I took the post exam for Japanese Language 1 and barely passed. The program I'm in doesn't require a certificate to proceed to Japanese Language 2 but it's a nice thing to put on your resume~
Below is a process anyone can replicate when doing their own self study on the subject. I started Japanese Language 1 with only a small vocabulary and anime as the foundation of my knowledge, and while I think it was worth paying for the course for the certificate, I still think the lessons learned are something I could've learned on my own for free. And anyone who has interest in the subject can also too, without a paywall, just don't expect to be as proficient at it. At best, you can understand the context of what is being said in real time when watching Japanese shows since most of the conversations are informal.
There's no shortage of learning materials for self study online. You can search a Youtube videos, language forums, and pdf files within seconds. The greatest factor will always be your motivation to learn the language. Assuming you've already figured out your motivations and are committed to learning the Language, below is my own personal approach to study.
Note:
This is my own approach and it works for me. If you have a specific study habit that works, do that instead.
I will assume that you have zero knowledge about the language. I emptied my head with all the preconceived ideas I had with anime and Japan prior so as not to interfere with the lessons. I can't share the learning materials used during our lectures because that's copyrighted material but I'll just share an outline on how we went with the process below.
First, get a copy of Hiragana and Katakana Chart for the writing system. You're also going to need to learn Kanji but this is a little more advance. I recommend starting first with Hiragana as examples are often written in this form and some katakana. Search on youtube some calligraphy lessons on how to write the characters and have a notebook to practice this daily.
Ideally, you're expected to have memorized Hiragana and Katakana by the 1st month but we're not aiming for gold here. A reasonable goal for just hobby learning is just learning Hiragana on the first month, then Katakana and lastly, Kanji.
Download a copy of Minna no Nihongo as your reference book, but you're free to substitute this with other Japanese books. I've checked different books tackling the same subject and some of it is a matter of preference in how you want your instructions given in the same subject.
Below is an example of how the vocabulary words are mentioned in Hiragana text.
- Wa ta shi
- Wa ta shi ta chi
- A na ta
That's why memorizing Hiragana makes your life a little bit easier reading the instructions. You can encounter a bit of Katakana in the sentences but these characters are often used for specific names and borrowed words. In the beginning, whenever I saw these in a sentence I just assumed the Katakana meant a name of a person, place, country and focused more on the Hiragana characters where the sentence construction was being taught.
Once you memorized the Hiragana characters, the Katakana characters don't look intimidating anymore. I can't say the same for Kanji since it's not yet something I've learned at the time of this writing. The point is, Hiragana with its 46 characters is like a new set of alphabet, and so is Katakana and Kanji. You will see these 3 used in sentences while reading Japanese content and there's no way around it but to memorize.
And finally doing some further reading on sentence construction, like how Japanese particles (O, De, Wa, Mo, Ni, E, No, Ga) are used, memorizing new vocabulary, and practice listening skills.
Other than grinding the textbooks, watching Youtube vides for a few minutes on a subtopic can do wonders with your retention. Since we're operating under the assumption that you're learning Japanese for the sake of a hobby, I think committing at least 15 minutes a day on the subject is reasonable.
It's not an easy subject to begin with since you're learning a new language and culture. That's why your motivation and commitment will dictate how far you can go with self study. I wasn't really as motivated as my classmates when taking the class and did the bare minimum to pass but when you're surrounded by motivated individuals, you can find yourself pressured to do a little extra work for your own good.
The limitations of self study:
No feedback. If you got a Sensei to tell you where you're doing wrong, you're getting your money's worth. It's expected that bulk of the study will be self study since your Sensei can't guide you to memorize all the vocabulary words in the language.
Lack of immersion to the culture. If you're not living in in Japan, you're going to hit a wall at some point because only when you immersed in the culture can you evolve your listening, reading and conversational skills. While it's possible to achieve a level of basic conversations, you're not going to be as good as a native speaker unless someone who is a native speaker will drill the lesson for you most of the time.
I still think opting for a paid class is better if you don't know what to do or how to structure your study but learning things for free using the available materials online can also work.
Had I knew the contents of the course ahead, the online resources available on Youtube and other sites are more than enough but there's still an advantage of getting a certificate for your training if you're entertaining ideas like employment in Japan.
Thanks for your time.