I want to know how long have you been studying and where your current level is at?

Example... me

Total Newbie (I think I could get around Japan in a very limited fashion)

9 months (Study)
75% through RTK (Should be done next month)
Pimsluers I and II
1/4 in げんき
Maybe 500 vocab (cant wait to mine some sentences to improve this!)


GO!

Nohika (IE, me)
-medium beginner, maybe? I can read simple stuff, as long as the vocabulary isn't too horrendous. Maybe upper beginner. Not really. I could function a little in Japan, though the natives would probably laugh at me. My speaking sucks. My reading is far better than anything else.

Been studying...um. A long time? On and off for years. I studied for about four months intently (didn't do RTK -hide-), mostly vocab with a brief refreshing on grammar. I like that I seem to have a somewhat nice grasp on parsing the stupid sentences together because it's crazy.

Edit: Going to clarify this really quick. I started in middle school, learning all the kana and some kanji (yes, from manga/anime). I've studied on and off most of the simple stuff (extremely basic grammar - verb conjugations, etc), so re-learning that stuff was pretty simple. I can't produce too well, but I can read and figure out the basics rather fast since I needed a quick refresher.

I have about...800 vocab in Kore done, probably know a hundred more basics?

Currently doing:
-DOxJG in the order of whatever strikes my fancy, pretty much. Whatever looks interesting - IE, things I've seen while "reading" (hahaha), etc.
-Kore (6k, Nukemarine's decks)
-Reading random manga/my two raito novels when I'm bored and want to torment myself. Probably will start SRSing vocab once I finish...oh, iunno, 2k or so of Kore.
-Found 840 Ayumi Hamasaki songs. Quite content to listen to them, even if it's almost 3 days worth of music. Figure it'll keep me busy.

1 year and 5 months in Japanese, not counting RTK.
Where am I right now? Definitely not fluent, but I'll tell you where I stand in each skill.
Listening:I don't have much problems with this anymore.Things like animes/dramas aren't difficult anymore to understand it in full. Things like news though does still give me trouble but if I have the transcript with me, I don't have trouble, expect for some vocab I don't know. So I'm confident in my listening skills.
Reading>Most takes I don't have problems with, but there are still a lot of vocab I don't know, but it's natural as all I need to do is keep learning.
I'd the I'm functional in terms of listening/reading. I will eventually become fluent in this, just a matter of time.

Writing>I don't have problems writing kanji, nowadays I'm writing kana to kanji in my anki deck. So I can eventually gain the skills to write kanji from memory.
Speaking>Needs more work, I'm shadowing a lot, which helps a lot and I mean a lot. This definitely needs more work but I feel this get's a bit easier as I keep listening,reading,shadowing,etc.

Overall I just need more time and I'm confident I will become fluent.

Maybe 3 years. Doing something in Japanese sometimes an hour or so a day and sometimes 4 hours and sometimes none

Know most all the jlpt2 vocab/grammar. Reading manga and some books now but still lots of unknown vocab I need to look up, but getting to the point where I'm understanding more and more of what I read. Also, having more fun reading. Kind of stopped chasing jlpt and just learn what I need to know thru books/videos.

Speaking short everyday sentences every day around the house, but more complex thoughts and conversation not yet. Although I throw in a few complicated expressions I've learned from time to time, and even make up my own word combinations (probably not a good idea but fun). That's probably how other dialects get started.

I would still consider myself brand new off the boat beginner and probably will even after I can read/speak effortlessly.

socrat Wrote:I would still consider myself brand new off the boat beginner and probably will even after I can read/speak effortlessly.

If you're still a brand new beginner, I'm stuck in the womb, then.

On and off for 10 years. I use it mostly to play video games like RPGs which at my level I'm currently effective enough to play a game just as well as I would in English without the use of FAQs. I just beat Tales of Phantasia: Narikiri Dungeon X. (It had a somewhat screwed up ending.)

32 months of "study"

24 months to get JLPT 2 and Kanken 5.

