Did you know that many people in Singapore are actually bilingual? Many locals can speak in two out of four official languages in the constitution such as Mandarin, Malay, Tamil, and English. While Japanese is not included in the four local languages, learning Japanese is an excellent opportunity for both your career and your social life.
Before you decide to enrol in an online Japanese course, there are a few essential things you should know. Let’s find out what they are!
1. Be prepared to sacrifice something
You may have heard from friends or discussions online that learning Japanese is not easy. This is often the case of perception and determination. One thing is certain when it comes to learning Japanese: self-effort and sacrifice is key. You should be prepared to give up some of your leisure time and put in extra practice so that you can perform your assignments better. If you don’t, you will find that learning Japanese can be very difficult.
On the other hand, if you are enthusiastic about mastering the concepts and ready to give yourself an extra push, you will find that learning Japanese can also be fun, allowing you to make significant progress when learning.
2. Know the writing systems
For English speakers and other Western languages, it can be too much information for them to take in. For example, the Japanese language consists of three basic writing systems, namely Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji. Hiragana is often described as the ‘basics of Japanese’, composed of 51 phonetic characters and pronunciation that does not vary much. Newcomers picking up Japanese can learn Hiragana to build up a good foundation for the subsequent systems.
Katakana is the system that is used for non-Japanese words such as scientific terms and names of plants or animals. As you progress towards much more advanced levels in your Japanese online course, you will find the use of Katakana to be much more frequent. Kanji, the third system, represents the Japanese writing system that uses Chinese symbols to express Japanese words and phrases. Many people regard this as the hardest part of learning Japanese due to how much time is involved in learning it well.
3. Make time for learning and practice at all times
If you have plans to sign up for a Japanese online course in Singapore, you should check the schedule and set markers on your calendar. Sufficient time is required for learning and practice, so you should find time to devote yourself to learn Japanese when possible. Should you fail to allocate enough time to both, you will find that learning Japanese is indeed difficult.
What you can do is find time to attend your lessons, interact with fellow students and tutors, and practice on your own. Signing up for a Japanese online course can make it easier to keep these commitments as you will find like-minded people looking to learn Japanese together.
4. Online Japanese courses are just as great as traditional courses
Some people may have certain reservations about signing up for online classes. Some equate online Japanese courses to a term simply known as self-study. However, that is far from the truth. Online classrooms are much like traditional classes, only they take place in a virtual space.
Online courses are designed to use the latest digital technologies, making learning easier through channels such as web chats, video conferencing, webinars, and shared documents. This makes online learning far more flexible than traditional classrooms with many distinct benefits. It also promotes student independence, critical thinking, collaboration, and self-directed learning. These attributes give online learning a significant advantage over traditional Japanese classes in Singapore!
5. Understand that learning is a process
Everyone wishes to be able to learn all that there is to learn about Japanese in a short couple of months. However, that is simply not possible. When learning Japanese or any other language, you should set realistic targets that you can achieve. For example, it can be difficult for a student to learn Japanese fluency in a few weeks or months.
When you are looking for a Japanese online course, you should check for their content and the course duration. Learning Japanese in Singapore takes lots of practice and learning. If you put in the effort, you’ll be able to pick up Japanese in no time!
