Practicing a second language

[shane_c]

I've been teaching myself Japanese for about 1.5 years now. In that time, I'm pretty happy with how far I've come. My reading and writing is okay (Hiragana/Katakana and a few Kanji) and my listening is getting better (thank you J-dramas!). I find speaking to be the most difficult.

I use Instagram quite a bit for practicing my reading and typing but that only goes so far.

Over the last few years I've volunteered as an English conversation partner for university students (I mainly try to be paired with Japanese students) and they told me I was a huge help for them. I always refrained from speaking Japanese with them because they are here to learn English. But if I ever got stuck they were always happy to help.

Last year a student and I got to know eachother a bit and when she found out I was learning Japanese she suggested we meet up to practice English and Japanese. It was a great experience, we met up 2-3 times a week at lunch for about 5 months and she was very helpful.

The problem I find though is that as soon as any of them go back to Japan it's like they vanish. I never hear from any of the students I helped with English unless I message them first. The girl I met with for a few months I can see that she has read my messages but never replies back.

It has been very frustrating to try and make any sort of lasting Japanese friend or acquaintance with whom I can sit down and talk with or who doesn't vanish the second they go back.

I'm at the point now that despite all the time and energy I've put into learning Japanese that I might just give up because of how difficult it has been to practice. I'm having a difficult time trying to stay motivated.

Has anyone else come across this issue when trying to learn another language? What did you do?

[FlamingHomer]

As someone who has been struggling to learn a second language (Spanish) I have to give you a lot of credit not only learning a second language but one that doesn't even share the same alphabet. I can't imagine.
I have been using the free program Duolingo with some success but I found the most effective is italki which is a one on one Skype based private tutor. There is a fair amount of cost involved compared to what you are currently trying but a great learning tool. Good luck with your progress.

[mivdo]

Other than actually moving to Japan the best thing would be to immerse yourself in the language. Listen to the music, watch tv shows/movies, read japanese forums. As long as you have the basics of the grammar down. You will slowly pick it up with a handy dictionary.

I also found wordreference forums a great place to ask specific questions.

[shane_c]

Thanks for the replies. I've tried to immerse myself as much as possible. Speaking is my biggest problem for lack of a native speaker to practice with. I do read aloud though as a way to hear myself but that's not really the same.

Next month I should be paired with another student to help them with English. I'm hopeful they will have a classmate they can hook me up with so I can practice Japanese.

But like the others, I might have a few months and then I'll never hear from them again and I'll be back to talking to myself again.

[GirlySports]

How bout skype? There are groups you could talk to people living in Japan.

[shane_c]

If asked the last few days I would have said that I was going to stick with it. My new plan was to keep at it with the realization that I would likely never have a long term person I could speak Japanese with. But the more I think about it, the less I like that idea. I'm the kind of person who likes to try and keep in touch with people (some, not all). And the idea of constantly trying to find someone to speak with, every few months, so I can practice is a lot of extra work I don't think I'm up for. Another reason for me wanting to learn the language was because I someday hoped to visit Japan. It is still tops on my list but now seems less and less likely that will ever happen for several reasons I won't get into here.

I enjoy learning Japanese and it makes me happy to be able to read and hear some things and understand. I'm proud of myself for coming this far and teaching myself to read/write 2 of the 3 alphabets and a handful of the Kanji. But I'm thinking now that it might be time for me to move on to something else.

I'll be keeping my books though. I might change my mind again tomorrow.

[Wormius]

Isn't there actually a Japanese language Meetup group in Calgary?

[shane_c]

Originally Posted by Wormius

Isn't there actually a Japanese language Meetup group in Calgary?

Probably. But I don't live in Calgary.

[Swift]

Man, why give up after doing it for a year and a half? I'd love to learn a second language, but have never actually given myself the kick in the ass to do it, so for you to actually take that leap, especially in a non-Latin alphabet is impressive.

I just had a look at the site mentioned earlier - italki. Looks like a fun way of doing it.