Learning a foreign language as an adult is a funny thing. Growing up, you may assume that long hours of manga and anime consumption have given you a strong foundation in the basics of the Japanese language. As an adult, it becomes evident that using samurai speak or your favourite One-Piece quotes will only get you that far in modern society.
Adulthood brings with it self-awareness.
You cringe when you make a mistake. You cringe when you repeat that mistake.
And then you worry about cringing and making mistakes, so you adopt the ‘lay
low’ strategy to your language learning. If you don’t talk to anyone, no one
will discover your level of mediocrity after all.
Is there a formula to learn Japanese?
There is, it constitutes your blood, sweat
and… well, not really. The formula to learn Japanese is to work on your
aptitude in good old reading, writing, listening and speaking Japanese by using
the building blocks of kanji, vocabulary and grammar.
At Kyoto Institute of Culture and Language
(KICL), the regular classes help you improve these but also facilitate the fine
tuning of several other nuances. From beginner to advanced, all the classes are
conducted entirely in Japanese. The teachers organize pronunciation drills,
reading aloud exercises and other techniques that help you improve your
language bit by bit.
A Day in the Life
A day in the school might go something like
this: some pronunciation drills, reading practice, followed by enacting a manga
with your classmates. Short breaks between lessons give you ample time to catch
up with your mates from other classes or look at the cats gathered on the ‘cat
stairs’, then get a glimpse of Kyoto’s hills from atop one of the many
stairways on campus. Perhaps you are enrolled in an elective class for the
afternoon and spend some time learning more about Kyoto’s exquisite culture,
practicing some calligraphy or trying to read a Japanese newspaper.
Calligraphy
Practice – Writing the Kanji for ‘Holiday’ (休日)
KICL encourages you to step outside the
classroom and put your newly acquired Japanese knowledge into real life
practice, whilst building new friendships and having a good time.
On top of the regular lessons, the school,
by its affiliation to the Kyoto University of Art and Design (KUAD), offers a
wide range of opportunities to truly activate a Japanese frame of mind you
didn’t know you had. The university may be organizing a free animation
screening, or an interactive performance-oriented lecture about Japan’s
traditional arts. You might join one of the clubs for a game or two of say,
badminton. On your way, you might see one of the many exhibitions by the
students from various disciplines. Whatever your interest, the university gives
you sparks to ignite your inspiration.
A
view of Kyoto from atop one of the university’s many stairways
The Challenges
Stairways
going up and down at KUAD
There are several frustrations that come
with learning a foreign language. You may be horrified at how the Japanese
version of you sounds like a five-year-old in the short essays you must hand
out every week. When are you going to stop writing about cats? In conversation,
your haphazard sentences end up bringing to light the large holes in your
vocabulary. Your basic knowledge of kanji makes the city look like a jigsaw
puzzle. Why does even a regular place like the supermarket make you feel like
you are in an alternate game reality where you need to cross levels of kanji
excellence until you are able to buy the washing detergent you came for?
Expression can be limited, particularly, as
all your schoolmates are trying to communicate with each other in a language
that no one feels 100% comfortable in. For English is not the common language
at KICL, Japanese is. Your Taiwanese, Thai, Korean or Chinese classmates may be
more familiar with their own native tongues than in English.
Activating your hidden Japanese mode
Despite all the challenges of learning
Japanese, the school is a safe ground. The teachers are always ready to help
and offer tips. The office staff are kind and approachable. And all your
schoolmates, irrespective of their backgrounds and their motivations, are bound
together by a passion for learning the Japanese language.
It helps that the school is in Kyoto. Turn
a corner on the wide street and chances are you will find yourself in front of
a temple that is thousands of years old. There is nothing quite like the stillness of a
shrine at dusk or a long walk by the river as a tanuki scuttles past.
Autumn
colours by the river
As you start participating in different
activities with your new friends from all over the world, playing games
together, singing karaoke, hiking, visiting a shrine, participating in a
festival, it becomes easier to communicate with each other, Japanese level
notwithstanding.
Welcome
party for some of the new students, autumn 2019
Students at KICL may have learnt some
Japanese before coming here. But being here and truly immersing yourself in the
Japanese way of life, will likely reveal a hidden Japanese mode. The mode that
allows you to forget about any embarrassment at making mistakes as an adult and
instead enjoy the fascinating journey of learning the Japanese language. Learn,
and have fun while learning. Then, rinse and repeat. If there ever was a best
way to learn Japanese, this is probably it.
(Sneha Nagesh is a new student in the
upper intermediate 2 class at KICL. Prior to coming here, she studied Japanese
on and off for a few years in London)
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