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For whatever reason, life just got in the way. Perhaps you got involved in other extracurricular activities that took more time out of your life. Perhaps you got married and had kids, which had to take precedence. Or perhaps you had to start adulting and get a job.
Whatever the reason, you got the itch to learn Japanese again. For that, let me commend you for taking this first step... again.
Actually, this is more fairly common that you might think. I get a lot of former learners that are looking to restart their studies. And I don't judge these students for what caused their Japanese Journey's interruption.
But if you are thinking about restarting your Japanese Journey, you might have some questions on where to begin. Should you pick off where you last left off, or should you just "restart your game"?
Let's take a look at some things to consider.
How Long Have You Been Out of Japanese?
This should be the first question that you should ask yourself.
In general, the longer you have been out of Japanese, the higher the chance that you are probably not going to retain much of the information that you have learned. Now, there are some students that I have encountered that (for some reason I cannot explain as a teacher, but perhaps there is a psychological reason behind it) just pick up where they left off. Like their skills were in some dormant state, they just reactivate it.
But in most general cases, most students that have taken long breaks from their studies usually have a tendency to regress in their studies. This is to be expected as not using certain skills that you once learned will be replaced with other things you learned since then.
Based off what I have seen with students, if a student has been out of Japanese for at least a year, I have them start at the beginning. If they were Intermediate and above, I give them at least two years, but I will not force them at the beginning of Japanese. Now if they show serious regression, I would encourage them to restart at the beginning.
What Sort of Materials Have You Used to Learn Japanese?
This is sort of controversial, as there are some Japanese learning materials that I use and I will continue to advocate for (To those who do not know, we use the Genki Series here at Simple Gaijin, along with a myriad of other materials that I provide to the students).
If you used the Genki series, I can easily take care of you and help you relearn or recall what you have learned in the past. If you used another book, it depends on what book. I have taught students at Southern Methodist University (SMU) in Dallas where students use the Nakama series. But I have never taught anyone using Minna no Nihongo or Youkoso, though I am confident in my abilities to use them should I look at their content.
But, one thing that I am not as confident on for students if they use apps, media, games, anime, or manga. As such, there are too many to count to give me a solid vote of confidence of them. While I am sure there might be some great apps out there, the vast majority of Japanese learning apps do not cut the mustard when it comes to serious learners.
One example is Duolingo. While Duolingo might be fine for learning Spanish or French, the Japanese program of Duolingo, from what prospective and current students of mine tell me, is a headache to use and learn. Based on what they have told me, entering correct answers is always finicky, there are "set ways" to write sentences, and lack of detailed explanations to help students learn why they made a mistake.
As such, i tend to use dedicated textbooks and other learning materials from well established publishers, authors that have expertise, and other materials from reputable universities that have established Japanese programs. If you have this under your belt, you may be in a better spot than those who just use media to learn Japanese.
Again, while media is still very much a necessary thing to learn any foreign language, you need to make sure that you are using the right kind of materials.
Being Honest With Yourself: Can You Admit To Yourself That You (Most Likely) Might Have Regressed?
This is probably the most brutal conversation a returning student needs to do with themselves prior to them resuming their studies. If you cannot come to terms that you have (most likely) regressed in your progress, you may be in for a very rude awakening when you have returned to your previous "check point", only to find out that you cannot even remember basic vocabulary or grammar.
If you can accept this, then it might be alright to take a few steps back and start at the beginning to review and get back up to speed. It's no different than playing a beloved video game that you haven't played in years. Perhaps you could start at the point where you last left off, but it still might be in your best interest to start in the beginning to relearn all the controls and acquire the skills you need to get back to where you were, and perhaps with the right teacher and materials, you can skill up even further.
Are You Gonna Stick With It This Time Around?
Perhaps this is the only question that I cannot answer. Every student that left Japanese before might possibly do it again later down the line.
It's easy to fall into a habit of quitting something you have done before. I am guilty with this myself in my own personal fitness journey. While I personally love to exercise, due to outside influences (mostly), I get discouraged by how people tell me how I "should" workout by their own methods.
This is no different. While I may teach you Japanese, I am only here to give you the knowledge. How you study and how you want to approach Japanese is entirely up to you. But are you gonna stick with it? You might run into "Japanese influencers" that tell you that "you can learn Japanese in 3 months" or telling you things that Japanese is "easy to learn".
Let's be real here. No foreign language is easy to learn. Take a look at this chart from the US State Department, which have actually ranked what languages are easiest to learn... and which are difficult.
Unsurprisingly, Japanese IS the hardest language to learn. Even more so than Arabic, Chinese, and Korean. It takes more than 88 weeks to become "Proficient" in Japanese, and even then, how do you define "proficiency"?
But regardless of that, the question is, are you willing to take 88 weeks of your life to have a shot of becoming "proficient" (which could be anywhere from Low - Intermediate to Advanced - Low if we are using the ACTFL's model for proficiency.
Let's also not forget about life in general too. Sure you got an obligation to your family and to your work as well. But don't forget there are 168 hours in a week. How many hours can you delegate per week to continue your studies?
If you got family obligations, make sure that you take care of them. Same with work. But you might have more hours in the week to spare for other activities, Japanese classes and studies included.
What Does Simple Gaijin Recommend?
Truly speaking, it really depends what you want to do. If you feel comfortable hitting the reset button for your Japanese studies, then perhaps starting from the beginning might be the best thing you can do to restart your studies.
If you are more dead set in starting where you left off, then you need to prove to yourself first that you have the maturity and the willpower to relearn stuff on your own if you need to. But this is not recommended by me because it is a very quick way to burn yourself out and further push Japanese away from you.
If you aren't sure, I am available for a consultation phone call. 214-892-3207 by phone or text or email at mike@simplegaijin.com . I am always willing to help a student who is lost to help them get back on the right track, regardless if they sign up for lessons with me or not.
So what say you guys? What would you do, or are you going through this right now? Leave a comment below, or call or email me! I'd love to hear your stories and thoughts!
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