Not even a teacher.

Why?

Before we get to that, let me introduce myself.

I know you're busy. And you've got Japanese to enjoy...

So I'll make this quick :)

My name's Michael, and I've:
- Studied Japanese for 4 years
- Immersed in Japanese for 2 years
- Suffered in Japan for 1 year

It's been a WILD ride, and I've even discovered a few secrets along the way...

These secrets let me and others:
- Transition from reading baby manga to young adult manga in a week...
- Memorize and ace every Japanese exam inside and outside of Japan...
- Learn 1,000 Japanese words, kanji and all, in a week...
- Immerse in Japanese and never worry about forgetting a word ever again.

Which all sounds like a bunch of BS!

And that's exactly what I would have said 4 years ago.

That's exactly what my 'students' would have said too.

But over the years of private tutoring, classroom instruction, online courses, and even finishing Heisig's RTK...

I've discovered some truths that you aren't hearing.

Truths that make the difference dragging your feet with textbooks and crushing every exam.

Or slogging through Japanese readers, and cruising through Japanese novels.

And I would love to share these with you!

But not as a teacher.

Strictly speaking, teaching someone a language is...

It's impossible.

Now, I'm incredibly grateful to the language teachers I've had, and wouldn't be here without them.

But let's take a closer look, and I promise I'll clear this up:

In school, we 'are taught' history...

We sit in desks while someone much more knowledgeable stands in front of us...

They impart wisdom normally far out of our reach.

We listen.

We try to remember.

And if we're feeling really accommodating, maybe we even try to reflect on the implications of history in our own lives.

The teacher offers useful and beneficial knowledge for triggering deep thought.

This kind of reflection is a huge benefit of learning history.

But language is different.

The biggest benefits of language (for most) DON'T come from the knowledge that "犬" (いぬ) means dog and "マイペース" doesn't actually mean my pace...

That's not to say there aren't plenty of benefits that come from using your brain while learning a language.

But even those benefits are at their best when language is utilized as a tool.

Usually outside of the classroom.

Quite frankly, you could have easily learned the word '犬' without attending a classroom or paying someone to teach you the word.

Not only is it a google translate or Jisho.com lookup away...

But it's pretty easy to learn the word from context by seeing an actual dog and hearing the word.

In other words, some of the key benefits of a teacher, such as presenting knowledge normally out of reach... aren't all that important in most cases.

And the fact is, drilling this knowledge won't make you fluent.

This is part of the question of "study" vs "acquisition", but one thing for sure is...

If YOU aren't learning Japanese... You won't learn Japanese.

If that seems redundant, consider this.

Knowledge alone cannot make you speak Japanese. The rules are too slow to reproduce in real-time, and you won't even know if it's right or not!

The inability to have confidence in your own production, creates the desire to have someone tell you what is correct and what is not correct.

This desire creates more dependency on someone to "teach you", and the cycle goes on again. And again. And again...

Until you know a lot about Japanese, but aren't very good at Japanese.

In every Japanese learning environment I've learned in...

The VAST majority of students who relied on the teachers for their information and learning... have quit.

They dream of using Japanese.

And that's where it stops. It's a dream, nothing more. They've been utterly deskilled in learning for themselves because they've relied on a teacher to teach them.

If you want to learn Japanese... And perhaps, about anything...

You need to be the one learning.

It's your brain that needs to parse the language.

It's your mouth that needs to speak the language.

It's your ears that need to hear the language.

And it's your experience that will earn the language.

No teacher can make you do any of this!

They can prompt you. But if these elements don't come from your genuine desire to learn...

They'll be half as effective.

Without a desire to discover and learn, you won't want to spend time learning from a variety of native content.

If someone else needs to hold your hand so you can read random articles your teachers send you...

Then it's unlikely your passion will expand to consuming all types of Japanese media.

Basically, you chain yourself down to the idea that 'you need someone else' to be there.

It destroys self-confidence. It keeps you from content you might actually enjoy consuming in Japanese. And it's expensive in both time and money.

The importance cannot be undervalued:
---------------------------------------------------------------
Nobody can teach you a language, because only you can learn it.
---------------------------------------------------------------

And teachers can often get in the way.

This includes native teachers — perhaps especially native teachers! Because the temptation to have them 'teach' you is so much greater.

Now, teachers can still provide a ton of value for your Japanese... But before we get to that...

Learning a language is also not the same as learning an instrument.

In most cases, you practice a song / piece that is unchanging, and try to perfect that one performance.

This could be compared to performing a speech... which is an entirely different skill from consuming content, and is also quite different from dynamic speech.

This is one scenario why it's beneficial to have a teacher for music. They can point out exactly where you went wrong in one specific example in one specific context - the context of that specific piece of music.

But most language isn't performed the same exact way in every single context. It's the exact opposite, meanings and pronunciations of the same words can change depending on the context...

Without going too far down that rabbit hole, it's absurd to think even a native teacher could catch and effectively fix every single one of your mistakes...

I'd even say it's a preposterous proposition!

But what's a better solution?

Learn to recognize your own mistakes.

There is an equivalent of this in music as well, but it doesn't begin with the teacher. It begins with the student practicing their pitch. If a singer can develop "relative perfect pitch," then they can hear when their own notes are incorrect.

If a violinist listens to a piece they want to play enough times, they can tell when they play the wrong note or play too soon.

But this skill is not taught, it is developed by the player. It takes hours of personally listening to the music.

It takes hundreds of hours of intentional ear training.

And all of it hinges on the musician's engagement and desire to learn.

Language is also a skill.

You can, as many others have, learn to hear your own grammar mistakes. Hear your own pronunciation mistakes. And know intuitively when you say something wrong.

You don't need a teacher when you can do these things.

And if you want good language, this MUST be the approach you take.

Now, all of this isn't to say there aren't some valuable parts that teachers bring to the table.

I'd put them this way:
- Accountability
- Guidance

One of the key reasons I might suggest Japanese classes is for accountability. If you need accountability (and school is the tool you want), go for it!

But you don't need a teacher to give you accountability.

I use my friends and jelly bean bribery to get more accountability than any class grade or attendance record has ever done.

On the other hand, teachers can offer guidance.

But guidance can also be found elsewhere. Take at JALUP's posts... Or every polyglot's YouTube channel...

The world is literally infested with advice and guidance.

Both accountability and guidance can be fulfilled without a classroom.

𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝑰'𝒎 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒔𝒂𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒈𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒆. Actually, I have a suggestion:

Don't find a teacher.

Find a coach.

Find someone who won't 'teach' you the knowledge of Japanese...
But will guide you to the resources that help you learn for yourself.

Find someone who will help you develop the curiosity to learn for yourself and develop your own Japanese.

Find someone thoroughly invested in where you want to go with your Japanese.

Find someone who will keep you personally accountable.

Find someone who can guide you through the crazy maze of Japanese.

You can find people like this who will charge far less than the tuition I have dumped too many times into Japanese courses.

But don't get trapped in the idea of 'being taught'...

Learn.

Learn for yourself.

Find another someone who wants to invest in you.

And if you're ready to invest in your own Japanese...

Put your email below, and let's set up a call. I'd love to meet you, and help in any way I can!

Or if you just want another friend to learn Japanese, that's awesome too!

I'd love to help you get exactly where you want, and I'm ready to invest in your Japanese.