I studied Japanese incredibly hard for about 5 years. My first 2 years were textbook only and so when I got to Japan, my Japanese was weak. I could understand a lot of what I saw but I couldn't speak.
I spent the next 3 years studying and speaking in local cafes and quiet bars that played music I liked. I would study from the textbook for an hour or two and then speak to whoever was around for an hour or two.
It was nice, I made a bunch of friends in the process and fell in love with Japan's local businesses. I spent a lot of money to eat out every day, but actually looking at it holistically, I probably saved money considering entertainment and Japanese classes was all wrapped in. I barely went out besides this and I learned way more than I could have in school.
Before I lived in Japan a total of 5 years, the first 3 studying very hard, and the last two focused more on other things. Before I left I could read novels fairly quickly (at about 75% speed of my English). I could speak about any topic with a near native accent albeit limited vocabulary. Listening and vocabulary were my weak points. There were always a lot of words I didn't understand in conversation, particularly conversation about high-level topics.
I could always understand people when they talked to me but I never understood when they talked to each other. It was probably partially because I was more focused on what they were saying, partially because I knew the context and partially because people avoided using excessive difficult expressions with me.
I was gone for 6 years and barely studied or spoke the whole time. It's not always easy to find Japanese people overseas, especially people interested in art and music and weird hippie shit like me.
After 6 years....
I came back in 2018 and slowly adjusted to life here without much Japanese study. I can speak alright and understand daily life things, but there are a lot of times I'll adjust what I'm saying to compensate for words I don't know. I forgot words like "brush your hair", I mix up "police officer" and "police station", and I completely forget polite Japanese.
It's not a big problem for me because I mostly speak English at work and my friends and neighborhood are all rather casual, plus the younger generation doesn't care as much about being polite all the time.
Still I want to start a company here or at least be able to communicate more naturally.
I think I've forgotten about 30% of my vocabulary, mostly words I didn't use in daily conversation...some technical, some quite common, lots and lots of adverbs. Adverbs were the easiest to forget. Forgot a ton of idioms and expressions too.
My basic grammar is intact but some complex grammar structures don't come to me and I make a few more mistakes.
My pronunciation is about 90% what it used to be but I speak a little slower and less smoothly than before.
My reading is way worse, I read about half the speed I used to and with a lot less confidence. This is the most noticeable difference.
I've decided to get back to studying. Just got these 6 massive textbooks from beginner to advanced level, all by a Chinese publisher. They are literally the best textbooks I've used. I wish they were available in English. They are organized so well for absorbing information (especially after the beginner level) and they account for all kinds of nuances in the grammar. They are not easy but they have everything you need to speak fluently.
I decided to start from the first book and speed through to review everything and make sure ALL my basic grammar is SOLID. There are tiny things I need work on. I finished 12/25 chapters in 3 days in the first book and there have already been around 50 words I needed to review. There were also 2 grammar points I needed to practice a tiny bit.
If I hadn't lost anything, I would probably be at the beginning of the advanced level, book 5. As it stands I think I'll be able to get to book 3 in less than a month and then slow down a whole lot. Right now I study 2-5 chapters a day. I'll spend a week or two to review after the first two textbooks.
I will probably study 1 chapter a day when I get to intermediate level. I imagine I will end up spending 2 weeks on each chapter in the advanced level. the grammar is pretty hard core and I want to make sure I really learn it, and not just superficially.
Here is my word review list btw:
教授 研修生 小企業 名産 手帳 売り場 売店
遊園地 消防署 八百屋 警察署 居間 洗面所 寝室
屋根 絨毯 包丁 体重計 まな板 洗剤 布巾
歯ブラシ 乾燥機 便器 座布団 歓迎会 夕べ 研修
速達 航空便 送信者 受信者 件名 日時 宛先
急行 禁煙席 喫煙席 横断禁止 一時停止 彫刻 ラッキョウ
万里の長城 髪をとかす 行ってまいります
If you are interested enough to know which words I understand but never feel comfortable using, you can use google translate to get an idea ;-P
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