Do I count if I'm fluent but I've never done RTK?

I think he's trying to use this information to deduce whether RTK is necessary and/or worth it, so you probably don't count (no hard feelings )

nadiatims wrote:

but it's really only like 5% of the journey at most.

I can vouch for the accuracy of this. From my experience it's 3-4% or so... I'd put the required vocabulary count at about 20k for anyone to take one's claim to fluency seriously though.

Anyway the best path is to learn the basics quickly then ditch the textbooks and other teaching aids and switch to native media/natural interaction with natives as soon as possible. There's really not much to it... just make it a part of your everyday life and can be fluent or close to it in 3-4 years probably.

Last edited by dizmox (2012 August 02, 8:02 pm)

dizmox wrote:

Anyway the best path is to learn the basics quickly then ditch the textbooks and other teaching aids and switch to native media/natural interaction with natives as soon as possible.

Not sure how much I agree with this.  A lot of people I know who spent a longer time on teaching aids and textbooks in the beginning benefitted in the long run, because ultimately they make less basic grammar and pronunciation mistakes.  Of my friends who have lived in Japan about 5 years (for some reason I have a lot of friends around that benchmark--maybe because I'm just behind it myself), the people who spent time in a class or working with textbooks a lot are doing better in that area, hands down.

Also, why be exclusive?  It's not like you can't use textbooks and teaching aids while also using native material and interacting with Japanese people.

I'm not fluent yet - I guess I would say I'm intermediate.  I didn't do RTK when I first studied Japanese, but I decided to do it when I decided to start working on Japanese again after taking about 3 or 4 years off.  I think it was worth doing, if that's part of what this thread is getting at.

Tzadeck wrote:

Also, why be exclusive?  It's not like you can't use textbooks and teaching aids while also using native material and interacting with Japanese people.

I completely agree.  I think there are things you can learn through native materials and exposure, but other things where it helps to have explanation and focused study.

HonyakuJoshua wrote:

Removed due to post being edited.

Didn't you say before that you threatened to kill a girlfriend as well?  These are rather frightening statements you keep making.

Last edited by nohika (2012 August 04, 7:22 pm)

I think it'd probably best that everyone on the forum avoid giving their contact info or anything like that to HonyakuJoshua, haha.

Nope, I'm still trying to work that part out.

Nope my road keeps getting longer...

Finished rtk almost finished Core 6k but never got to it because I've been in Japan. I'm at a point where i can get shit done if i get stuck. I can also talk to Japanese people and develope some kind of relationship but not as deep as in english. I still struggle with expressing tones and feelings in the way i speak. I must sound like some cute robot made for kids to speak to. I'm not looking for an end anymore just gonna keep walking.

Last edited by NoSleepTilFluent (2012 August 03, 6:49 am)

I think that some people have the ability, much better than others, to find similarities and patterns in a test. Some people in my chemistry class in high school who made much better grades than me ended up knowing much less chemistry than I did. It all depends on how much you retain for your experiences too. You could be a good test taker because you actually did what was supposed to and beyond to understand the material.

Unlike other subjects, though, language is spontaneous. And so, there's no way to actually 100% make sure you know everything that can show up on the test. So, you actually have to rely on your own skills more so with language than with other subjects. However, in a classroom setting, I think it is very well possible to learn how to take the professor's tests and not get enough substantial out of it. As far as the JLPT, I plan to not take it. I speak Japanese and I don't want it telling me how well I know it. As for other people, though, it is a very important goal and they should try to get there. There's nothing wrong or bad in aiming for the JLPT 1, and the people that get good scores on it in my opinion should be considered as knowing Japanese, whether they are fluent or not by that point is a different story and should be treated as such.

egoplant wrote:

Another question would be, how long before you could understand most manga or anime?

Couple years minimum for most people.