Self-StuDYING!!

So for quite some time now I have been self-studying Japanese. It has been an interesting journey with a lot of bumps along the way … Since this is something that I am doing out of my own free will, it is sometimes difficult to motivate myself to actually sit down and study. (Which is my biggest problem when it comes to self-studying ...)

Another struggle I have encountered while learning Japanese is speaking the language. Anyone who has ever studied a language before will know my struggle when I say that speaking a foreign language is SUPER difficult. You have to think in the language you are trying to speak, because translating from your native language into your target language in your head does not work when you are speaking to someone. You don’t have time to think before you have to construct a sentence, in contrast to when you are writing for example. So speaking Japanese is definitely not my strong side.

What I am good at on the other hand is reading Japanese, thanks to my love of books and my very patient doggie that always listens when I read children’s books for him.

So in conclusion; I have gotten to the point where my Japanese knowledge seems impressive to non-speakers of the language, but for those who speak it fluently, I look utterly pathetic …  (The more reason to keep studying it, right??)

Love, Amelié