I was recently put in my place this last December with the JLPT 4 test. I wrote it about it in “Why my JLPT Fail was Still a Win“. It was a very eye opening experience and a great motivational experience.
The biggest problem with it is not being able to convey my how I felt afterward to others in my class. It really is one of those things you have to experience to understand. It isn’t completely a bad feeling just one of disappointment in yourself, and the wanting to do better next time. Today friends and classmates in our local college Japanese Language club got to feel the same thing, finally.
I don’t say this to be mean at all, but our class lives in a bubble in the middle of the United States. Not a lot of opportunity to speak and practice Japanese. If you want to figure out what level you are at it probably wont happen easily unless you actively seek it out. Most people in my class don’t. What happened today burst that bubble for many and let them see the bigger one they were inside of. So I guess you are curios what happened.
On Monday I went to The Tulsa Japanese Language and Culture Meetup. It was an awesome experience since there are a couple of fluent speakers some middle of the road and me, at the bottom. Anyway, I mentioned the college club and invited the others to come if they wanted to. Well one of the fluent speakers showed up, lets call her Sarah. I was excited she showed up because she could really contribute to the group with her speaking ability. My teacher seemed excited about this too and they held a few conversations at breakneck speed in front of everyone.
While I was listening to the conversations I saw the exact expression showing up which was showing up on my face during the JLPT. The “what in the world have I gotten myself into” look. It was also awesome for Sarah to be fluent as an extra motivator to show it can be done for sure.
After the meeting I asked several people how they felt about what they just experienced, and all of them basically told me they felt like someone destroyed their brain. The best way I know to put it is they now know their place in side this bubble that is Japanese language, with me along with them.
Fortunately not one person was defeated and everyone is motivated to learn more now that they realize truly how far there is still left to go, which means good things are going to happen this year with the club.
So in conclusion to all this if you are learning try to find a couple of people that are fluent and listen to them talk in person if at all possible. It is totally different to listen to 2 people talk in person than from a computer now matter how much I or you might want to argue to the contrary. Never be discouraged by what you don’t know just realize there is something else to learn and next time you will know it.
maja (1)
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I kind of know how you feel. I may have done 4 months of Japanese but I still can’t see the end no matter how far I looked. I do know that I have progressed though. It’s kind of funny how I looked at a video 4 months ago and I had no idea what they were saying. Now I have an idea of what their talking about. That to me at least encouraged me that I know something at the very least. You and me have a long road to go through but it doesn’t have to be hard just consistent.
It's definitely good to have these sort of things to keep you realistic about how much effort and time learning a language takes, but almost important to break that huge goal down into smaller, more manageable pieces. Just as I mentioned to many reader's dismay in another comment, I still don't consider myself fluent even after 7 1/2 years. Why? Because I get the same feeling you did when I'm put in a council meeting or some high-level businesslike conversation. I still have a long, long way to go…
It can be depressing if you only focus on that, which is why you must always try to think back to what your level was at some point in the past. When you looked at hiragana and saw squiggles, or when you flicked through a manga and only ever looked at the pictures. Doing that will help get you back some perspective.
One thing I can say though, with some positivity for you, is that the first year or two are the hardest along your journey. After that, progress becomes easier. You will have a realisation at some point that, even though you're not perfect, you can somewhat get by with basic conversation. Then after that will come another realisation that you understand most of what is being said in casual chit-chat. And then that you just read a manga without really trying. And so on and so forth.
So, by all means be aware of your 'place', but don't think about it too seriously for the first year or two. Hard study and exposure everyday over a period of time is necessary to become accustomed to a new language like Japanese. Throw yourself into it and before you know it, you'll have emerged at a higher place as if by accident.
On the other hand, I probably wouldn't understand a high-level business or council meeting even if it was in Swedish. Fluent to me is when you're able to engage in daily conversations and being able to discuss things at a higher level, but not necessary in a topic you don't know anything about.