Continuing learning kanji by myself, I found that I didn’t get much progress. It is exactly the same as what my English teacher made me do in Junior High School, i.e. memorizing word lists!
You don`t retain your memory of new words, or in my case new Kanji, unless you start to use it in your daily life. I went on reading elementary school story books to get familiar with Kanji and new vocabularies. But, on the writing side, I didn`t know what to do to practice well. My Japanese grammar and vocabularies were not enough to write even a small piece of Diary entry!
At the same time, I gave birth to my daughter and entering child rearing phase of my life. It took up so much time and energy, so that by the time I sit to do my Japanese, I was already exhausted. I was also thinking of getting back to work, and this time I need some level of Japanese. And so, I decided to enroll in an intensive Japanese Class.
Looking back, I think there are few considerations on deciding when to enroll into a Language school:
1. When “Teach Yourself” method is no longer working
Or, when it is so slow and taking up so much time that we feel frustrated. In my case, I needed new environment too, taking a small break from caring a little baby, and to give some time to take care of my own growth.
From my experience, “teaching yourself” method is good as a start. You have full control on deciding your goals and ways to achieve them, also on adjusting to your situations, needs and wants. Nobody set a curriculum for you, so you are free to set it and be flexible about it. Flexibility is important, you need to accept the fact that you will not go exactly as you planned, so when you do, you don’t give up and quit. You set back a little, but still going forward, making adjustments here and there.
When you don`t feel like going, or simply stuck, switching to learning in a language class or just taking up tutoring sessions is better than feeling frustrated, which can lead you to abandoning your learning.
2. When you know quite much but not enough
And you don`t know how to progress from that point you’re on. Some experts call it “the intermediate plateau”.
When I enrolled into the Japanese Language School, I told them that I have been learning by myself for sometime. And when they showed me my placement test result, they said it was difficult to decide which class was best for me.
It turned out that I scored high on some sections but really low on some others. Something like I can go to intermediate level on grammar, but beginner level on Kanji writing. The teacher also told me, I knew few Kanjis on higher level but forgot some on medium level. I was good at reading aloud but I didn’t have good reading comprehension. Confusing, right? no wonder I was stuck.
In the end, I was offered the intermediate upper class, noting that I should catch up (by learning on my own, with my teacher’s recommended learning materials) on some parts where I was lagging behind my classmates. I took the class for 2 terms (three months each), and at the end of the term I could pass the second level of Japanese Language Proficiency Test (N2).
3. When you know you need to change your methods, but you don’t know how to
Going back to “teach yourself” method after taking two terms at the Japanese Language School, I was able to pass the highest level of Japanese Language Proficiency Test (N1) in 6 months!
The key to this success was that I learned the best method that fits my style of learning in that school. Also my teachers kindly supplied me with materials that I can best work on.
The biggest advantage of learning in a language school is that you are connected to your teachers; the persons with the experience of teaching and familiarity with a wide variety of publications in language learning/teaching.
Before leaving the school, I was sure to keeping contact with my teachers and have their advice on my learning journey. Also, after I quit the Japanese Language School, I applied for having a free tutor at a Japanese-Foreigner friendship NPO.
Having a tutor is also a great way to help you going forward with your learning. My Tutor happened to be a professor who was very eager to help me learn Japanese History and Culture. The best part of working with a tutor is that the tutor will strive on levelling to your skill. So you will always have a partner on the same ground and going up together.
Getting new insights from learning in a language school or through a tutoring session will give you wider perspective. It is like looking around while standing up on a giant’s shoulder, it is definitely better than standing on your own toes.
At least for some amount of time!
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