From traveling to living in Japan

Natalie
Apr 26, 2023
Australia
Natalie Photo

Natalie has shared with us a story that gives us great motivation to continue helping hundreds of people to continue learning Japanese. In 2018 she travelled to Japan for holidays and after joining one of our Japanese Trial Lesson, she decided to commit herself to learning the language without knowing that her decision was going to give her the opportunity to live and work in Japan!

What motivated you to start learning Japanese?

I wanted to be able to converse with locals the next time I visited Japan. Little did I know that the next time I flew to Japan in 2022 I would be moving there to work!
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Was it a hard decision to get started learning Japanese? (any doubts or constraints)

It was an easy decision because after the trial lesson I knew that if I applied myself to my lessons and studies outside of class I could gradually increase my confidence with the language. The only doubt I had was that eventually I would be faced with kanji characters, but by learning these in small groups I find this much more manageable.
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How long have you been learning Japanese for?

1 year of Japademy classes with Akaneε…ˆη”Ÿ. Before that I was self-studying by learning how to read hiragana.
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What is the most challenging thing about learning Japanese?

Being afraid to make mistakes. Once you get past that barrier, I believe you can get a lot more out of your lessons and it becomes a lot more enjoyable too.
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What have you enjoyed the most while learning Japanese?

I look forward to my class each week because I know that Akane ε…ˆη”Ÿ will introduce new kanji, vocabulary and grammar points. Akaneε…ˆη”Ÿincludes real life examples that she knows I will enjoy and she always takes the time to re-visit content that I need more practice with. I enjoy every aspect of my classes and I always feel motivated after the class finishes.
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How do you keep motivated to continue learning?

By not putting too much pressure on myself. I know that I make many mistakes and have many more aspects of the language to learn, but I stay motivated by celebrating my little improvements along the way.
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What advice would you give to people who would like to learn Japanese but haven’t started?

Just start by exposing yourself to the language in any way possible. Even if that is just by listening to Japanese songs, YouTube or radio. Even if you just learn a few words of hiragana characters, you still know more than you did weeks or even days ago.
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Are you planning to live or work in Japan in the future?

I am currently living and working in Japan as an English Assistant Language Teacher in the JET Programme. I have been here two weeks so far and will continue with my Japademy classes. I have already noticed that since moving to Japan, I have been using new vocabulary and grammar points when I am talking with my colleagues or neighbors. I have a long way to go with the language, but it makes me happy knowing that I can converse with those around me, and I can enter any store or train station and be able to ask for assistance if needed. I am excited to see how my Japanese continues to improve!
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What is your favorite thing about Japan? (food, anime, history, etc.)

I am fascinated by all aspects of Japanese culture. I have always enjoyed Japanese cuisine from a young age and now as an adult I am interested in the cultural differences from my home country.
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Why did you choose to learn Japanese with Japademy?

I was following Japademy on Instagram for a while and I enjoyed their posts. Then one day, I decided that I should give the trial lesson a go. I had so much fun in the trial lesson and from that day I decided to commit myself to learning the language.
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Would you recommend Japademy to other people interested in learning Japanese? (yes or no, why?)

1000% yes! Japademy has given me the confidence and motivation to study the beautiful culture and language that Japan has to offer. The teachers are so friendly and helpful and the content is exciting and manageable that I would definitely recommend Japademy to other people. My decision to start studying Japanese with Japademy has completely changed my life, so I am very thankful to the team at Japademy! γ‚γ‚ŠγŒγ¨γ†γ”γ–γ„γΎγ™.

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