I would rate all my skills as good except speaking which is moving along at a snails pace.

http://i-am-an-icecream.blogspot.com/201...-july.html

I've been 'studying' for 3 years or so. I'm really lazy, and generally don't study more than 15 minutes a day on average, so 'studying' is probably a misnomer.

At this point, I can hold a basic conversation and understand some explanations in Japanese. Talking/Listening is my worst skill. As for reading, I can read most manga, the hard ones with some difficulty, but I understand the gist. I've started reading light novels and I do pretty well at the ones for 6th graders (see 魔女館 series for an example).

I classify myself as 'Intermediate' and can understand the JapanesePod101 Lower Intermediate conversations without any difficulty. (And most of the banter they have in Japanese, too.)

Sort of started in October 2002, when I took a Japanese class for a university requirement. I learned basic stuff but since I only needed one class, I stopped.
I kept Japanese hobbies on and off like anime and games and dramas.

REALLY started in July 2009 by taking a Japanese class at community college.

At the end of Japanese 1, I wondered if there was a better way. Discovered AJATT and RTK. Began RTK in August 2009.

Signed up for Japanese 2, went to Japan in October 2009. Very interesting and brought a new perspective to language. Became truly aware of the shortfalls of RTK and how unhelpful it was in real life. Got food poisoning and was bedridden for the latter half of the trip. Signed up for Lang-8. Completed Japanese 2 in December, finished RTK in January, began KO2001. Switched the majority of my music to Japanese. Occasionally watched drama and read Japanese websites, but the core of my studying was KO2001 sentences and referring to Tae Kim. Would talk once in a while on Skype to Lang-8 friends.

July and August I realized the deficiency of my studying without enough natural input. Decided to try watching drama and anime without subs or with J-subs, which showed how bad my listening was, eventually got better at it. Occasionally read manga. September I discovered AKB48, or rather, their variety show AKBINGO which contributed hugely to helping me understand more natural Japanese. Picked up a JLPT2 grammar guide and DOBJG.

October I visited Japan again. Was more amazing because there was no food poisoning and I spent time out of Tokyo and in country areas like Hiroshima. Also did a better job with understanding Japanese, not great, but it was helpful as always and I was able to identify situations that I need to learn how to operate in. Kept up with my studies during the trip.

November 2010 - February 2011 renewed my passion, actually began using the JLPT2 grammar guide, and bought the rest of the DOJG series. Reached 900 kanji in KO2001, 1/3 of the way through the JLPT2 guide. Increasing my exposure to natural Japanese by occasionally reading websites, watching AKB48 variety shows and other dramas, even playing games in Japanese. Picked up Moshidora and will attempt to read it as my first novel. Trying to circumvent the system and sign up for Japanese 4 and skip 3, even though Japanese 4 is beneath my level (2nd half of Genki 2), the J4 teacher is my old J1 teacher and she is an excellent teacher and said she can help me with JLPT studying, and would be an excellent reference for things like JET.

Aiming for JLPT N1 at the end of this year.

These are great thanks everyone! Gives me some realistic goals...
keep posting!
Thanks again.

Superfreek Wrote:These are great thanks everyone! Gives me some realistic goals...
keep posting!
Thanks again.

What I believe is that, if you have good methods/immersion/heavy interest/do it daily. I believe that one can get fluent in 3-5 years. 2 years to become functional. In terms of what I think about myself, i'd say 4 years sounds right. But I will be sure to keep everyone informed. Why? Just so I can motivate some other people, there are so much people out there who have so much time in the world but never really use it for useful things (I know a lot of friends like this)

I have been living in Japan for two years and 4 months. Before that, I learnt hiragana, katakana and a few kanjis and grammar by myself. It took me about 2 months, studying lets say 3 times a week. Now, I have already passed the JLPT 2級 and in summer I am looking for the JLPT N1. I speak decently and almost fluently when it comes to familiar topics. I am quite good reading kanji and I can understand any conversation in "standard Japanese", i.e. TV, radio, stations, formal speech, etc. Most of slang is still out of my field but mainly because all my Japanese friends and acquaintances always speak 丁寧　(politely) with me. I frankly think my level is quite good for only 2 and a bit years of learning but, ey, living in the country helps a lot!! I mean, in Japan, unlike other countries, you are not really forced to learn the language to survive. Even so, why on hell would anyone ignore the opportunity of communicating with these people? So, that is pretty much of it: Talk, read, study Japanese, in Japan. Hope it helps

Always interesting to see someone who lives in Japan's experience.

