Vid on how long it took me to learn Japanese: www.youtube.com Hey all, a question I got asked a lot after my first vid was how I learned my Japanese. The good news is that I was not an exchange student, I didn’t grow up in Japan. In fact, I didn’t even do very well at Japanese in Uni (my university lecturer “advised” me not to take third year Japanese)…. I kind of threw away the study approach and started learning in my own way, which worked well for me, although in a way that disproportionately fostered speaking ability over reading and writing ability. I found it fun and personally rewarding to work with, live with, and hang out with Japanese people a lot before even coming to Japan, and it paid off for me. Bad news is that, especially when you come to Japan, full immersion can be exhausting and mind numbing. But again, my advice is this – do not give yourself a break, at least in the beginning. As soon as you force your brain to begin clicking over in 5 year old Japanese, instead of your 20 or 30 or how ever many years English, everything will get easier, and like being a child again, your ability to understand and express yourself with better vocab will grow naturally. Some people can do it, but memorizing long lists of kanji and vocabulary, while a great preparation, just didn’t work for me without the connection to how I NEED to use those words. As for the JPLT exams, my advice is this. 1) If you are studying outside of Japan, go for level 3 first. It shows basic …

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