Is it worth learning Japanese now?

[Glenski]

Jersey Boy,
I stand by my original statements.

If you are Japanese, the priority for a family, IMO, should be to learn Japanese. Now, unless you are one of those who believes incorrectly that a person cannot learn 2 languages at the same time, I see no reason why your kids couldn't also learn English, but survival in Japan rests on learning Japanese first, hence that priority.

[frostyg02uk]

Hmm Ive always thought that if i had kids Id like them to speak english but also their mothers language too. If i lived in england then they would speak english all of the time but japanese at home and vice versa. Japanese might not be needed for survival but id like to give my children another option to life and of course there is always the chance that they would pick Japan as their nationality in the future.
In your case If I was you I would teach my children english. Parents these days pay good money for their children to learn another language so for someone to learn it from a young age, well it can only be a good thing not only for emigrational purposes but also in the sense of educational value and the improvement in a social case.

(Im still not sure what your really asking but i hope i have helped)

[Elizabeth]

Originally Posted by Pachipro

Your children will learn Japanese easily enough in school and through their friends and become fluent in English at home with the help of you and your wife. I have known a few western families whose primary language was English at home and the children learned Japanese fluently at school and such. In the long run they were at near native language level by the time they were teenagers.

Yes, for immigrant families the language barrier is obviously a reality of their circumstances on the edge of society. Children of Japanese parents I very much doubt will have native friends without being provided a strong rootedness in the language.

A Japanese family in Tokyo that speaks to their children or even each other primarily in English can look forward to a life of social ostracism and unspeakable, pardon the pun, frustration difficult to imagine in the West. Not to mention a total lack of sympathy/accomodation, by schools or any other institution.

Jersey Boy's initial description of his approach to bilingualism as "thinking of making English the preferred (not sole or exclusive) home language" made some sense to me as far as it went. And I'm glad to see it was later clarified that a mastery of Japanese be everyone's primary concern.

[Globetrotter36]

I haven't bothered to read all the posts here but the question 'is it worth learning Japanese? is one that's been bugging me quite a while. I got as far as the 'A' level in my native country the UK (doesn't mean much the exam was on an out-dated format with no oral).

Since then I have found my efforts to have been largely a waste of time and worst of all money. The Japanese appear the last to acknowledge your efforts, gaining employment never happens unless by some chance you happen to be fluent or are luck enough to have a degree either in Japanese or a subject supplementary to the language.

I think much depends on who you are, where you live and whether you can actally use or need the language.

[Glenski]

Just how do you expect them to "acknowledge" your efforts? Most Japanese will hear a simple "good morning" or "thank you" and praise a foreigner to high heaven. I wouldn't expect an outright remark related to getting hired. (Ex. "Oh, yes, you speak so well, it is one of the main reasons we hired you.")

gaining employment never happens unless by some chance you happen to be fluent or are luck enough to have a degree either in Japanese or a subject supplementary to the language.

What sort of work are you talking about? Teachers don't even need a degree that's related to the job, you know. If it's non-teaching work, then most of the time you need relevant education, experience, and fairly high Japanese.

"Lucky enough" is a lame excuse for lack of trying. If one wants a job, one gets the proper qualifications.

[Globetrotter36]

Originally Posted by Glenski

Just how do you expect them to "acknowledge" your efforts? Most Japanese will hear a simple "good morning" or "thank you" and praise a foreigner to high heaven. I wouldn't expect an outright remark related to getting hired. (Ex. "Oh, yes, you speak so well, it is one of the main reasons we hired you.")
What sort of work are you talking about? Teachers don't even need a degree that's related to the job, you know. If it's non-teaching work, then most of the time you need relevant education, experience, and fairly high Japanese.
"Lucky enough" is a lame excuse for lack of trying. If one wants a job, one gets the proper qualifications.

That's just the kind of BS I hear so often from Japanese, I have never heard a Japanese 'praise a foreigner to high heaven', youi are obviously living on a different planet!
There is no need for your patronizing remark 'teachers don't even need a degree related to the job you know', I know that better than you do! As for your last sentence some of us cannot get the qaulifications we want or need. By the way I have seen people suitably qualified with degrees in Japanese and other subjects be treated like dirt when they have applied for jobs with Japanese companies. You are just one of those who cannot admit the oh so frequent mental deficiencies and arrogance of your own nationality. No surprise you didn't win the war but come to think of it damned good job too!

[Glenski]

Originally Posted by Globetrotter36

That's just the kind of BS I hear so often from Japanese, I have never heard a Japanese 'praise a foreigner to high heaven', youi are obviously living on a different planet!

It's BS to hear such words, I agree, but if you've been in Japan for any length of time, you'll hear it regularly. That is not BS!

Since your profile says you have only been to Japan for a month or less, I'd say you don't have enough experience to know.

There is no need for your patronizing remark 'teachers don't even need a degree related to the job you know', I know that better than you do!

It's not patronizing. You are the one on another planet, because this is a fact of life in Japan for most teaching jobs. Do you teach here? If so, in what capacity? I smell a troll.

As for your last sentence some of us cannot get the qaulifications we want or need. By the way I have seen people suitably qualified with degrees in Japanese and other subjects be treated like dirt when they have applied for jobs with Japanese companies.

Yes, people who are indeed suitably qualified can get jobs or be treated like dirt. Case by case. Having qualifications is no guarantee of being treated respectably, and I never suggested that. I only stated what you need to actually land the job in the first place.

You are just one of those who cannot admit the oh so frequent mental deficiencies and arrogance of your own nationality. No surprise you didn't win the war but come to think of it damned good job too!

Stop the trollish remarks.

[Half-n-Half]

Originally Posted by Globetrotter36

You are just one of those who cannot admit the oh so frequent mental deficiencies and arrogance of your own nationality. No surprise you didn't win the war but come to think of it damned good job too!

Wait wait, sorry to jump in the middle of this and I might have this completely wrong but, Glenski is not Japanese. I believe he is originally from the US, correct me if I'm wrong. Is that what you were referring to when you mentioned the lost war? World War 2?

[Glenski]

Half-n-half,
Yes, I'm American, as my profile and avatar clearly state.

Ignore the trollish comments from that guy. It's not worth it. If harassing comments continue, moderators will take care of matters, but for now do what trolls hate most: ignore them.