How did you end up going to Japan in the first place?

12 months:

N4 level grammar.
4000 word vocabulary.
Can read manga with a dictionary (slowly)
Can understand TV to 50%
Can understand people to 50-75% (I mean get the gist of things)
Can write quite well (nearly 300 diaries done)
Can write 200 kanji +/-
Can read 1000 or so Kanji +/-
Can speak to native speakers and be understood, but with really dodgy grammar and having to think quite a bit. Usually basic topics or expressing opinions about things I know well. I can talk about basic events in my life.

Basically, to be pretty much ok in Japan you need to be twice my level. You won't be a native speaker, you might not be even considered advanced enough for N1, but you can probably say most things, write very very well, understand most things you read and hear, and so on. It's enough for a job in a Japanese work environment and to have relationships with non-English speaking Japanese. Do your best!

Fourteen minutes.

What kind of things do you write about cranks?

Just grammar posts. I make dialogues with two or more people talking in various situations.

A:　あれ？何か変な人？
B:　うるさいよ。彼はオレの兄貴！
A:　うそ！オレンジ髪とか変に歩いているヤツとかお前の兄貴？
B: (BはAに殴っている)... うぅ！ハァ！

In this case I am practice two things とか, which I used incorrectly (I think) in the second clause, but as I am not sure I want to find out from a native if this is possible and so let it fly, and Manga slang, which I expect to get a few laughs out of and maybe some interesting new words for my Diary SRS deck from the good people at Lang-8 (It's all about stretching yourself and writing about things that you think you'll get good vocab suggestions about).

テメー (joke)

2 1/2 years of self-study.

My situation seems to be quite different from that of others here. Many people have stronger reading and writing skills; I have stronger speaking and listening skills.

I don't have a huge passive vocabulary of thousands and thousands of words, but I do have an active vocabulary of at least 2500 words, perhaps up to 3000 or so. I know many of the most common kanji, but not all. (working on that though)

I get the gist of dramas; sometimes I get every word of a conversation, sometimes very little.

I don't do SRS or flashcards and I'm not １級. I doubt I'd pass 2級, or it wouldn't be by much, but I did pass 3級 in December 2009.

However, speaking is my strong suit. I meet natives regularly. I can definitely hold my own in a conversation, and even play an active role in conversations among natives. Most of the time, I speak with little hesitation, and it sometimes flows as naturally as when natives speak.

During my last trip to Japan in January 2010, I went for 3 weeks and spoke nothing but Japanese, staying with host families, etc. Last March, after 1 1/2 years of study, I won a local Japanese speech competition in the Intermediate category (didn't win at the national level, though).

When I compare my knowledge to that of other posters here, it's obvious that -- at least statistically -- they are far more advanced than I am, but orally, I feel very confident and can function in the real world.

AlexandreC Wrote:However, speaking is my strong suit. I meet natives regularly. I can definitely hold my own in a conversation, and even play an active role in conversations among natives. Most of the time, I speak with little hesitation, and it sometimes flows as naturally as when natives speak.

During my last trip to Japan in January 2010, I went for 3 weeks and spoke nothing by Japanese, staying with host families, etc. Last March, after 1 1/2 years of study, I won a local Japanese speech competition in the Intermediate category (didn't win at the national level, though).

Hey that's a cool story. To be honest I'd rather be in your situation and speak well, than be ok at reading and poor at output (which is my level now).

How did you develop such good speaking skills? Was the Japanese home-stay really helpful??

