back to table to listen to host family convo*

thanks again.

Are there any people your age in the host family? Starting off by trying to break your way into a large group of strangers is a daunting task so you may want to try starting off with (if there are any) people in your host family that are around your age. Afterall, they're stuck with you, might aswell converse with them.

If not, I would definitely NOT suggest waiting for a stranger to start talking to you. I bet I could win the lottery faster. Maybe classmates, perhaps out of necessity, hopefully out of curiousity, but still not something to rely upon. If you don't put yourself out there, you're not gonna be using the language enough to be learning it. If there are some Japanese people around you that are good at English, it's usually an easier place to start. Just make sure you don't fall into the easy pattern of speaking English mainly, with a dash of Japanese, haha.

Goodluck! If you want to learn to speak/listen to Japanese, at least you're in the best place to be doing so!

I spent 4 years teaching in a private high school in Japan. I met many of the exchange students there. They all had different backgrounds, and some of them had zero Japanese upon arrival. Everyone one in 6-10 months achieved level 3 fluency.

Could they communicate? That's up to them. You can learn the language (to a degree) from a textbook, but you can't learn to communicate with just a book. TALK. MAKE mistakes! Laugh at your own mistakes. Have you joined the English club or International club at your school? Do you help offer any English lessons with those clubs? Sitting in a classroom listening to a Japanese teacher drone on in Japanese is mindless, but exchange students are often forced to do that, and they usually just sit there and study kanji or grammar. The grades for those classes usually don't even count back home anyway. You are here for the EXPERIENCE, I take it? USE IT. TALK TO PEOPLE! (Trust me, Japanese kids your age, especially those of the opposite sex, are just dying to get to know you. Make the most of your short time here.)

Thanks for your replies everyone.
@Glenski
Level three isn't enough! I know I can do level 2. I am gonna get it this year (test is early Decemberish I think). Thanks for your advice.
@Karamuucho
Yeah. I know I gotta get out there and talk to ppl. Although my convo skills are pretty average in English too =/ ah well. Lately I have just been sitting in conversations listening. It is nearly impossible to enter >< I'll get it soon though.

Thanks so much again everyone !

Agreed with everyone else. I was in Japan for a year in high school as well, and I nearly had a nervous breakdown after a couple months because I felt like I couldn't understand anything. I got over it though, and it was one of the best experiences of my life. Just talk to people, study as hard as you can, and I promise you'll be doing much, much better by the time you leave. If it helps, I'm one of the most introverted people I know and I still feel like I improved a lot, so I'm sure you'll do fine!


Good luck!

I did the exact same thing as you (btw, who is your sponsering company? FACE?) and got Level2 by the end of the year, and some people who studied VERY hard got level1!

My one tip - JOIN A CLUB. You have NO CHOICE but to talk, people will come to you and talk and on the whole be outgoing to you rather than just in class situations. It can take months and months before you are doing conversations, until then just soldier on

Ewok85 said:

I did the exact same thing as you (btw, who is your sponsering company? FACE?) and got Level2 by the end of the year, and some people who studied VERY hard got level1!

My one tip - JOIN A CLUB. You have NO CHOICE but to talk, people will come to you and talk and on the whole be outgoing to you rather than just in class situations. It can take months and months before you are doing conversations, until then just soldier on

Click to expand...

With my school... very lucky. I still have to pay stuff, so I had to work for two years prior to get enough money. Well worth it though =D

Yeah, I joined a club within one week. Basketball, if anyone is interested. Before people even asked my name, they'd be like 'bukatsu ni haita desu ka?' and I'd be like 'hairanakatta' and they are like 'Join (insert their club here) (and a bunch of reasons)'. Everyone else did club so I was like 'why not? Something I can DO and not suck at!' And it gives me a break from the mental strain of .. Japanese = =

Thanks for the replies guys. Much appreciated !

Let me recommend a forum for exchange students around the world: http://www.cultures-shocked.org/forum/