In todays world where so many activities, both national and personal, occur on a global scale, the study of a language in school and beyond develops the students’ intercultural competence. It enables them to enter into a challenging intercultural exchange to broaden their perspective, to deepen their capacity to understand and ultimately to deal with the unfamiliar and the unexpected. With over 130 million native speakers and a growing number of non-native speakers, Japanese is the 10th most spoken. Many believe that mastering the Japanese language is the key to engaging with the country. For students who have never been exposed to non-Western cultures, the study of Japanese opens the door to Asia. For students, it is a venue in which to understand their cultural heritage.
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Japan has the 2nd largest economy in the world. Just by learning Japanese can bring you many business opportunities. A key in winning their business might be being able to communicate with potential customers in their own language. Understanding the Japanese work ethic, their business etiquette, and knowing which cultural faux pas to avoid can often make or break an important business deal. Also to get a better understanding of the Asian market. In addition, when learning Japanese, you become not only proficient in the language but also gain an insider view of the culture.
There is an explosion of the many cultural exports that can be found in Japan. From anime to food, karaoke to kimonos, Japanese culture is rich with both contemporary and traditional cultural ways. This unique culture determines the way they interact, react and behave in their daily lives. A knowledge of the language will give you direct access to Japanese film, animations, and comic books, give you insight into the special terminology used in your favourite martial art, and develop your ability to order sashimi like a native at your favourite Japanese restaurant!
In addition to what they learn of the language and culture, they will also acquire basic language learning strategies, higher thinking skills, and broader perspectives from their Japanese studies.
The benefits for students of learning Japanese can be considered in both the short term and the long term. In the short term, students can look forward to unique activities relating to a completely different culture from their own. They can enjoy fun activities in class, or even hosting a Japanese exchange student. There is always the motivation and pleasure of learning something new and different in Japanese. Furthermore, learning any foreign language, especially Japanese, teaches a student new learning skills, such as ways to increase concentration, memorization, and listening. Studies have shown that these new cognitive skills often improve students’ performance in other subjects as well. Finally, learning such a unique and special language often gives children a sense of self-confidence and pride they may not have had before.
In the long term, a student learns many other important things through the study of Japanese. The value of persistence and respect for other cultures are two of the most important long-term benefits. Learning any foreign language, especially one as different from English as Japanese, helps one to look more critically at one’s native language and understand it at a deeper level. Similarly, because it leads to the acquisition of critical communication skills, learning one foreign language is often a jumping-off point for people to learn other languages within their lifetime.
Opportunity is possibly the most important long-term benefit of learning Japanese. A child can make lifelong friends and increase his or her opportunity to see Japan in a way most others cannot. In the global community we now live in, having the ability to speak Japanese not only opens doors in higher education and in employment in Japan-related fields, but shows employers that one is intelligent, unique, and globally conscious.
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The newest opportunity that has arisen for students of Japanese is, of course, a chance to get ahead in college through AP Japanese. In today’s competitive collegiate environment, having taken AP courses and passed AP Exams can be a big help in getting into a better college or university. Most colleges and universities treat having passed an AP Exam as college credit, a policy that lightens students’ course loads and allows them to concentrate on other courses, earn double majors, or simply graduate in less time.
Studying Japanese means learning a language that is so different from English that it will make you rethink your most basic assumptions about the way language works. It means learning to conjugate your verbs according not just to tense but also to politeness. It means getting used to the idea that adjectives can have a past tense. It means doing without plurals, choosing among dozens of different words for “I,” and learning to wait for the verb until the very end of the sentence. Japanese is difficult in ways that European languages are not, but it is also surprisingly easy in ways that they can be difficult. There is no subjunctive mood to worry about, no grammatical gender, no definite or indefinite articles, and no complex conjugations according to person. It is also extremely easy to pronounce Japanese.
The Japanese language has a number of dialects, some of which are mutually unintelligible. Thanks to the development of mass communications and the government’s directive to establish a common language, however, most people now speak a common tongue.
Learning Japanese can and will open many door for you in the future. You just have try your best and have a goal and strive towards it.
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