I started self-studying Japanese a couple of years ago when I planned my first trip to Japan, and I think it's time to admit that learning Japanese on your own is hard. I've been studying for months, and I'm still struggling with Hiragana and Katakana. What am I doing wrong?! Is it even possible for me to become fluent without living in Japan?!
I'm so frustrated with myself that I feel like giving up. As I mentioned in a previous post, I can't seem to make it to Japan whenever I plan to visit. Something always gets in the way and makes me change my plan. The pandemic happened in 2020 when I wanted to go to the Olympics. I ended up buying a new car with the money saved, and when I was ready to go last year, I had some bad experiences and decided to move to another city.
It wasn't the right time to visit. Then I planned to go in July this year, but my mother was ill, and she still is, so it isn't the right time to go on a trip halfway across the globe. I wish I could say that at least my Japanese has improved, but I keep forgetting my Hiragana and Katakana. I actually haven't made much progress since I started my learning journey.
This is the first time it's taking me so long to learn something, and I'm so mad I feel like screaming into a pillow. At this rate, I'll never learn Kanji, let alone read and speak Japanese fluently. I can't stop asking myself what I'm doing wrong. I know Japanese isn't an easy language to learn, but it seems extra hard for me for some reason. Did I overestimate myself because I can understand the language, thinking it was enough for me to pick it up quickly?!
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| Listening to Japanese Podcasts |
Japanese Dramas, Music, and Podcasts
If you read my post
The Real Reason I'm Learning Japanese, then you know how fully invested I am in learning the language. I've always been interested in learning new languages, which is why I'm blogging in English even though my first language is French. And the Japanese language has been part of my life since my interest in Japanese pop culture went from anime to dramas and Japanese culture in general.
Although it was never my plan to live in Japan, I still want to learn the language and become fluent. I probably wouldn't be this fluent in English if I hadn't chosen to live in England, but I still think it's possible to learn a language and become fluent without living in a country where it's spoken. That being said, I'm willing to spend a couple of months learning the basics at a language school in Japan, as I did when I first came to London in 2007.
I have been into Japanese media for years now, and I mostly watch Japanese dramas and movies, so listening isn't an issue; I can fully watch a TV show or movie without subtitles and understand what's going on. When I started my learning journey, I looked for the best podcasts to listen to during my commute, and my favourites are
Japanese with Shun and
YuYu Nihongo Podcast. I really like YuYu's podcast for his storytelling and can't recommend it enough if you're also learning Japanese.
The good thing about watching dramas and listening to podcasts is that I'm starting to think in Japanese. Most bilinguals look for words to express themselves because they think in their native language and translate first before speaking. Once you reach a native level, you start thinking in both your 1st and 2nd languages and don't seem so hesitant expressing yourself.
I've unlocked this level in Japanese even though I'm struggling with the language because I'm already bilingual; maybe my brain is used to switching languages. I've also been immersing myself in Japanese for years with dramas, podcasts, and music, which is why I have the words at the tip of my tongue but still can't speak. Listening without any practice won't get me anywhere; I'll start recording myself speaking Japanese every day. I have the game Sashingo, and I think it will be enough to learn the correct pronunciation.
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| Practicing Hiragana |
Japanese Textbooks: Reading And Writing
The biggest hurdle on this learning journey is Hiragana and Katakana. At the start of my learning journey, I got 2 textbooks, one on Hiragana and Katakana and the other on Kanji. I have been practising my reading and writing for months, but it still feels like I just started learning the characters. The progress is so slow that I still haven't used the kanji textbooks and don't know when I'll finally be able to.
When I was researching how to learn Japanese, most people recommended starting with Hiragana and Katakana; they compared them to our alphabet, and you can't learn a language without knowing the alphabet first. The funny thing is that it's supposed to be the easiest part of learning Japanese, and yet here I am struggling with these "easy" characters.
This is frustrating and hurting me the most because It's important to me to read in Japanese. There are so many books and novels written by Japanese authors I would love to read, but it's starting to feel like one of those things you try really hard to achieve only to fail at the end. I think I need to take a step back to reflect on why I'm feeling stagnant; maybe I'm putting too much pressure on myself, and the fact that I haven't been able to make the trip after years of planning is definitely affecting me too.
At this point, I can't help but wonder if it's possible to learn a difficult language like Japanese on your own. Since there is no one to give feedback on what I'm doing to improve, I'm not sure if I'm doing well. Anyway, I'll keep practising but won't put too much pressure on myself. I didn't become fluent in English overnight; it took me years, and I'll just have to be patient and keep going. I'm sure all the time and effort invested will finally pay off when I read my first book in Japanese...
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