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I Planned to Become Fluent in Japanese in 1 Year — 4 Comments

  1. Nice article. I used to want to rush through to fluency – like most people I suspect. Now I’m starting to want to draw out my study a bit more, to savour the experience so to speak.

    I think too many people frame language learning as an end goal (fluency), like – for example – getting a degree. My other hobbies (boxing, climbing) are all about having fun. Whilst I train to get better, the priority is enjoyment… Much like going out for a steak (mmmm steak). That seems like a healthy attitude to apply to Japanese, as long as it’s not an excuse to slack off on the study.

    • I agree. I think a lot of people get mixed up because they think that Japanese is merely a means to have fun with other things. They need to have that Japanese to have fun watching anime or movies.They don’t realize that the Japanese is the fun part itself and also can/should be enjoyed.

  2. Interesting! I think I always expected to enjoy and learn Japanese forever (I am a huge proponent of lifelong learning and self-teaching), but in my head I always defined “learning” as “how long I will be adding lots of cards to Anki”/”how long will I be in the textbook phase”.

    By my definition, I hope to be done “learning” in maybe 3 years, with around 3000-4000 cards/year.

    But as for continuing to engage with the language and practice and develop skills in all 4 aspects of language (passive and active), as well as enjoying Japanese media, well, never really expect that to stop.

    • You bring up an important point about the perception of what Japanese learning is many years down on the road. It definitely is not the same type of learning that leads you up till fluency. It takes on a completely new form, but it is still learning nonetheless.

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