What Now? - Advanced Language Learning
So you have mastered the basics of Japanese/your language of choice (well maybe not mastered, but those lower level books and websites have certainly become less overwhelming). Now what?
There usually comes a slump where you are too advanced for beginner level learning but fluency and native-level reading are still a bit out of your grasp. How do you keep progressing when it feels like you don’t have enough textbook study material or you don’t know where to go from here?
The answer is that you have to be creative and self-motivated! This is where I’ve seen many language learners end their journey because other things get in the way and they drop off on their progress. You have to start getting creative about how you learn, but the key is not to stop learning. This is how I got past the slump and improved my Japanese even when I finished university.
Proficiency Exam Practice
Try JLPT (Japanese Language Proficiency Test) or other proficiency exam practice workbooks. These provide a good structured learning schedule and show you where you could use some more practice. They go up to N1, so you will be able to continue to use them even as you get more advanced.
I can guarantee you don’t know all the words, so keep learning new words. If it helps to you write new words in a notebook or in a document, or to make flash cards, do that (I’m a write-it-down-in-a-notebook kinda person). You don’t have to do a giant list of vocabulary words every day. If you think of/hear/read a word you don’t know, look it up as soon as you can, and note it down. Practice using it in a sentence and try to incorporate it into your next conversation.
Whether it’s a tumblr post, a diary entry just for yourself, or a message to someone on HelloTalk, start writing. It can be every day, every week, every month, but just write something. If you can get a native speaker to correct it that’s even better, but if not at least you have put your own thoughts in another language on the page (or screen). This helps you form sentences and think in a different language.
Reading in another language can be daunting, but since you have mastered the basics you will be a pro. You don’t have to sit and read a novel for hours. You can read a short article, someone’s Twitter (this will be challenging because of slang and dialect), or a label on some food. You can read children’s books or brand websites or captions on Instagram photos.
This can be yourself, your stuffed animals, your pets, your roommate who doesn’t speak Japanese at all. Just speaking and forming sentences is important to improving your speaking skills. Talk about everyday things, and use words and grammar you know. Revise grammar that you don’t remember as well. It’s best if you have someone who is a native speaker or at least studying the same language, so that you have some kind of feedback. This isn’t always possible, so instead you can watch a YouTuber you like and repeat after them to practice pronunciation, sentence structure, etc.
When you started learning Japanese you never thought you would be able to read Murakami Haruki in the original Japanese, or write a blog in Japanese, or be able to keep up with the news in Japanese? If you have always wanted to challenge yourself, now is the time. You might have to keep looking up words or ask a native speaker to check your writing, but doing something outside of your comfort zone is a good way to push yourself. If it’s a big task, break it up into smaller bits of time. Don’t burn yourself out, but set a goal for yourself. Maybe you just want to read the first chapter of a novel you’ve read in English. Maybe you want to write simple sentences that you know are grammatically correct. Whatever it is, make it a manageable goal, and pat yourself on the back when you realize that you’re actually a lot further than you thought. In order to improve, it’s important to do something that is at a higher level so that you can break out of a rut.
I wish you the best of luck in your language learning adventure!
