Desperately need a Japanese study partner/teacher

[ShadowFoxDXX]

Okay, I know this may sound a little out-of-the-blue, but I am in dire need of someone who is fluent or near-fluent in Japanese to help me out here. I am in my school band, and the Funairi high school band from Hiroshima is coming down to do performances with us and are doing home-stays! I REALLY want to be ready for this! I just need someone to talk to me on instant messenger to help me fine-tune my conversational skills.

I'll tell you where I'm at right now: I'm pretty much lower-intermediate in Japanese... I can read hiragana and katakana, and I know about 20 kanji. I know most verb forms, and about 30 verbs. I can say pretty much all basic stuff, but it's all textbook things that I learned on my own! I haven't had anyone, AT ALL, to practice with to see where I stand.

So, please, if there is anyone out there who is fluent in Japanese and willing to help me with conversational skills, please let me know! Thank you so much, anyone who will!

[DanielFC]

Hope you are doing ok.
Honestly, Ithink you have to study hard with this page's material, so that you can get to be fluent, in spoken and written japanese, but it tooks quite a long time, THERE IS NO A MAGIC WAY, though i wish it would. So, have a nice time whis those guys, but dont get desperate if u can't talk to them about all kind of things u'd like to, and just have fun speaking what u can
Study every day at least one hour a day 'cause this page is so great , that if u do so, u'll improve bro !

Cheer up and Ganbatte yo!!


Daniel Ferrante

[ShadowFoxDXX]

What? No, I think you misunderstood what I said... I already know a decent amount of Japanese, but it's all textbook knowledge. I can read it and speak it, but I need to know how I should actually converse. I need more PEOPLE skills in Japanese. So, it would help immensely if I could get help from someone who is actually Japanese, someone who lives in Japan, or someone who has recently lived in Japan.

I've already studied for a few years on my own... But, I've never had anyone to speak it with. THAT'S what I need. I need to know how I'm doing before this happens, and make adjustments.

[Javizy]

Check out this thread first. You won't get anywhere if you don't know contractions and plain forms. If your textbooks have only taught you ます・です style stuff, then you're going to need to focus on this the most.

Sign up to the Mixxer and find a native speaker to talk to on Skype. There are lots of Japanese, so it shouldn't be too hard. When I started speaking, even though my Japanese was half decent, I still made lots of mistakes I wouldn't make in writing, kept using ます・です by mistake, and generally not having a good speaking style. It takes a while to train this sort of thing, so good luck.

[ShadowFoxDXX]

Thanks, I'm trying that Mixxer website now.

But, I'd still like to have someone from this forum instant message me for this. All I want is an IM contact that I can speak to and ask questions about more advanced Japanese.

[QuackingShoe]

Two things.

One: What you describe doesn't sound like lower-intermediate. More like beginner. I'm not trying to bring you down with this. I just don't think you should have inflated expectations of what you'll be able to do

Two: No one wants to do you any favors. I say this as a generality of life, not just applying to this situation. You're basically asking for something here without seeming to offer anything back. People are willing to help you with questions you might post here, because we'll just stumble along them and answer them at our leisure. But nobody wants to give you their IM info, because nobody wants to be asked questions sporadically by someone they don't really even know. Additionally, you'll have a hard time finding someone near-fluent on this board.

That's why Javizy posted a link to language-exchange websites. If you want the kind of help you're asking for, you're either going to need to get into a straight-forward, give-and-take language exchange, make a friend willing to just help you out (probably though a language exchange) for the sake of just being a friend, or pay a professional. In all options, you've got to give something back (English, Friendship, Money). But you've got nothing to offer a native-English speaking, near-fluent Japanese student.


And hey, keep in mind that you don't necessarily have to be ready for this, right? Make some friends when they get here! They'll be a good asset to you, hopefully. Instead of focusing on how you can practice before they get there, focus on how you can practice once they get there?
But remember, as above, they're other people who would rather have relationships or engage in some give-and-take than just help you out.

Good luck!

[DanielFC]

I'm really sorry if i didn't understand what you meant.
But just wanted to advise you from my own experience in learning japanese.
Anyway, dont want to be boring, but if you practice with the conversations the offer on the lessons, maybe, 20 or 30 of them, several times each one, i think you will change masu and desu, for something more natural, and better ways to express your ideas.

Ganbatte !

[dragonfire4555967]

Thanks, I'm trying that Mixxer website now.

But, I'd still like to have someone from this forum instant message me for this. All I want is an IM contact that I can speak to and ask questions about more advanced Japanese.

Well I would love for you to tutor me, if you don't mind.