How can I practice speaking Japanese?
I recommend convincing one (or more) siblings and/or friends to
join you on your Japanese adventure. It will be of great benefit to
both of you. See "JIP Part 1" for a list of reasons why learning
Japanese is a good idea. Print it out and give it to them! If you
have a younger sibling (under the age of 7) you'll have an easy
time convincing them.
Don't be afraid to mess up. You need to practice, and you must
use your skills often if you want to make them a part of you.
That's why kids learn so quickly - they just dive in and don't worry
about how hard it's supposed to be. They don't worry about what
it sounds like to a native English speaker, or anything like that.
They don't set limits on how much they can learn each day.
If all else fails, try chatting with Japanese people on the Internet.
There are several places you can go:
Wbs.net
MSN chat rooms support Japanese text and there are
hundreds of Japanese rooms
You might want to check out the Japanese newsgroups, which all
begin with "japan" or "fj". There are hundreds of them. I'm sure
you'll find several Japanese people to chat with. Many will want
to practice their English with you! Often you will talk in Japanese
to them, and they'll talk English to you. Other times, you both talk
Japanese. It depends on the person! Japanese people are very
forgiving when it comes to Americans speaking their language. In
America, we make fun of people that can't speak English
perfectly. However, Japanese people are not that rude. On the
contrary, they consider English to be "exotic" and "cool". They all
have taken it in high school, but few become proficient enough to
speak it.
Tip 3 - Practice Speaking It
Try to practice throughout the day. I like to speak Japanese all
the time, if only to myself. When I'm looking for my shoes, it's too
boring to say "Where are my shoes?". I'll say it in Japanese
instead, "kutsu wa doko ni aru?" It makes Japanese seem more
like a familiar language. Even though I know the words in that
sentence like the back of my hand, it still helps to be using
"Japanese" that often. After several months, Japanese seems
very "friendly", even though there are still words and sentences I
don't understand.
Without going too deep into the topic of how kids learn, (a very
fascinating topic that I could talk about all day) I will just say one
thing. You want to TRY to be as childlike as possible when
learning a language. Yes, your brain isn't as "absorbent" as it
was at the age of 5, but look at the bright side! You would have a
much harder time if you waited until age 60 to start! Try to
