Departments
October 10, 2007
"How long will it take me to learn Japanese?"
This is a question that I often hear from people who have just picked up a beginner’s Japanese textbook, or enrolled in a Japanese language class at their local university.
This is a perfectly reasonable inquiry. The study of a foreign language requires a substantial investment of time and effort, and a moderate amount of money. Before taking the leap, most people want to know what sort of return they can expect on their investment, and about how long it will take to realize that return.
Before I answer, let me clarify my beginning assumptions. First of all, I am going to assume that the study of Japanese isn’t your fulltime job.
One of my college acquaintances completed the U.S. Navy’s training program in Mandarin. For him and his navy classmates, language study literally was a fulltime job. They spent eight hours per day in classes, plus a few hours each night on homework.
If this describes your routine, then you will have a completely different timetable. I am going to assume that you are fitting your study of Japanese in between other activities: either work, or the study of another university major that isn’t related to the Japanese language.
But I am going to assume that you are serious in your efforts. This means studying at least one or two hours per day, with some extra blocks of time thrown in on the weekend. This time need not be consecutive, nor does it all have to be spent in class, the language lab, or the library. Time spent listening to a Vocabulearn or Pimsleur CD during your commute counts. The hour that you spend reviewing kanji while listening to the radio also counts. (For more information about fitting language study into your daily routine, consider my book, Why You Need a Foreign Language & How to Learn One.)
So given these root assumptions, I will predict the following rate of progress for you. This is based on my own experience learning Japanese, and my assessments of many other native English-speakers who have learned the language:
Six months: By this time, you should be able to handle basic greetings, and converse on simple topics (your nationality, how long you’ve been studying Japanese, etc.) You should be comfortable reading hiragana and katakana. Your knowledge of kanji will still be spotty, but you should be able to pick many characters out of a newspaper article, for example.
1 year: You should now be able to handle simple conversations with ease, though you will still struggle with abstract and complex topics. You can now make your way through a newspaper and at least catch the gist of each article (though you still have to refer frequently to a dictionary and a kanji guide.)
2 years: By now you should have a good working knowledge of Japanese. You can read most of the articles in a typical newspaper. Conservations with native Japanese speakers require them to make only minimal concessions to your abilities.
After 2 years: The road from proficient to “articulate” takes longer. You will need to spend a lot of time reading Japanese texts, absorbing new vocabulary, and sharpening your listening skills.
A somewhat analogous process takes place with your own language. You spoke and read basic English by the time you were ten years old. However, unless you were an extremely gifted ten-year-old, you still had a long way to go before you reached your current grasp of English.
As you progress, it is essential that you not become satisfied with mere proficiency. Make articulate Japanese your goal.