How This Guy Learned Fluent Japanese by Age 21 | Method Breakdown

🇯🇵 This guy from the USA learned Japanese fast! In fact, he was fluent in Japanese while still at college! 🤯 In this video, I break down the method he used. If you're learning Japanese, or looking for the best way to learn Japanese, you'll find this inspirational! The star of today's video, Matt, is better known as ‪@mattvsjapan‬, and he makes videos about learning Japanese, and language learning in general. Check out his channel here:
👉🏼 / mattvsjapan
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⏱ TIMESTAMPS:
00:00​ Matt vs Japan
00:46 Matt speaking Japanese
01:23 Matt's Japanese journey
04:10 Discovering Japanese
05:49 AJATT
07:10 Study abroad in Japan
09:50 Immersion in Japanese
11:45 Input-based method
12:38 Speaking fluent Japanese

[@storylearning]

Enjoy this? Here's a similar story about fluent Mandarin Chinese: kzbin.info/www/bejne/mn62qYOseqiAmc0

[@katsuyatatsuya]

traduza

[@gordonbgraham]

I'm not sold on Matt's method. I mean I've lived in Japan for 30 years. I can honestly say it took me 5 years to be conversational, 10 years to be fluent and 15 years to be literate! Let's concede that everyday I experienced "comprehensible input"...Matt is clearly an exceptional student.

[@mattvsjapan]

Awesome job Olly! This was really fun to watch. I think you portrayed my journey accurately and it was interesting to hear your analysis of the factors that went into my success with Japanese

[@storylearning]

Thanks Matt, you're an inspiration!

[@Aditya-te7oo]

@@storylearning Absolutely, he IS an inspiration.

[@LittleThingsinJapan]

I seriously think Matt is an inspiration for all the Japanese learners around the world 👍

[@zerothehero123]

Thank you Matt for your insights and story! The biggest thing for succeeding in a language is having that aha moment of knowing you're going to push through till the end. It became a self evident desire for me, and now the discipline doesn't feel hard at all. Still have a long way to go in Japanese, but the journey is the destination. At first my motivation was like yours, infatuation with a culture, but now it's people!

[@harrypotty5643]

on the same path Matt grinding on music watch a bit of anime while I work small study lot each afternoon. slowly build

[@willbethereforyou8044]

I'm almost 34 year old,I'm learning japanese and let me tell you guys,age doesn't matter,determination does matter!

[@Matthew-fj6eu]

YOU CAN DO IT RANDOM PERSON ON THE INTERNET!!!

[@notcyfhr]

@@Matthew-fj6eu lmfaoooo yes you got this random dude

[@jayuppercase3398]

Why are you learning it?

[@dogma8538]

hell yea!!

[@coremitsi922]

@@Matthew-fj6eu And I love you, random citizen.

[@MikhaelWebb]

Apparently learning Japanese also made Matt's hairline better. Night and day difference over 5 years

[@bigbobabc123]

Propecia

[@luna1515]

He's speaking the language of the gods after all

[@karifurai8479]

he said it's just as bad but he just grew out his bangs

[@futurez12]

What does his hairline have to do with anything? Is this just a way to have a dig at someone who has been successful?

[@MikhaelWebb]

@@futurez12 Just an observation. Not sure why you would construe a compliment as an insult, but okay...

[@porkysugrim]

I'm almost 2 years into studying Japanese, I'm primarily following Matt's methods but I tweaked them to work with my schedule. Learning Japanese is like trying to fill up a lake using only a bucket of water at a time. It seems almost impossible at times but as time goes on the water (progress) really starts to build up and it's the moment when you see your little progress that gives you a little more kick of motivation to keep going

[@Real_Genji]

Great analogy. My analogy was digging a massive hole. In the beginning it seems like you're making absolutely no progress and ur working super hard for no progress. But if you keep up the pace, eventually you'll find yourself head deep in the hole and be like "wow, that's a big hole"

[@porkysugrim]

@@Real_Genji 2 months later and still at it. Almost wanted to quit a few more times but luckily the feeling of quitting is worse than the feeling of not improving fast enough lol We can do this!

