>>1906Ah yeah, I guess I should answer these first.
>when did you start studying Japanese, or are you planning on starting? Why?I studied Japanese for 3 years at university, but I ended up dropping out (this year) right before my exams were due to begin, on account of some pretty bad personal circumstances. The reasons behind me choosing to study the language aren't particularly admirable at all though.
Growing up I found myself becoming increasingly envious that everybody outside of the UK and US were capable of speaking 2, 3, sometimes even 4+ languages, particularly other Europeans. Language learning isn't really emphasised at all within the UK, I supposed because the rest of the world already speaks English, but still it left me feeling enormously inferior. I actually studied Korean for a while at first, and whilst Hangul is ridiculously easy to learn, I really struggled with the pronunciation. After that I decided to give Japanese a shot instead, and it just kind of, fit?
>have you ever tried for the JLPT or another diploma?Nope, but according to my tutor everybody was at about N3 level. I'm sure that's no longer the case; I haven't actually opened a book or practiced the language since March. I am hoping I can pick up TEFL certification before the year is out though. I don't necessarily want to be a teacher, but it would definitely make me more employable.
>what's your forte? What's a bit harder for you to grasp and master?I was very good at kanji which surprised even me, because it was initially it was the one aspect of Japanese that terrified me. Fuck conjugation though, and double-fuck keigo.
>have you ever tried having discussions with natives? How did it go?I actually have a crippling fear of attempting to communicate with natives that I never did manage to get over, and it held me back the entire 3 years I was studying. Every time I try to speak with one I start to sweat and shake and inevitably become faint. Result is I can read and write fairly well, but my actual spoken Japanese level is, not so hot.
>what are your favourite apps, books, etc to help you study, as well as general tips?I have a really useful app on my phone called JED (Japanese English Dictionary) that is a very comprehensive dictionary that provides results in kana, kanji and romaji, as well various conjugations, sentence examples etc. Jisho.org is excellent, but above all the Minna no Nihongo textbooks are a series I really couldn't recommend any more. They're very expensive but very worth it, and if you're diligent enough in studying then they go a very long way in filling in for an actual tutor. Of course you can only go so far without the aid of a native speaker, but these will take you pretty damn far.
