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I initially studied Japanese for one year at Western Michigan University, using Yookoso. After nearly a five year break and living in the UK, I decided to pick up a second degree at Grand Valley State. They gave me the choice of either taking another statistics class to earn a Bachelor of Science, or to take another Japanese class and graduate with a Bachelor of Arts. Since I had my fill of statistics while in business school, I decided on taking Intermediate Japanese I. During my time in England, I did have the opportunity to speak Japanese at a few events at the British museum and with friends who shared my interest in kimono, but it really was like starting the language over again. I had to begin again half way through Genki Japanese. It does seem like that these days everyone and their dog studies Japanese, but that still doesn't make it easy. A guide to Japanese verb forms is essential given the constantly shifting levels of politeness in Japanese. Indeed, when I visited Japan in 2008 and 2009, I realized that I could only truly understand the elderly, because asking street cleaners or waitresses for directions resulted in a response too casual for my formal, business Japanese oriented ears to pick up easily. However, I am pleased to say that after a few days in Japan, I was able to listen to bus announcements, arrange a hotel room and manage most daily conversations. Every Friday, my Japanese teacher would insist that we watch Japanese television, films or listening to dialogue recordings. So, part of my instruction came from watching silly game shows. My other favourite resources were Guide to Japanese Grammar and The Kanji Site. If you feel discouraged studying a language, enjoying a bit of culture is the best way to give yourself a boost. I personally like viewing the Immortal Geisha forums and admiring the food over on Just Hungry. After graduating with my BA, I decided that looking for employment in Japan wasn't the best option, so I decided to move to China instead. After some encouraging comments from the people in my Japanese class ("Do you speak Chinese? You're going to die...") I moved to Shanghai in January, 2008. I have a love-hate relationship with Chinese. Since China has numerous dialects, often the language I hear in the streets is Shanghainese, not standard Mandarin. This also causes problems with developing a local accent. My major challenge was the fact that I just could not develop a deep interest in Chinese culture. Ancient or traditional culture often seems non-existent in Shanghai, so I felt studying the language was deprived of some of the beauty I felt studying Japanese. It wasn't until I studied traditional brush art and hired a private tutor that my Chinese level progressed. Now, I speak and write at around an intermediate level and I'm having a difficult time deciding on whether I should try to reach a fluent level or move on to a third language. I'm considering studying Arabic (Standard and Egyptian dialect), as that may be more useful for my career and useful in the UK. Also I must acknowledge that there is only so much room in my little head and that any break from studying one language will mean reviewing it again if I return to Asia. I suppose it all comes down to either being fluent in one language or being able to travel through multiple countries at a beginner to intermediate level.
Chinese Resources
Audio Lessons Book Recommendations
Japanese
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My ambition has never been to be a professional linguist or translator, but over the last eight
years, studying languages has become my foremost hobby.