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No Speak English
When you first set out to learn a language, it’s an act, a game. A game whereby you acquire a habit of writing symbols and making sounds in a certain way, a way that is called [insert name of language].
Unfortunately the word, “game”, carries with it a negative connotation, one implying a lack of seriousness or significance. Games are for children and for your spare time. But then there comes a time to “get real”.
Male. Cow. Excrement. Nothing could be further from the truth. Life itself is nothing other than a set of games of greater or lesser significance. And for us humans, language is one of the most important of those games. Perhaps the most important (? I dunno).
So, I want you to try a game that I played constantly in the intense stages of learning Japanese (i.e. until you get fluent).
The game is called “No Speak English”.
Tell yourself that you don’t speak English or any language other than Japanese.
Believe it.
Act like it.
Act like someone who only speaks Japanese. Look for the Japanese version of anything and everything, because that’s the only language you understand.
Are you on a plane and you need to read the safety pamphlet? (OK, like anyone ever actually reads it, but humour me here). Read the Japanese instructions. Are you travelling somewhere? Buy a Japanese travel guide.
Don’t read the English section or buy English books because “this is serious” or “this is important”, or “this is no time for games”. It is precisely because this is serious and because this is important that you must read it in Japanese.
Whatever it is, just do it in Japanese. Think about it:
How are you ever going to be able to do important. grown-up things in Japanese if you never do important, grown-up things in Japanese?
It isn’t going to happen by itself; you have to create the environment for it to happen. Push the button.
The overarching difference between a native or native-level speaker of Japanese and a typical non-native speaker, is one of pyschology. Specifically, expectation. The native-level speaker of Japanese expects to know Japanese. She believes Japanese is her right; it is who she is; it is where she belongs; she owns it; it is hers.
As someone aspiring to native fluency of Japanese, or indeed any other language, I recommend you start expecting fluency of yourself, that you start believing in your entitlement to this language. Start believing that it is your birthright — at least as a human being — you are merely reclaiming what was always yours.
People don’t own Japanese because they fell out of a uterus on Japanese soil; they own it because they have never thought of not owning it.
As a learner, banish any thoughts of inferiority from your mind. You can be every bit as good as a “native speaker”, and even better, if only because you care about the language in a way that typical native speaker of any language doesn’t. You must care, because you have done something amazing — you have transcended the unchosen, coincidental circumstances of your original birth and nationality to choose a language of your own free will 
.
Read on:
Eric said,
April 18, 2008 @ 17:11
I am lucky to come across your site like I have. I have been living in Japan for about 5 months now and my japanese isn’t where it could be. But…I believe I will start following some of the teaching you have on this site. I dont think I am too different from your way of thinking as well. And damn…you sure have a motivating way of writing, props to you bro!
Chiro-kun said,
July 11, 2008 @ 22:17
また掘り出してたな…この宝物を…
戦争は今日から始まりそうだな…
よし！死ぬ気で頑張るぞ！
Vincent said,
November 25, 2008 @ 07:27
I have to agree with Eric (and I think with Chiro-kun, but I’m unsure about that text, I’ll admit) that I think I’m lucky for finding this site, especially since your philosophy about learning languages seems like an extension of my own, and a reasonable one at that! I’m going to try this method, with the help of this site. And I also strongly agree that you are very good at being motivational. Reading this was inspiring! Good job, and thank you very much
Matariki said,
June 5, 2009 @ 16:19
This is a great post!! I discovered your site yesterday and have systematically been reading through every post according to the contents list. I feel so inspired!!! I studied Japanese for four years at high school and have carried on with my own self-study for the past four years during uni (Wow! Eight years?! How can I know so little!!! .. well now I can understand why =P).
As it happens, for the past month I have been plowing through Jdramas and I noticed that when I was least expecting, fully formed japanese phrases were just popping into my head (!). That’s why, as I have been reading the articles, I can believe in your method (/philosophy) because I have already experienced the results first hand =).
