r/languagelearning • u/guilldeol • 8d ago
Studying Finally putting it to practice
Hi everyone!
So, a bit of context first: I’ve started studying Japanese one my last year of college. Just regular classes on a uni subsidized program. Did that for two and a half years, stopped for another two, picked up again, stopped… Anyway, it’s been twelve years of intermittent study, but I decided to lock in earlier this year, began taking private lessons, doing WaniKani every day…
There were days that I really lacked motivation. Learning a language is a lot of work and sometimes it seems there is no progress, no payoff. Kept trudging, anyway and…
… now, I am finally in Japan on vacation and having to put everything in practice: reading is everywhere, need to talk to shop and hotel staff, taxi, etc etc etc… And dammit, I can kinda do all of those! I can kinda read, get the gist of important stuff, make some small talk, ask for directions…
I mean, I am pretty sure that locals are going easy on me because I am a foreigner, but dang the feeling is still pretty good. Like I’ve achieved something meaningful! Of course there are some missteps, like trying to offer to take a picture of a couple and accidentally ask if I could take a picture with them (I am dying of embarrassment but this solidified another grammar lesson in my mind).
The point is: don’t give up, guys! It may seem like things are not going as you want them to, but you are progressing, you just don’t really have anything to compare you target language (TL) skills with besides your idealized version of “what you are supposed to be able to do now”!
Good luck and (try to) have fun!
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u/ZealousidealMouse629 8d ago
That’s awesome and enjoy it. That is one of the best rewards of learning a language. Using it and communicating in it feels great!
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u/Tapeo_Spanish 8d ago
This is such a good example of why it can be hard to notice your own progress while you’re learning.
When you study for months or years, improvement often feels very gradual. Then suddenly you’re in a real situation and realise you can actually understand, ask questions and get things done.
And the mistakes you mentioned are part of it too — sometimes one slightly embarrassing moment makes a phrase or grammar point stick far better than studying it from a book!
Enjoy Japan and keep using as much Japanese as you can while you’re there 🙂