Japanese as my third language.

[darkhunter22]

Hello! I'm new here. I just want to ask some few questions before starting learning japanese.

Currently, I'm studying as a computer scientist here in Asia. My first language is Filipino and second is English. I want to go to japan so I want it to be my third language.

I really love watching anime and japanese movies. But, I only rely on subtitles it has. Now, I'm studying japanese on my own while on the university. I'm memorizing 5 hiragana/katakana each day and Grade 1 vocabularies. I have also a apps on my iphone that teaches japanese grammar. (ie, Sushi-o tabemasu ka? Konban kohi-o nomimasu ka? )

I saw this JLPT test. Is it worth to have it? I'm not a major on some sort of language. I'm a computer scientist student who want to work as a game programmer someday. But, I really want most of what japanese have. I want to go there and probably live or work there if possible.

So my question is, is it worth it? What should I aim each day to go through N1 level? Is it hard to self study it?

Thank you
darkhunter22

[KyleGoetz]

Originally Posted by darkhunter22

I saw this JLPT test. Is it worth to have it?

The only levels worth it are 1 and maaaaybe 2 (the two most difficult). More important is that you basically become the best programmer in the world because there are plenty of programmers in Japan already, and immigrating there for work is difficult unless you already have work contacts there willing to vouch for you.

The only person I know personally who was able to get a job as a programmer in Japan was an American who spent a year in Japan at a university studying, met someone in the software industry there, and impressed him enough to get the company to sponsor a work visa for him.

He returned to the US, waited for the visa to get approved, then moved back.

But MMM and Nyororin are immigrants to Japan, so you might want to ask them how they did it. As far as I know, neither of them are in the software industry, and MMM is a professional English-Japanese translator.

[masaegu]

Originally Posted by darkhunter22

I'm memorizing 5 hiragana/katakana each day and Grade 1 vocabularies. I have also a apps on my iphone that teaches japanese grammar. (ie, Sushi-o tabemasu ka? Konban kohi-o nomimasu ka? )

Not sure why you are already forming sentences before mastering all the kana. You wil be hooked on romaji before you even notice it that way.

[KyleGoetz]

That is a good point, masaegu.

[nellie1208]

I am from Philippines, I speak Filipino language, because it is the native language in our country. Next, is English, the universal language. And, as an enthusiast, I am still learning Japanese language, to be able to communicate with others, too. =D I'd love to learn from everyone here!