Before studying abroad, I had never taken a language class, even back in middle and high school. It was actually something I regretted, and one of the reasons I wanted to study somewhere that English wasn’t the main language, so I chose Japan. I was fortunate that since Japan’s semesters are at different times, I had about three months to learn as much Japanese as I could cram in before leaving in late March. I bought a textbook, started by learning both of the alphabets, practiced pronouncing the new sounds we don’t have in English, and began diving into the lessons on my own. Eventually I would even practice my pronunciation by speaking into a translator app until it could understand what I was saying in Japanese. I made it a good ways through the book, completing 10 of the 12 lessons, and was feeling pretty good about it.
Even with all the effort I had put in, when I arrived in Japan, I was scared to speak Japanese to anyone. I was worried nobody would be able to understand me, that maybe I had taught myself wrong or hadn’t worked on pronunciation enough. I had flown in the day before being picked up by our program manager and was going to spend the night at a hotel connected to the airport. That night for supper, I went to a local chain called Mos Burger in the airport, and since a lot of the people working at the airport knew some English, I nervously asked the cashier in Japanese if English was ok. She replied yes. It was a simple sentence, and looking back I used some weird grammar, but speaking for the first time in another language and being understood was one of the most fulfilling experiences of the entire trip.
After that, I got much more confident, and would practice speaking whenever I could, whether it was asking questions to people working in stores and restaurants or trying to hold a conversation with a local student. I realized quickly that I was still no where near fluent and had a long way to go, but that I could have simple conversations with people in Japanese. As I progressed through my Japanese class, I realized I was understanding more and more of the language around me, both written and spoken, and being able to finally read some signs I walked past everyday was a great motivator. There were of course some language barrier moments, like when I said something with a different meaning than I thought it meant, and the first time getting to the dorms and realizing no one would know English like at the airport was pretty nerve-racking, but I couldn’t be happier with my progress with the language both before and during my time in Japan. Overall, I would say don’t let fear of the language be a barrier from studying abroad where you want to, even if you’re like me and had never taken a foreign language class. It’s still very do-able, and from my experience, locals are always helpful and even happy to see someone try to speak in their language.
