Previously, I discussed how to not be afraid of making mistakes when learning foreign languages. I also briefly discussed how to use your mistakes to learn and become more proficient. This time, I want to discuss how I personally feel that learning Japanese has helped me, both professionally and recreationally.

I learned Japanese at a university level while also living in Japan. As I spent some time in the United States Marine Corps, I was 23 years old when I started university and studying Japanese at this level. Since I had been stationed in Okinawa for just a week short of three years, however, I had been exposed to the language for several years prior to beginning my formal study, so I already knew a small amount. This, actually, is where the story really begins, even before my professional education in Japanese.

I no longer remember how, but I somehow learned a small amount of Japanese when I was living in Okinawa. It was not very much, but I still ended up using it quite often; none of my friends knew any Japanese at all, although two of them did later begin to study. Naturally, as the only person around who had anything resembling fluency in the language, I was often brought along when my friends went into town, and I was often used as a convenient translator. I was occasionally not able to say very much, and sometimes I would end up realizing that I had the ability to do things like ask for directions but not actually be able to understand the directions that I received, but I was generally able to help my friends whenever they needed it.

More recently, however, and as covered previously, I studied Japanese professionally at school and have used my skills both at work and for enjoyment. As I work at a Japanese company that is staffed by Japanese people, I use Japanese every time I am at work. Sometimes I may fumble with my words a bit when speaking, especially with more technical terms, and I do occasionally research what I want to say in advance to ensure that I am saying it correctly, but I have never had difficulties when expressing myself at work to the point. In addition to discussing matters with my coworkers, however, I do also use my Japanese skills to explain things to my students quite frequently. This sort of flexibility is something that allows me to be able to explain more difficult subjects to my students and help them to better understand what I am teaching them.

As for how studying a foreign language has been beneficial to me for my own enjoyment outside of work, there are quite a few examples. Simply being here in Japan and being able to use Japanese when I go to places that I want to go is one of them. I go to Akihabara to look for and buy old video games on a regular basis. When I am in the various stores in Akiba, I will often take the time to converse with the staff at the stores if they are not very busy at the time. As I particularly like rare games and accessories that are hard to come by, I often ask the staff how often they see these rare games or accessories and end up having long conversations about those rare items, whether the store actually has them in stock or not.

Additionally, since this is Japan and all of the games here are almost entirely in Japanese, that is the language in which I have been playing games recently. Before I studied, there is no way that I could have understood and enjoyed the games that I have bought, as I wouldn’t have understood anything, but I have recently discovered that I can actually understand and enjoy Japanese media in Japanese without the aid of any sort of English subtitles or other external translations. Through this experience, I have also learned a decent amount of new kanji, and playing games in Japanese has also greatly increased the speed at which I am able to read in Japanese, as well. This, then, goes back to something that I mentioned before; practice is important. If you are willing to put in the effort to practice, you will likely find that your abilities will increase. I am fortunate that I have a fun way of increasing my ability to read Japanese, so if you struggle with studying any language, find something that you enjoy doing and try to do that activity in that language, as you may find it to be both enjoyable and good practice.