As the title says, i'm in Japan and I need some langauge advice! I have been in Japan for a month now (with another 2 to go) and I have not learnt　to speak a tiny bit of the language. I have done the khatz way and still am, but this seems only to help my reading (which is pretty far along by now) but I can not string a sentence together which is hindering me alot.

What i'm looking for is advice on how to learn to speak it, my situation makes it hard to be on the internet much so that rules out "Iknow" (which i found didnt help much with speaking) rosette stone could be a option but im not sure if that is very helpful with speech. Japanese pod 101 i find isnt that much help, a bit too much english and the people presenting it started to get on my nerves.

So any advice is welcome, thanks in advance.

Hey,

two month is a very short time. You won't get very fat with the ajatt message in that time period if you want to see some results.
I would suggest some language classes or audiobooks (pimsleur?) because with that you'll train the important short-term aspects of Japanese (Speaking, Listening).

But after you left Japan, drop it and return to the ajatt method.

btw, what is your situation in Japan? Internship, exchange student, ...?

The only thing I can think is maybe start going through the Pimsleur CDs. I've had the comprehensive I set for years but I've never gotten past the 1st CD, but I think you'd have more motivation due to circumstances. I think it's maybe enough to get you started saying something in such a short amount of time. You seem to have some knowledge of the language so I guess that something oriented to teaching you how to speak might be enough to prop you up and get you out there speaking it. Maybe?

You should read Khatsumoto's new article about sampling

You'd never get anywhere, no matter what method you were using in 2 months of Japanese. Give it 6 months before miracles start to happen and 12 months when you realize how much you've learnt over the year.

Maybe you have unrealistic expectations?

Being in Japan is great and it can help you learn faster but it won't do miracles. You don't get a few thousands bonus vocabulary words when you step off the plane. What was beyond your level before is still going to be beyond your level.

My advice is that you enjoy your stay, while continuing to study regularly when you can and that you put into practice what you already know.

If instead you focus too much on what you can't do you'll just have a bad time and it won't help you a little bit.

Talk to people. Everything else you can do while you at home at the end of your 3 months. Take advantage of your time in Japan to talk to the Japanese. It's the oldest, most tried and true way to learn a language.

How about getting a phrase book and using it to help prepare some things you want to say/ask for/whatever, and then put them to the test.

I was in the same situation and worked my way through Japanese for Busy People. Helped a lot.

Thanks for all the replys, I really do love this forum. Everyone seems so.. Normal.

I guess I forgot to mention that I have been studying Japanese for quite a long time now with anki and heisig. Maybe around 6 months now, it all came a shock to me when I came here and found out i couldnt speak a word, yet im able to read(ish). I will have a look at this primsueler thing i hope it helps!

Proxx: thanks for the answer. I am staying there as a WWOOFer. I'm not sure the rules on linking on this forum, but here goes: http://www.wwoofjapan.com/main/index.php?lang=en It's certainly very interesting and it gets you around. At the moment its got me in a hotel in hokkaido (near biei if anyone was wondering). And on the 3rd of june i will be heading to Osaka to work on a farm.

codexus: Unrealistic expectations? maybe. Niave? most certainly. I guess after all the effort I put into learning the language I thought I would be able speak a bit (tho for some reason I can understand what people say mostly) and not just sign language

Just walk around, listen and practice what you do know talking to people on trains and such. I assume you will be doing 4 hours of farm work in exchange for a bed if what other people have told me is true. Kansai summers are a b**ch! Would NOT want to be doing farm work in Osaka in June! You may return home vowing never to visit Japan again. Don't spend money on Pimsleur. You would be better off paying 400yen for an hour at an internet cafe and get free coffee while you study on smart.fm
I loved internet cafes. I would sleep in those comfy chairs overnight if I missed the last train home and fall asleep to what ever movie was playing on TV. Then pay 100yen for a shower the next morning and leave with an espresso buzz.

If you want to see the city, in Tokyo there's a hostel (Khaosan's) that gives you free accommodation in exchange for 3 hours/day cleaning duty.

