Being fluent in Japanese

I want to learn Japanese as a 3rd language and I would like to know the best way to learn it and also how long will it take to be fluent. I`m Black Brit and I would like to know if there are any events or languages clubs I could attend here in the UK.Thx

Well there are so many ways like internet, clubs, schools, making Japanese friends. I did it all, started on the internet then went to University and finally joined a club and make heaps of friends.

The way I found worked the best was definitely just chatting with friends in normal every day situations but you may run into the problem I suffer from which is a lack of polite language which can be tricky if you are in a situation that requires it. My uni teacher in Japan use to just stare at me until I realized my mistake and corrected myself -.- (don't talk to your teacher in casual Japanese if you get one)

The reason for joining a class however is for grammar. My teacher told me that Japanese has a wall in learning it. Once you have the basics and feel like you're doing pretty good you actually find out you're miles away from speaking 'fluently'. This wall is the big killer and most people give up there, leaving you with enough Japanese to travel and have basic conversations but not enough for a comfortable or normal conversation. A good teacher pushing me got me over it.

Good luck! It is a beautiful language and Japan is a great country to go live in/work in/travel in.

Guest is completely correct. Learning the basics isn't hard but there is a point where that 'wall' will eventually come and it's one of the hardest things to overcome.

For example, I've been learning Japanese for about 7 years now (started at 14 and now I'm 21) and while I can hold a good conversation and easily get around in Japan, I know for a face I'm not close to fluent because of the very difficult grammar that the language uses. After all these years I refuse to just stop now so I'm still continuing no matter how frustrating it can be at times.

There are even people who have studied the language longer than me and say they never feel as if they are completely fluent and no matter how good people say they are, they never believe it. It seems like Japanese is one of those languages where no matter how much you study, 'complete fluency' always seems just out of reach.

Now that the negative stuff is out of the way, the language is a fun one to learn and the more you learn the culture only seems to become better and better.

The best thing to do is to find other people to speak with. While books and watching tv shows are good helping tools, they will never be able to help you reach fluency on their own. So a class would be the best way to go if you cannot do a homestay program in the country.

Do not focus on the goal of fluent. That might sound pretty stupid to say when trying to learn a language but I've known people who wanted to reach fluency in a time span of three years but gave up only after a few months when they realized how much work was needed to learning the language.

Honestly, just have fun with the language, don't give up, and set up small goals for yourself when you're learning. Soon those small goals will be accomplished and you'll be able to take on even bigger ones then the next thing you know is you'll be able to hold a small conversation and build from there.

Have fun learning! :)

HI! Thx for your responses. I totally get the wall part, I experience that while learning and i`m now fluent. It seems like it will be a long time before I can hold a conversation but i will do my best.I hope to reach that level before i`m too old to go to Japan.Cheers

There are alot of people you can talk to on here for free, just look in the ads.

Sorry I meant learning French, I will look at the ad cheers

French? Huh? Anyway, in regards to learning Japanese my lecturer always says that you need to remind yourself what your motivation to study it is. What about Japan gets you excited? Focus on that to help climb that wall. It's definitely a hard language but if you have that desire to reach fluency (or near enough...!), you can.

hhh:
You seem sceptical about learning French, is it a bad thing?
I don`t know if my reason for learning Japanese is stupid or shallow but I went to a Japanese restaurant on my birthday(1st time trying Japanese food) and I heard the staff speak in Japanese.It was so beautiful the way it sounded to my hear, I decided that I have to learn the language and also know if my Japanese will be as beautiful as theirs. Probably not lol but I`m still going to learn it, it`s a beautiful language.

No I'm just confused as to why you mentioned French.

Not a silly reason. It inspired you and made you want to learn. Just remember that.