Taking a Gap Year in Japan: A Student’s Journey to Mastering Japanese

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For many students, studying Japanese at a French university is just the beginning of a larger journey toward fluency and professional success. While university courses provide a foundation, the immersive experience of living in Japan is often seen as the most effective way to master the language and culture. We recently had the opportunity to interview a French student who took a gap year to study in Japan before starting her Master’s in Translation.

Discover how a gap year in Japan helped a French student improve her Japanese language skills through language immersion, the challenges she faced learning Japanese in France, and how her time in Japan has helped prepare her for a successful future in the field of translation.

Five passports lined up in a row (left to right) Italian, Japanese, French passport. Brasil passport and another Italian

About Manon: Student background

Q: Could you tell us a little about your background? What did you study before going to Japan?

A: My Name is Manon, I am from Bordeaux in France and I did two Bachelor’s degrees, one in Law and one in Languages (English and Japanese) at a university in France. Before starting a Master’s degree in translation, I decided to take a gap year to study English in Canada for four months and Japanese in Japan for six months.

Q: What motivated you to pursue your line of studies? What is your long-term goal?

A: I’ve always been passionate about languages. I took private English lessons when I was younger and I studied Latin in high school, which sparked my love for translation. Currently, I am about to start my second year of my Master’s degree. I definitely wish to work in an international environment and to be able to use my language skills.

Manon’s Motivation for Taking a Gap Year in Japan

Q: What was the main reason that made you decide to take a gap year in Japan to study before starting your master’s?

A: First of all, I decided to take a gap year in Japan to take a break from university. After doing two degrees at the same time, I really needed that. And, of course, because I wanted and needed to improve my language skills. I am a strong believer that it is impossible to learn languages through the classic school system and I felt like I needed an immersion in Japan to further improve my education.

Q: How was your experience learning Japanese in France? 

A: Learning a language, especially Japanese, is particularly hard when you don’t live in a country where the language is spoken. Also, Japanese is not a common language to learn (unlike English) so I feel like the good resources to learn it are limited. Before my gap year, despite studying Japanese for a full Bachelor’s degree, I felt like my level was around JLPT N4 (Japanese Language Proficiency Test) and I could barely speak.

Q: Did you feel that studying Japanese in France prepared you well for communication during your gap year in Japan?

A: Absolutely not. The lack of real-life face-to-face conversations with Japanese speakers is probably the reason why I wasn’t able to hold a simple conversation in Japanese. In university, we sometimes had speaking practice, but it was never about interesting topics for young people like me and it was always from the perspective of an evaluation (and not for the purpose of getting more confident in speaking Japanese).

Q: What specific challenges did you face in learning Japanese while in France? 

A: The writing/reading system is quite complex in Japanese, and not being exposed to it on a daily basis makes it really hard to remember Kanjis. Also, I believe that learning a language in classes of above 20 people is nearly impossible since not everyone can have an opportunity to speak. That is why I wanted a language immersion in Japan and I wanted to attend a specific school that would be entirely dedicated to the learning of a language.

Q: How did you choose the school you attended in Japan? Did you have any concerns or expectations before starting the program?

A: I compared the different schools on Go! Go! Nihon’s website and YouTube channel, and also asked for help from my Go! Go! Nihon advisor. I chose a school that required me to study a little bit more compared to other schools because I felt that this was what I needed.

To be honest I was not really worried because I felt that I was well advised and also because I was used to going to (English) language schools.

Matcha latte, pastry, phone and sunglasses on a marble table.

Q: How did the support you received from Go! Go! Nihon help through this journey?

A: The support that I received from Go! Go! Nihon was great! It was so much easier to find a school and housing. Also, I am really grateful for the help throughout the visa process. Japan is a complicated country in terms of paperwork and visa process, so I am really glad I was helped.

Q: How did being immersed in the local culture impact your Japanese language skills?

A: It definitely helped me a lot to improve my Japanese skills. Reading Japanese everywhere (on signs, on menus, on products in the supermarket…) and hearing Japanese all the time helps you learn Japanese without forcing it.

Q: Did you make more progress in Japan compared to France, and which cultural elements improved your fluency?

A: Definitely! When studying in Japan, in addition to the language immersion, you also feel more motivated to learn the language because you truly want to understand what you are doing, where you are going, what you are eating, etc. In France, it was way harder for me to stay motivated because using Japanese was not necessary in my daily life.

Making friends with Japanese natives definitely improved my Japanese speaking skills because I could talk in a more casual way about topics that I was interested in. Also, going to the karaoke and singing Japanese songs is a fun way to get familiar with Japanese pronunciation and learning lyrics is a great way to improve your vocabulary!

Q: Can you share any specific experiences that helped you break through language barriers?

A: Going to the city hall and to the doctor. I was terrified to speak Japanese with people outside of school before those experiences and I felt way more confident in my Japanese after that. Sometimes, putting yourself through uncomfortable situations really pushes you to do your best and after overcoming these challenges, you feel more empowered and confident.

Q: How would you describe your progress in Japanese since arriving in Japan? 

A: I think that you only notice the progress that you’ve made once it’s over. It’s when I came back to France, that I looked at the notebooks that I used for my Bachelor’s degree, that I realized how much I had improved. I am pretty sure that I had an N4 level before starting Japanese school, and after coming back to France I passed the N3 exam with only 1 week of revisions prior to the exam. And I got a good score!

Person with blue painted nails and a wristwatch using an ink pen to study in a Japanese book.

Learning techniques and experiences in Japan

Q: What specific learning techniques or experiences in Japan helped boost your language skills?

A: Speaking about topics that matter to you or that you are interested in is way more effective than having to follow a curriculum sometimes. This is why I highly recommend people to make friends who you can speak in Japanese with. Also, reading books in Japanese that you have previously read in your mother tongue can improve your reading skills more easily.

Q: In what ways do you think this experience has prepared you for your upcoming master’s?

A: Studying Japanese intensively in Japan probably saved me so much time and so much struggle during the first year of my Master’s degree. As a student studying translation, I need to read a lot of texts in Japanese, and I can feel that I can read way faster than before my gap year. I can also guess kanji’s meaning more easily as I am more familiar with them.

Q: How do you think this experience changed you?

A: Living abroad for a full year definitely helped me become a more independent person. Also, I feel more confident dealing with administrative matters, meeting new people, and expressing myself in general.

Q: How do you think your time in Japan will shape your future career?

A: This experience in Japan really reinforced my dream to work in an international environment. I love the Japanese language and I hope that I can use it in my future career.

Q: What advice would you give to other students who are thinking about taking a gap year in Japan?

A: I think the best advice I could give is to enjoy the process and do as many things as possible. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime type of experience and you should not let your anxiety or your fears prevent you from trying new things, meeting new people, and discovering new places.

Curious About Taking a Gap Year in Japan to Study Japanese?

If Manon’s experience of taking a gap year in Japan and the incredible progress she made inspired you to consider the same path, don’t hesitate to reach out to us

Go! Go! Nihon is ready and waiting to help you take the first step towards your own unforgettable experience in Japan. To learn more about the long and short-term options for studying Japanese in Japan, check out our article here

Read more Go! Go! Nihon student testimonials and keep up with news and insights in Japan on our blog

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