Back in the day, I had a 40×40 list, a list of 40 things to do before I was 40. Well, I turned 40 and upgraded the list. One of the things on that new list? Finish the old list.
One of the things on that list? Learn Japanese.
Why Japan?
While I can’t date the exact moment when I became obsessed with Japan, I have an idea. I know it has to be connected to my then 13 year -old becoming obsessed with Manga, Anime, J-pop and all things kawaii. I also know for a fact it has to be around 2013, as I have found this notebook of my early attempts at learning the language.
It looks like that was when I was working from the website – Japanesepod 101. This site offers free lessons and worksheets, and there are also videos on youtube.
It would have been in late 2013 when I made the bold promise to Harriet that I would take her to Japan in April 2017, for her 18th birthday. My Japanese learning kind of stalled at this point, although it was around this time that I met Yumikosan.
I met Yumi on the Couchsurfing website while asking about potential places to stay if I visited. We started messaging through the website, before finally Skyping. Now I had someone to practice with!
Starting out with Japanese
One problem with learning a 2nd language when English is your first is learning how to pronounce the alphabet differently. The problem with learning Japanese, specifically, is that they have a totally different syllabary system to English, which I needed to learn before anything else.
What I notice with language learning, with my only previous experience being learning French at school, is that we are not taught in a natural way. Consider how a child learns a language. They hear it spoken around them and to them, and they repeat and experiment with sounds. They aren’t forced to learn how to read it and write it for another couple of years.
I thought this might be why I was struggling with Japanese, I am trying to look at it too academically, rather than as a natural skill that even children pick up. At this point, I started listening to more films, music and youtube videos.
But I was still not really getting anywhere. Learning alone is not easy.
Then I discovered George…
Disclaimer:
This section contains an affiliate link- I am so sure of these books, that I believe if you are serious about learning Japanese, you should invest in them. I only ever suggest items I have either bought, been bought or intend to buy myself and buying them on Amazon via this link incurs no extra cost to you.
While searching Youtube for videos and tutorials to help my language quest, I discovered the ‘Japanese from Zero’ series – whose praises I will sing until I am fluent in Japanese, and probably even after that.
The books come with lessons and worksheets and have accompanying Youtube videos – Here’s the playlist for the first book:
A task I will continue on the Kettle List
As the 40×40 drew to an end, I knew that this was one of the tasks that I intended to carry on with.
News on this task will, therefore, continue over at the #4 Continue to Learn Japanese page, which you can find on the drop-down menu for the Kettle List
I suppose I cannot declare this task completely completed, although I have mastered Hiragana, and can make basic conversation. Technically I have done what I set out to do, as I have learned some of the language and can certainly understand more than I did when I started.
I am therefore going to award myself a…
While also reminding my readers about my “Even Better if” post, and encourage you to try out Japanese too.
