People say that it’s never too early nor too late to learn something new. In fact, the learning process is an essential step to becoming proficient and well-versed in anything you put your heart into. You can ease the learning process for better comprehension, even if your goal is to learn a new language, such as Japanese.
Perhaps, you’re planning to visit Japan soon. Or, it could also be you’re simply looking for something new to explore and immerse yourself in. Put your worries aside. This article outlines tips and hacks you can adopt to learn the Japanese language quickly.
1. Hire A Tutor
At times, actively learning the Japanese language independently might be a challenge, especially when you don’t have time on your hands. A tutor will suffice in such a situation to help with your learning needs and set a defined schedule to study. When you decide to get a tutor, there are two options available. You can opt for a one-on-one session or join a Japanese class with other learners. Your choice, however, should be based on your preferred learning style and schedule.
With one-on-one learning, the tutor will gather all the material you need for the lessons, and you can schedule times of the day when you aren’t busy to take up the course. It’ll be more of a teacher-student setting, which can be more effective considering you’re the only student and the tutor can focus solely on you. There’s also no unnecessary pressure that would have resulted if there were other learners who might have grabbed the language concept faster than you. You’ll work with your tutor at your own pace.
On the other hand, a general Japanese class could be your choice if you prefer learning with a group. In this approach, learning can be more interactive, making the experience more engaging and enjoyable. And more so, you’d also get to meet other people with the same passion and interest as yours.
In general, despite your preferred choice, you’ll definitely learn a lot. This is because a Japanese tutor is an expert in the field and knows the best techniques to utilize to quicken your Japanese language learning process. In the end, you’ll meet your goals within no time.
2. Set Goals
When learning something new, it’s always advisable to set goals of what you want to achieve and within what timeframe. The goals narrow your scope, making bigger goals more manageable and achievable. You can utilize the same concept as you learn Japanese.
The Japanese language is broad; hence, you need to understand why you’re learning it. Your purpose should be your priority. For instance, if you’ve landed a new job in a Japanese-speaking area and planning to relocate, start small by learning how to make a general conversation. Once you’ve mastered this, you can move to the next goal, such as learning common vocabulary used in your field of work.
By approaching the learning step by step, you won’t overwhelm yourself, which might make you give up in the process. Successful mastery of one aspect is enough motivation to learn the next and the next until you become proficient in the Japanese language.
3. Test Out Your Skills
Passively learning anything, Japanese language included, isn’t always an effective way of mastering something. Why? You might learn something today and forget it after two or three days. You’re likely to assume you’ve mastered language learning in most cases, which might not be wrong. However, because you’re constantly adding new vocabulary, there could be a high possibility of forgetting what you learned previously.
Therefore, it’s considered good practice to test your skills every three or so days and have a weekly test to gauge your retention capability and progress all week. How do you go about this? Consider preparing quizzes and sincerely answering them as if you were in an exam room without making references. Ensure the questions are mixed up; they shouldn’t just be the meaning of words. Factor comprehension is where you interpret what a given paragraph means.
Alternatively, consider conversing with a fluent Japanese speaker. Doing so does not only help you enhance your skills but can also help build your confidence to speak the language. And more so, they can correct you and even offer you advice, should you be mispronouncing some words.
Active learning is always the best way to go. And in some cases, you can also consider teaching someone else what you’ve learned so far. There could be a high probability you’ll retain what you’ve learned by teaching someone else.
4. Become Proactive In The Learning Process
Being proactive means embracing the whole idea of learning the Japanese language not just by reading but also by how you do your things. For instance, you could learn about the rich culture of Japan to associate the vocabulary’s source better.
Consider doing almost everything the Japanese way; listen to Japanese music, podcasts, even the news. The lack of know-how could spike interest in your mind, prompting you to want to know what a certain song means. And with music, learning can be more interesting.
For instance, it’s very easy to know the lyrics to a song and sing along to it after hearing it two-three times. Chances are, you’ll naturally remember the words, whether you know the meaning or not. And once you’ve learned this, try and decipher the song’s meaning. You’ll better understand the language by doing this, quickening your learning process.
You can also learn Japanese proactively by sticking notes with Japanese vocabulary and their meanings all over your home, on your kitchen counter, bathroom mirror, etc. By having these notes all over, you’ll always be learning whether you’re cooking or brushing your teeth.
5. Practice What You Know
The human mind is prone to forgetting what it learns. And as such, not only does practice make perfect, but it makes it easier for the mind to remember what you feed it. This means incorporating the vocabulary you’ve learned in your daily communication.
However, you don’t always have to use it in a formal communication. For instance, you can spice things up and make a joke with the word. This can give you a better chance of remembering the vocabulary tomorrow since your mind will likely associate it with the recent activity.
Once you utilize these vocabularies in your day-to-day communication, it’ll become part of you, making it easier to grow your knowledgeability in the language and adopt it naturally.
Conclusion
Although most people believe that Japanese is a challenging language to learn, this article has shown that it doesn’t have to be that hard. This post has discussed tips and hacks to quicken your Japanese learning process. Consider adopting them, and you’ll become a Japanese language speaker within no time.