Well lets say i'm not paying per say, a trial is a good word! Talking to people is impossible here, intill i go to osaka anyway as where I'm at at the moment its rare to see 1 japanese person for a few hours. It was a real shock when i walked around biei for the first time, i was expecting there to be millions of japanese around But a good description of the place is a ghost town. Got a bit lost and ended up walking around the place for 3 and a bit hours and i saw 3 people. Really 3 people!

Yeah thats 1 thing i'm worried about at the farm is the heat. Had a couple of hot days in hokkaido and they nearly killed me. But atleast this is a good way to get a tan (or atleast nicely burnt)

Hate is such a strong word but at the moment the one thing that drives me mental is the insects! Theres too many of them dammit! Cant breath through the mouth because if you do atleast 30 odd insects go down the hatches.

Mafried: Oh I have been trying to find a place in tokyo with wwoofer but couldnt find anything. Could you give a link or a phone number?

http://www.khaosan-tokyo.com/en/

mafried Wrote:If you want to see the city, in Tokyo there's a hostel (Khaosan's) that gives you free accommodation in exchange for 3 hours/day cleaning duty.

Actually, you can travel almost anywhere in the world and do an accommodation exchange for 2-4 hours of cleaning duties. Just have to ask the hostel owner or manager if they are looking for work exchange people. Pretty good deal if you want to travel the world cheaply.

This hostel in Kyoto is only 1000yen per night if you bring your own sleeping bag including free internet and a nice view of Kyoto from the roof. They offer work exchanges as well. I stayed there for 3 months when it was only 900yen per night two years ago
http://k.fc2.com/cgi-bin/hp.cgi/kyoto-inn/?pnum=0_0

I'm surprised you can't talk to anyone with 6 months of studying. I'm worried now for myself =/!

Well, 6 months is such a short time to develop speach. My speach is only starting to come out after 1 year of AJATT.

I think you are in the wild without a dog (another brazilian proverb).
But hey, if you don't have a dog, go hunt with a cat (another brazilian proverb).

Forget learning the language and have fun!

mentat_kgs Wrote:Well, 6 months is such a short time to develop speach. My speach is only starting to come out after 1 year of AJATT.

I think you are in the wild without a dog (another brazilian proverb).
But hey, if you don't have a dog, go hunt with a cat (another brazilian proverb).

Forget learning the language and have fun!

Those proverbs rock.

make sure your grammar is up to par too when you start speaking... that's my hindrance at the moment as i have a high vocab level but my grammar is still sucky... i really need to do the Tae Kim sentences all the way through sometime...

Make sure you have tissue paper before you go into a public restroom! Hope you can squat if you are in a small town

bodhisamaya Wrote:Make sure you have tissue paper before you go into a public restroom! Hope you can squat if you are in a small town

lol i could never figure those Japanese toilets out... i used to take off my pants and underwear and just set them aside because i was so sure i was going to crap on them lol!

I think you have to squat in that way only Japanese(/Asian) Asian people can. I try my hardest not to do a #2 in a J-style toilet if I don't have to...

I have yet to see one of those traditional toilets, but i can't wait!

On a side note whats this bird in japan called, the bird call goes "WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEeeeeEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.. eee. eeee.eeeEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE" constantly, so you cant hear anything else? I have asked a few japanese people what it is but the best reply i got was that it was a bird and a cute one. (I origianly thought it was a せみ)

I guess it is a からす, a crow in English if I'm not mistaken.

Thanks for the reply, no its not a crow I'm certain of that This bird really does sound like what i typed in my post before and the sound goes on for ages.

It must be a せみ I just cant imagine a bird making that sound. But then agian i youtubed it and none of the videos were as noisy as the ones i hear here.

Babyrat Wrote:It must be a せみ I just cant imagine a bird making that sound. But then agian i youtubed it and none of the videos were as noisy as the ones i hear here.

I took this video when I was in Japan, you can here a cicada 蝉 (hehe "simple insect") quite clearly. I love that sound because it reminds me on my first days in Japan when I went there in September 2007.