AlexandreC Wrote:2 1/2 years of self-study.

My situation seems to be quite different from that of others here. Many people have stronger reading and writing skills; I have stronger speaking and listening skills.

I don't have a huge passive vocabulary of thousands and thousands of words, but I do have an active vocabulary of at least 2500 words, perhaps up to 3000 or so. I know many of the most common kanji, but not all. (working on that though)

I get the gist of dramas; sometimes I get every word of a conversation, sometimes very little.

I don't do SRS or flashcards and I'm not １級. I doubt I'd pass 2級, or it wouldn't be by much, but I did pass 3級 in December 2009.

However, speaking is my strong suit. I meet natives regularly. I can definitely hold my own in a conversation, and even play an active role in conversations among natives. Most of the time, I speak with little hesitation, and it sometimes flows as naturally as when natives speak.

During my last trip to Japan in January 2010, I went for 3 weeks and spoke nothing by Japanese, staying with host families, etc. Last March, after 1 1/2 years of study, I won a local Japanese speech competition in the Intermediate category (didn't win at the national level, though).

When I compare my knowledge to that of other posters here, it's obvious that -- at least statistically -- they are far more advanced than I am, but orally, I feel very confident and can function in the real world.

My Dream! Nice job..

1.5 years since I finished RTK, 14000~ vocab, either narrowly failed or narrowly passed JLPT1 having been hampered by my slowness at reading (will find out when results come out). Pretty good at listening and conversing but have a long way to go till business proficiency. JP girlfriend should be moving in with me in a couple years so I'll get more practice then.

dizmox Wrote:1.5 years since I finished RTK, 14000~ vocab, either narrowly failed or narrowly passed JLPT1 having been hampered by my slowness at reading (will find out when results come out). Pretty good at listening and conversing but have a long way to go till business proficiency. JP girlfriend should be moving in with me in a couple years so I'll get more practice then.

JLPT in 1.5 years? That's pretty impressive.

I studied for 3 years, but those have since gone pretty much completely down the drain with these past 2 semesters. I had some good bouts pre-JLPT, but now things are just so hectic, I'm lucky if I finish all my SRS reps (which I do on my phone in my 'free' time)

So 3 years, and I just took JLPTN1. I passed...relatively ギリギリ, but I passed nonetheless.
When I was actually in Japan, I was pretty good at speaking. I was less participative than in English, but I could still play a good role in general groups, and I could do OK in the world.

edit: just got the jlpt results.

aphasiac Wrote:Hey that's a cool story. To be honest I'd rather be in your situation and speak well, than be ok at reading and poor at output (which is my level now).

How did you develop such good speaking skills? Was the Japanese home-stay really helpful??

The Japanese homestays were very useful, but not critical. Most of the people I met were not from the homestays anyway. I made a point of telling people ahead of time that my goal was to use Japanese only and to learn about the people and the culture. As a result, everyone helped me and no one ever switched to English while talking to me (other than to give the English equivalent of words they couldn't explain).

I never shy away from an opportunity to speak Japanese. When I can't say something, I keep trying in different ways until they get it. I do a fair bit of internal dialogues because I can't always be with natives, and I look up any word that I don't know and need to express myself. I feel this is a perfect way to know what words and grammar I need to express myself in real life situations.

Asriel Wrote:JLPT in 1.5 years? That's pretty impressive.
[...]
When I was actually in Japan, I was pretty good at speaking. I was less participative than in English, but I could still play a good role in general groups, and I could do OK in the world.

I was definitely getting ahead of myself by going to the BCF 1 year after completing RTK though, oh man that was a trainwreck. D: Did you say you interviewed there, or am I mixing you up with someone else?

I've spent over 2 months spread over the past year speaking mostly Japanese, so that definitely helped. I'm looking forward to getting a slingbox set up in my girlfriend's home in the future so I can watch Japanese TV whenever.

I think I'm more social and outgoing in Japanese, I could never bring myself to do karaoke in English for instance...