Ben Learns Japanese: Day 3 - How to Learn a Language

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Before you start to take on learning a language, you need to understand how to do so. So I wrote this guide on what to know and do before you learn a language.

Goals

Before you start to learn a language you must know why you want to learn that language, and how far do you want to get. For me, I love Japanese culture and food and I really want to go there one day, and I also am fascinated with linguistics and I want to learn tons of languages. After learning Japanese, I want to learn Mandarin Chinese, German, Arabic, and maybe Korean. Although I doubt I will ever learn that many languages, I want to try.

You also need to know what level you want to get to. You might say "fluent," but what does that mean. What does the word fluent mean to you. For me it means I can speak comfortably about a any topic without delay, but that is a very hard level to reach and can take years. For most language learners I would advise using CEF levels, which are fluency levels. I am shooting for B2 in Japanese, but Japan has it's own levels for the JLPT, or Japanese Language Proficiency Test. I am aiming for an N2 speaking level in fluency.

Parts of Language

When you are learning a language you need to understand the things you will need to learn. Spoken language can mostly be broken down to vocabulary and grammar.

Vocabulary

To become fluent in a language you don't need to know too much, you just need to know common words. In Japanese, the first 1000 most common words make up almost 75% of conversation, and the first 3000 make almost 85%. So in order to be able to communicate about common things you only really need 1000-3000 words.

Grammar

When you start learning a language you will need some grammar. I would recommend learning the basic grammar of the language right away so you are able to form sentences and have basic conversations. Later on, as you progress you should learn more grammar along the way to have more advanced conversations.

2 Approaches

In Language learning there are 2 major approaches. The polyglot(someone who knows several languages) Steve Kaufmann, creator of the language learning website LingQ, believes in a listening and reading approach, where from day 1 you need to read as much as you can in your target language and listen as much as you can, and his approach has worked for him. Another polyglot, Benny Lewis, creator of the website and book Fluent in 3 Months, believes in a speaking approach, often using the phrase "Speak from day one" on his website. Both of these are effective approaches to learn a language and I will be using the ladder, speaking. Benny Lewis recommends having many conversations with native speakers. That is why I will be having weekly lessons and conversations with my tutor.

What I don't recommend

I don't recommend going out and buying the most expensive language learning tool like Rosetta Stone or Pimsleur to learn a language, because these don't make you instantly make you fluent and they waste a lot of money. What you need to realize is that learning a language takes a lot of work. I would recommend going online, and research what tools people are using to learn your language. What websites are the best? What textbooks are good? Any advice can help. After that make an educated decision to maybe buy a textbook or a subscription on a language learning website.