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The last key to learning English is... you must know your Japanese language rules.
When you understand Japanese at a fundamental level, grammar, sentence structure,
pronunciation and cultural context, it becomes easier to spot the similarities and
differences between the two languages.
What do I mean by saying this? Learning anything is a cognitive skill. When you learn
to ride a bicycle, drive a car, or throw a baseball, you must learn the basics of the
movements and repeatedly practice them until they become second nature. Learning
a language is the same. We learn our mother language quickly and easily because we
are surrounded by it, hear it everyday, read it all around us, and gain an intrinsic
understanding of it over time.
When learning a new language, we must learn new rules. However, we have a great
starting point which is the knowledge of our first language. Starting with a conscious
knowledge of the rules of Japanese, then seeing how English is used to explain the
same or similar situations, helps make the new knowledge and abilities gained in using
English conversationally to enter the subconscious and become second nature.
I remember having dreams in Japanese for the first time. They were filled with anxiety
as I couldn’t explain things properly and hold a good conversation in the dreams.
However, I realized that was a huge leap for me at a subconscious level because my
brain was beginning to deal with the key components of learning a new language. As
I spoke more Japanese in daily life, practicing alone or with friends or with my private
tutor, my dreams in Japanese became more fluent, as did my everyday usage.
Relearning in my native language how to differentiate between adverbs or adjectives,
nouns and verbs, past, present and future tenses, as well as all the other rules of
language helped speed my ability to learn a second language. However, since I am an
English teacher, I had a good head start in understanding the fundamentals of
English. In the end, it has been a wonderful influence on my overall ability in speaking
Japanese.
At this time I have a fairly good conversational ability in Japanese, but since I am still
studying, it is always getting better.
Take the time now to consider what I have said, and how you might apply it to your
own life. Reading everything I have said is very important, understanding it all and
applying it to your own life is fundamental. Think about it yourself. I firmly believe
that you will find it to be true.
This is the final installment of the series and I want to thank you for taking the time
to read through it all. I sincerely hope that
you have learned a lot from it all. In the future, be sure to reread this from time to
time in order to refresh your mind and refocus your approach to learning English.