RoryJ's Weekly Ramble

Post-JLPT Plans

A Few days removed from the JLPT N1 and it's time to start the next goal. I've been watching a lot of videos on effective ways to absorb (I always want to use the word apprendre (to learn)) new language but I think my base in Italian is weirdly strong in combination with French and English. So my plan is as follows, I am going to combine some methods from several YouTubers I watch like Days and Words, LanguageJones, Alexandre Arguelles, Lindie Botes, Language Stories, and polýMATHY.

I think the combination of these learners' techniques will be a really good way to synthesize new information and allow it to permeate through me enabling me to speak earlier and more fluently. My goal is to be able to speak with a strong Italian accent, fluidly and understand 80%+ of content that I would like to engage with (history, politics, sports) in 1 calendar year - so December 2026. Here's how I'm going to do it and what I've already done.

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Thoughts on Long-term Pursuit of Goals

At some point I started caring way too much about receiving a certification for my language abilities. It made sense in the past when I intended on uprooting my life and transplanting myself on the other side of the world, these days not so much. Mostly a vanity plate that lets me tell people something about myself that I mostly don't even find impressive anymore. A test that once felt absolutely insurmountable now firmly within reach.

It's hard for me to express how annoying it feels to spend over 12 years studying off and on, grinding away at vocabulary, kanji characters, foreign grammar and multiple study abroad experiences. The time passed so quickly, and yet I firmly remember the start, middle and end.

I've frequently lamented the friends I made and lost along the way; who shared my goals of becoming fluent in the Japanese language. There was a profound belief that we would all become fluent, move to Japan and stay close friends. Definitely one of the saddest parts of growing up is realizing that most of that is still up to you to actually follow through with, and plans among a group fall apart quite quickly when someone realizes they're in over their head or is no longer interested in continuing to follow "the dream".

t's a difficult task to quantify how important studying this language has been for me. It's given me a sense of direction, presented me with new ways to learn more about another corner of this world. And at the same time it's brought me strife and anxiety over whether or not I would ever be able to use it professionally. Which makes it even sillier that I've now been lucky enough to be able to travel to Japan multiple times, utilizing the language to get around, speak with locals, help other tourists amongst other experiences. I've also been able to use it at my current job, speaking with our Japanese employees and practicing my spoken skill in my home country. It's a surreal experience every time I open my mouth and the sounds of a language that isn't mine fall out, and do so in the correct order.

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