Doing vs. Living: A Self-Realization

Today we had a "Learning Strategy" workshop with the staff of our program which was essentially a means to show us that receiving an education here in Japan will be different than what we have experienced in America. The previous presentation revealed to us that the over-arching theme of the program is "Japan Literacy" or basically getting to know both the language and the culture of Japan. That presenter explained three categories that represented levels of competency:

• Level One - an individual who does not know Japanese, does not have any way to use Japanese but knows a few things from the culture => i.e. an anime fan
• Level Two - a person who conducts business in Japan or with Japanese people and has a basic understanding of greetings [あいさつ | 挨拶] and set phrases [きまりもんく | 決まり文句]
• Level Three - an individual who has a full understanding of both the culture and the language and is capable of using that knowledge

My immediate first thought was where do I fit in? I was never really a huge fan of anime (a stupid stigma of those who choose to learn Japanese), I am obviously not a business woman at this point in my life, and I definitely cannot profess having a complete understanding of everything Japanese. So where does that leave me? If I have no place then why am I here?

The speaker went on to say that there are three methods of understanding to be achieved here:

• sociocultural - how to function amongst Japanese people while following cultural and social norms
• sociolinguistic - how to use the language correctly in the appropriate situation
• linguistic - understanding the nuances of the language

She said that the first two are not really things that can be fully accomplished in a classroom, try as one might. But as any language learner should know, combined and individually they are very important for successful interaction.

Here is the self-realization part.

Last week, merely a few days after we arrived I was having a conversation with Hannah, one of the other students in the program. We were discussing our experiences with Japanese and she explained that she had been living here since last semester (that's about six months y'all). She mentioned that she had about two years worth of language study under her belt from school in America but stated that she really got better after being in Japan for such an extended period of time. I remember hearing her speak on our first day together as a big group, her sentences so fluid and complex and understandable. Then it hit me that while my entire seven years of Japanese linguistic/cultural education has not been for nought, it definitely has been missing a quintessential component towards my success as a speaker - practical application. I had only been 'doing' Japanese.

I may have had a longer history of being drilled on grammar points and important vocabulary, memorized monotonous dialogues, and crammed for those big scary tests [試験 | しけん] that we took over and over but she was literally 'living' Japanese. Every TV channel she saw, every train message she heard, everything she did and everywhere she went Japanese was widely spoken and written. That's not to say that all of my past Japanese teachers (all of which were amazing natives of the country and I thank them for their immense patience with me) did not do their absolute best in teaching me. In fact, without their foundation work I would not be where I am today. But what they could not provide for me was round the clock exposure. After remembering this thought that I had that day and applying it to today's presentation I began to worry about my placement test score. My heart beat so hard I was so nervous [ドキドキしていました]. I was afraid that they would click over to the next powerpoint slide and have the results posted in an embarrassing fashion but they did not. Actually, they handed it out on a sheet of paper which listed the groupings (much better right?).

Not level one . . . not level two . . . okay that means I can still take that translation class . . . not level three . . . . . wait. That means . . . . LEVEL FOUR!?!?!? 本当にビックリした (I was very surprised)。Despite all my worrying and what I felt was futile studying, I was considered capable of being in this group! That was just the reassurance that I needed. Lesson learned: even when you feel you are not the best at something, hard work pays off. There is, of course, always room for improvement which I have every intention of doing by 'living' Japanese for the next couple months.

The "Learning Strategy" workshop we had ended with the message "You are in control of your own learning. How do YOU want to learn?" The presenter then proceeded to ask us to answer the following prompts which I would like to end this post with, sharing with you all why I am here in Japan and what my goals are (aside from completing the list from my previous post, lol). じゃまた! (See you later)

1. I study Japanese because . . .
• I want to become a (literary) translator
• a rather viable career path and awesome past time (I <3 BOOKS!)
• I wanted to be different [from my sister who took up Spanish]
• I want to share the culture with others
2. I hope I will be able to . . . in Japanese by July.
• read a novel (Tanazaki, Soseki and co. here I come!)
• read a newspaper (at least get the idea because there are SO many kanji)
• communicate confidently (ain't nothin' to it but to do it right?)
3. In the study of Japanese I enjoy . . .
• reading about cultural topics -> learning new words
4. I don't enjoy . . .
• parroting boring dialogues
5. In the study of Japanese I am good at . . .
• memorizing (dialogues . . . funny huh?)
• applying grammar (most of the time)
6. I am bad at . . .
• being confident
• retaining information (some of the time)
• listening/hearing others (there is a difference)
7. I want my teachers to  . . .
• be there when I need them
• push me to do my best
• expect great things from me
8. I wish my teachers wouldn't . . .
• be unapproachable
• be unwilling to repeat/discuss/explain things
9. I want to . . . with my e-pal, tutor, friends, etc. to learn Japanese.
• visit a variety of places
• join clubs/activities
10. I want to  . . . by myself.
• get around by public transportation
• be the only native English speaker in a group so I can practice (sounds wrong here but so what!?!)
11. ~ (other comments about learning preferences)
• I need to work on my listening skills (big time!)