akamonkai_online Many people consider learning a new language to be challenging. They are right!
The best Japanese lessons online will come with challenges. What people get wrong about this, however, is the belief that “easy” means more helpful, or more fun. Neither is true.
Some level of difficulty is what makes it fun to learn a new skill. What do cooking a nice meal, skiing and learning a new language have in common?
They are all challenging, especially for beginners. At the same time, the process of learning is fun and rewarding for each of these skills. Learning a new language works the same way; especially the Japanese language, as it is very nuanced.
Without further ado, let’s go over why the best Japanese lessons online are challenging, and why that is a good thing.
1. Intricacies of Japanese Language:
The first thing students learn while studying a new language is the alphabet. That serves as the basis for the rest of the language, and it is something that has to be memorized. Through the alphabet, we learn to read and write, which are crucial for those looking to achieve fluency.
The Japanese language has a complex writing system
The Japanese language does not rely on a single writing system. It has three different writing systems, all of which are used for different reasons. Hiragana is used for most of the commonly used phrases in the Japanese language, and for putting together basic sentences. Katakana is often used for loan words from other languages(which there are a lot of), slang, and onomatopoeic expressions. Each of these systems has 46 symbols.
Kanji
Kanji, by itself, has over two thousand symbols that are used in everyday communication. Now, you do not have to memorize all of these at once. Kanji symbols are made by combining 214 radicals in different ways. It is not so much about memorizing 2000 symbols, rather understanding the 214 radicals one by one and getting a grasp of what their combinations express.
This does not mean that learning the Japanese writing systems is any less possible than with other languages. Although there are a lot of syllables, they are very consistent in pronunciation, unlike other languages where the same letter can have multiple sounds. This is especially true with hiragana and katakana. This is why it is worth taking the time to properly memorize the Japanese writing systems. Shortcuts do not help.
Distinct sentence structure
The sentence structure of the Japanese language is unique. It follows the “subject, object, verb” order. In contrast, the English language follows a “Subject, verb, object” order. This means that the way the building blocks of a sentence is different from most languages.
Although this a simple change, it does take some effort to rearrange the layout of a sentence while translating it to the Japanese language. It goes beyond translating the words. The best Japanese lessons online will remind you to approach this with the right perspective.
Teineigo, sonkeigo & kenjougo
The Japanese vocabulary is greatly influenced by honorifics and politeness levels.
Yes, there are levels of politeness, not just in Japanese culture, but in the language as well. Honorifics affect the way you approach your nouns, verbs, how you end your sentences and they sometimes replace pronouns.
丁寧語 (teineigo), known as “polite language”, is a speech style with the addition of a layer of politeness. Some common auxiliary verbs used in teineigo include “です”(-desu) and “ます”(-masu).
尊敬語 (sonkeigo), or “honorific language”, is used when speaking to authorities. On the other hand, 謙譲語 (kenjougo), or “humble language”, is used when referring to oneself. This is also a form of politeness. Depending on your relationship to the person you’re communicating with, your vocabulary could completely change. The best Japanese lessons online are those in which you learn the nuances and intricacies of the Japanese vocabulary.
2. The challenges of learning Japanese online:
Although coursework is necessary to become fluent in the Japanese language, it is important to delve head-first into the language as well. Being in an environment where the language is consistently and naturally spoken will make your progress much faster. Not even the best Japanese lessons online can replace the effects of being and interacting with the Japanese-speaking community on a daily basis.
Limited practice in real-time
“So, will online classes make me fluent?”
They will. You do not have to be in Japan to become fluent in the language. This goal will, however, require effort and initiative. It is up to you to interact with your classmates in Japanese and make that intentional. Try to find communities that speak primarily Japanese as well. If you are studying Japanese online, this won’t be difficult. The challenge is in being intentional with your efforts to immerse yourself in communication. Initiative is necessary, especially because online Japanese lessons are not, by default, as immersive as face-to-face classes. You have to make them immersive.
Initiative – Motivate yourself!
Your personal motivation will be the key to immersing yourself in your online Japanese lessons. For starters, you want to develop your discipline when it comes to satisfying your requirements. Showing up to classes, doing your assignments on time, asking questions etc. are only half of “immersion”.
The second half is up to you. If you want to go out of your way to fully dive into the Japanese language, start doing the small talk in Japanese as well. You might feel a bit stiff at first, but your instructor will understand your goal and be patient with you. This way, you will boost your fluency, and speaking will feel like natural communication, rather than a performance. In order to get to this point, though, you will have to start by going out of your comfort zone.