Thank you for all of your insight! I think that this might just be the turning point for my language learning! =)
All Japanese All The Time Dot Com: How to learn Japanese. On your own, having fun and to fluency. » Turn Yourself Into A Monster: What To Do When People Around You Are Not Encouraging Or Supportive said,
July 7, 2009 @ 05:46
[...] One day your friends will be begging you to translate Japanese for them. Until that day, shut them out with your headphones and drown them out with Japanese music, if and when they get too rowdy. Besides, it’s not like you understand English anyway. [...]
Yazmin said,
July 26, 2009 @ 01:51
(can’t swear in english?!!) okay spanish instead =D
I basically stripped everything english,spanish,little french….and I have become language-less except for the little japanese I know….I got down with the hiragana, katakana, and the stressing kanji it’s on it’s way but since language is probably one of the most changing things I’ve ever taken the time to notice….I’m rambling on…sorry, I’m weak I tell ya….I tell myself just a little tv time understand won’t hurt…..I have never been more wrong…it’s like a person with diabetes eating sugar coated cake….it just doesn’t help(I know comparing communicating with a sickness that affects mostly children and old people isn’t probably proper but….nvm) it is just true….if you’re not in it for true reasons(like manga! I’ve always wanted to read Eva in the original script…which I know was butchered by english language….or rather translators….some words in other languages don’t have the same descriptions…it’s just not the same….I’m rambling again >.< srry.) just do it….some fam members where actually mean…I tried to keep quiet the fackt that I was learning japanese….but alas Fed-Ex came early! DAMN YOU FED EX!.
I’ll shut up now xD
Young Master Donal said,
September 2, 2009 @ 06:30
Khatzumoto, I’ve been using your method for a while and I must say it’s pretty swell. I’ve learned a lot in such a short span of time, but lately, I’ve become interested in other dialects of Japanese. I was wondering what your take is on learning different dialects of Japanese. Let’s say I want to learn Kansai-ben. Should I learn it as I learn Hyojungo or maybe before or perhaps after? Maybe not at all? My girlfriend (who is from Japan) says it might be strange if I, a White American, learned a dialect (especially Kansai-ben).
http://donalsawesomeblog.blogspot.com/
hanikas said,
September 4, 2009 @ 02:21
you know what a similar method i applied did to me?
i ended up translating EVERYTHING into japanese.
i because japanese-fied. no kidding.
when writing an essay, i’ll have to pause to translate the japanese word in my head to english/malay whatever it is i am writing.
when talking to people, i have to pause to translate from japanese back to english.
this method really consumes you.
but you know what? it’s fun (:
All Japanese All The Time Dot Com: How to learn Japanese. On your own, having fun and to fluency. » Surrogate Mother: The Proper, Correct And Only Way To Do Private Tutoring said,
November 12, 2009 @ 21:59
[...] you can always fine-tune it and “man it up” later. The most important thing is to shed your foreignness and assume a Korean [...]
Lavita said,
April 27, 2010 @ 07:23
Does this game of “No Speak English” work for beginners? Because it sounds like it is for someone who already knows enough to get by.
Sarah said,
August 8, 2010 @ 12:05
@Lavita:
As a beginner, I was a little intimidated by this as well (I’m learning French) and I thought it would be impossible to implement if I wasn’t going to understand half of what was going on (I changed my OS to Linux just so I could change the language). But I always kept google translator and wiktionary.com open to translate for me (both in the language I’m learning, of course) and eventually I weaned myself off of the translator so that now I rely completely on the French dictionary to find out the meaning of words I haven’t heard/seen before. It IS sucky at first, it IS frustrating, because you don’t understand anything, but not very long down the track, you do. It’s AMAZING how fast you pick it up, you will be very surprised…just keep at it.
By the way, if you don’t always have internet, like I did for a very long time, just listen to your headphones as much as you can until you do, it really does make a difference. I found after an entire month of just repeating podcasts that I had downloaded weeks before, I could read and comprehend much, much more than I could before.
I’ve been at it for 3 months now – during that time, I have moved house, studied full time (still doing that) and living far out in the middle of nowhere ( so no native speakers for me ), but I’m still going strong! Progress right now is fast and very rewarding.
Good luck!