How I Learned Survival Japanese in Under 30 Days.

How I Learned Survival Japanese in Under 30 Days. Hi, my name is Sam Bleakly, and Im the community manager here at italki.com. Im also an enthusiastic traveler, and an amateur language learner. I am currently learning Mandarin Chinese, as I live and work in China, but I dont speak Spanish, German, French or any other Romance language fluently so Im certainly not a linguist. Im just a regular guy who is lazy at the best of times. In May, however, I finally got motivated to learn a new language. Read on to find out how I did it! THE ORIGIN OF MY INTEREST In May, I found out that I was going to have an opportunity to go on a short trip to Tokyo with some friends. I had always dreamt about going to Japan. Growing up in Milwaukee Wisconsin, my older brother, Mike, was crazy about Japanese animation, and in my teenage years I myself developed a similarly unhealthy obsession to a Japanese arcade game called Dance Dance Revolution [Im pleased to report that I was able to cross playing DDR in Tokyo off of my bucket list]. THE CHALLENGE At italki, we had an idea for a Japanese language challenge to see how much functional Japanese I could learn before I went on my trip. I decided to take on the challenge, because I thought that having a goal and a stop-loss deadline would help to keep me motivated and accountable. For 30 consecutive days, I took casual conversational lessons with a Japanese  community tutor on italki and studied hard for 5 days before I left. THE RESULTS Im pleased to report that, as a result of 30 one-hour lessons, I was able to do the following with confidence: Take a cab and direct them to a subway station. Ask for directions to a subway station. Ask for directions to a park. Ask for directions to a bathroom. Ask people for their name. Ask people if they knew English or Chinese. Explain that I was visiting a friend. Explain what I did for work. Explain where I was from. Explain where I lived. Greet People. Ask for Tea. Order Food. Ask the cost of items. Ask if a shopkeeper had an item. Tell people that I couldnt speak/understand Japanese. While visiting YoYogi Park we were able to see an amazing duo of University Students who were signing and playing popular song covers on Guitar. After their performance I asked to record a small video of me attempting to speak Japanese with her. THE SIDE BENEFITS One of the side benefits of learning Survival Japanese was the heightened level of service and respect I felt I received. This reminds me of the following quote: When you speak to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head.  When you speak to a man in his native language, that goes to his heart.  Nelson Mandela After this trip, I really believe in Mandelas quote as it turned the people I was interacting with into fast friends who were eager to help and guide me in my travels. THE TAKE-AWAYS FOR LANGUAGE LEARNERS This trip and the challenge taught me a number of things that I think can be useful for other language learners. #1 Anyone can learn a language. If I can do it, so can you ! #2 Setting a goal is key! Because I had a deadline [my trip to Japan], it really pushed me to learn. If you have no goal, and no pressure [be it a personal goal, or a real situation where you will need to speak a language], then the chances of you staying motivated and disciplined become a lot harder. Make your goal now [Some goal ideas: Record a youtube video in 30 days of me speaking in a foreign language; Plan a trip abroad and use that timeline to push you; Take a test in that language, like the HSK for Mandarin Chinese]. #3 Learning a language can open up so many opportunities Because I could speak Japanese, I was able to communicate with so many more learners that if I couldnt speak a word. It made Japan more accessible to me, and made the experience unforgettable! I hope that my experience can motivate other language learners to set and reach a goal. If you have interesting ways in which you keep yourself motivated, set them below. How I Learned Survival Japanese in Under 30 Days. Hi, my name is Sam Bleakly, and Im the community manager here at italki.com. Im also an enthusiastic traveler, and an amateur language learner. I am currently learning Mandarin Chinese, as I live and work in China, but I dont speak Spanish, German, French or any other Romance language fluently so Im certainly not a linguist. Im just a regular guy who is lazy at the best of times. In May, however, I finally got motivated to learn a new language. Read on to find out how I did it! THE ORIGIN OF MY INTEREST In May, I found out that I was going to have an opportunity to go on a short trip to Tokyo with some friends. I had always dreamt about going to Japan. Growing up in Milwaukee Wisconsin, my older brother, Mike, was crazy about Japanese animation, and in my teenage years I myself developed a similarly unhealthy obsession to a Japanese arcade game called Dance Dance Revolution [Im pleased to report that I was able to cross playing DDR in Tokyo off of my bucket list]. THE CHALLENGE At italki, we had an idea for a Japanese language challenge to see how much functional Japanese I could learn before I went on my trip. I decided to take on the challenge, because I thought that having a goal and a stop-loss deadline would help to keep me motivated and accountable. For 30 consecutive days, I took casual conversational lessons with a Japanese  community tutor on italki and studied hard for 5 days before I left. THE RESULTS Im pleased to report that, as a result of 30 one-hour lessons, I was able to do the following with confidence: Take a cab and direct them to a subway station. Ask for directions to a subway station. Ask for directions to a park. Ask for directions to a bathroom. Ask people for their name. Ask people if they knew English or Chinese. Explain that I was visiting a friend. Explain what I did for work. Explain where I was from. Explain where I lived. Greet People. Ask for Tea. Order Food. Ask the cost of items. Ask if a shopkeeper had an item. Tell people that I couldnt speak/understand Japanese. While visiting YoYogi Park we were able to see an amazing duo of University Students who were signing and playing popular song covers on Guitar. After their performance I asked to record a small video of me attempting to speak Japanese with her. THE SIDE BENEFITS One of the side benefits of learning Survival Japanese was the heightened level of service and respect I felt I received. This reminds me of the following quote: When you speak to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head.  When you speak to a man in his native language, that goes to his heart.  Nelson Mandela After this trip, I really believe in Mandelas quote as it turned the people I was interacting with into fast friends who were eager to help and guide me in my travels. THE TAKE-AWAYS FOR LANGUAGE LEARNERS This trip and the challenge taught me a number of things that I think can be useful for other language learners. #1 Anyone can learn a language. If I can do it, so can you ! #2 Setting a goal is key! Because I had a deadline [my trip to Japan], it really pushed me to learn. If you have no goal, and no pressure [be it a personal goal, or a real situation where you will need to speak a language], then the chances of you staying motivated and disciplined become a lot harder. Make your goal now [Some goal ideas: Record a youtube video in 30 days of me speaking in a foreign language; Plan a trip abroad and use that timeline to push you; Take a test in that language, like the HSK for Mandarin Chinese]. #3 Learning a language can open up so many opportunities Because I could speak Japanese, I was able to communicate with so many more learners that if I couldnt speak a word. It made Japan more accessible to me, and made the experience unforgettable! I hope that my experience can motivate other language learners to set and reach a goal. If you have interesting ways in which you keep yourself motivated, set them below.