Try to limit your screen time while studying too. If you’re on your phone, you will still be processing information in your native language. This is not necessarily wrong, but fully focusing on the Japanese language while learning will help you absorb it much more effectively.
3. The importance of balanced difficulty in online Japanese courses:
When learning a new skill, especially a language, it is important to understand the nature of progress. What you learn in your class is not the end-all-be-all, and it is definitely not information that is supposed to be learnt once.
The structure of progression
The best Japanese lessons online are those that build upon each-other. So, what you learn today will give you the base, as well as the feedback to lay the foundation for what you study tomorrow. The stronger your foundation, especially early on, the easier it is to build upon it. This means that depending on how much you engage during the first week, the rest of the month could be a brick-by-brick process of adding to your base knowledge, or it can be shaky and messy.
Challenging yourself while learning the base concepts will make it much easier to understand the intricacies and complexities of the language later on. This is especially true for Japanese!
For example, in English, the letter “A” can have multiple sounds. In the hiragana and katakana syllabaries, however, the syllables are consistent in pronunciation. This means that, while it takes some work up-front to memorize these characters, combining them later on will be much easier. The same goes for verb conjugations, they are similar in structure for the most part, with very few exceptions.
The 80/20 rule
Remember the 80/20 rule. 80% of your results come from 20% of your efforts. You could try to hard memorize 10 different verb conjugations, and that will be difficult. On the other hand, you could take your time understanding the conjugation rules with two verbs as examples, and the other 8, or even more, will be intuitive.
Similarly, you could try to memorize the 2000+ kanji symbols, one at a time. That sounds extremely difficult, but there is obviously a better approach. By learning the 214 kanji radicals, you will be able to recognize patterns across different symbols. Of course, it will still take memorization and commitment to learn kanji, but focusing on the right challenges is what makes a good learning strategy.
How difficulty affects engagement
It is also good to understand how difficulty affects your own engagement in the course. When a goal is “too difficult”, it becomes disheartening. Where is the inspiration in putting a lot of effort into a project that is bound to fail?
On the other hand, while a lot of people think “easy” is “better”, they are also mistaken. The “easy” label makes people think one of two things: they are guaranteed results, or it must be a good time.
Why “challenging” is better than “easy”
If a goal does not challenge you, is it contributing to your growth? How is knowledge being acquired if you are learning it passively? Most importantly, how will that knowledge stay with you?
As for engagement, while the “easy” label makes learning sound more comfortable, and therefore more enjoyable, that is not necessarily the case. In reality, easy things tend to get old quickly, and expecting a low difficulty inspires complacency rather than engagement. “It is fine if I miss a few lessons”.
If you think back to your journey, goals that are difficult, yet attainable are the most fun to commit to, as well as the most satisfying upon completion. This is why the best Japanese lessons online are balanced in difficulty. You are encouraged to take your time building a balanced study plan, and make sure to include tasks of a desirable difficulty level.
4. Embrace difficulty
Rather than trying to make your learning as easy as possible, embrace the challenge! Do not try to make everything easy, as not everything is easy. Similarly, do not waste your effort in unintuitive memorization.
Rather, try to learn the structure of the Japanese language, as it is very consistent and lays out the groundwork for you to build your knowledge upon. Choosing which of your tasks require the most effort, is part of the challenge! The best Japanese lessons online will pair you with instructors who will guide and support you, so look forward to it!
The best Japanese lessons online will boost your self-esteem!
On another note, challenges are good for your personal development! Your self-esteem will greatly benefit thanks to the undertaking and completion of challenging tasks. While learning the Japanese language, you also get to boost your self-esteem through testing your knowledge. This is all done in a safe learning environment, with the support of others.
Try→Feedback→Learn→Try→Succeed→Next.
It is a positive loop of growth, and improvement, not just in your Japanese skills, but in your discipline and work ethic as well.
Kaizen
Kaizen is a Japanese philosophy, which directly translates to “change for the better”. It emphasizes improvement and growth through small incremental steps, over a long period of time. By understanding the long-term benefits of trial and error, you will get slightly better at the Japanese language every time you engage with it, be it in your lessons or outside of them.
Conclusion
Hopefully by now, you understand the importance of a good challenge. It is also important to understand that learning a new language is a commitment. The best Japanese lessons online require effort, as does every rewarding journey. Expecting your lessons to be challenging does not mean you are less likely to learn from them. It is quite the opposite. You will be focused, engaged, and at the peak of your productivity.
Look into Akamonkai Japanese Language School for the best Japanese lessons online!