[@Real_Genji]

@@porkysugrim I started learning japanese about 4 years ago and I would quit after only going in for a few weeks because I was using other methods. Had I kept going from then I would have been fluent, and that's what motivates me NOW to keep on going and going. I've been learning for a month straight now and I'm making tons of progress

[@cevcena6692]

Care to share your sched?

[@OutcastYBJ]

Apparently it take about 3 years to learn Japanese and even then u still have so much more to learn and also that’s only if u dedicate a lot of your free time to learning it I’m 16 I’m having by age 19 I’m able to speak it good enough to to understand and fully communicate with a native Japanese speaker

[@tensaimontv]

I basically followed Matt's advice starting 3 years ago: I was listening to five hours of podcasts per day, and only reading in Japanese, and I got to the point where I'd occasionally find words or phrases I'd never sai before falling out my mouth - sometimes I'd wonder if it was right or not, and go check the dictionary - it invariably was. Admittedly I already had a solid foundation (I'd been in Japan twenty years already) but doing immersion made a massive difference and helped me break through the plateau I'd reached. Still a long way to go to native-like (honestly: I realize I'll probably never quite get there) but I read novels and newspapers and watch Netflix, all with only minimal dictionary use. Incidentally in my forties with a job and family, so you don't need to be a teenager to make it work.

[@storylearning]

That’s awesome Simon!

[@tensaimontv]

@Rei Ren haha sorry! But my point is that Matt's advice still made a huge difference, I wish I'd done it at the beginning!!😂

[@mlc4495]

@Rei Ren Right?! 🤨

[@katsuyatatsuya]

isso ai

[@katsuyatatsuya]

@@tensaimontv pior eu que não entendo ingles

[@IkennaLanguages]

Great vid Olly! Matt's story is super interesting! Can definitely relate to finally watching anime at 15 years old in Japanese dub for the first time and feeling captivated by the language!

[@storylearning]

That's awesome! Thanks man.

[@charliebaker1427]

Its funny im a big fan of anime but cant stand watchimg it in Japanese meanwhile i adore watching hololive

[@johncowen8798]

That video he did exposing youtube's fake polyglots was specifically targeted at only you and no-one else at all

[@marxiewasalittlegirl]

Same

[@foreverlearningfrench]

I appreciate that it took him 5 years to become fluent. It makes me feel better about my journey to fluency in French. It helps me to have a more realistic goal.

[@storylearning]

Yes! There’s no “fluent in 7 days” around here!

[@FingtamLanguages]

And it also terrifies me about how long it will take me to learn Thai! 😅

[@foreverlearningfrench]

@@FingtamLanguages MDR ! Hang in there!

[@user-if7fr6or6h]

Pretty sure he was fluent in 3 years but not super good. People from ajatt/mia/refold/djt community get fluent around 2~~3 for asian languages it seems (the community is still young) and there are people better than matt that are not making videos. For european languages people are outputting pretty well in about 18--24 months but it's to be expected. Because they sentence mine, their passive vocabulary is super high too.

[@brendon2462]

@@user-if7fr6or6h Yea he's saud there are better because they've been doing it longer. But he said that it took him five years to get so fluent. He mentions that he's never met anyone that reached his level in only five years. That's fast for a native english speaker.

[@nendoakuma7451]

He seems pretty realistic. He's not making exaggerated claims and he admits that his approach might have been a little too extreme. Seems pretty self-aware. I like it. Seriously, spending your whole day studying languages every day might be fun, but it's not necessarily a good thing in the long run.

[@birjisafroz8886]

It isn't doable for many as well. Still impressive

[@based9930]

"He seems pretty realistic. He's not making exaggerated claims" Unlike Olly, who is a fraud.

[@baronmeduse]

@@based9930 So is MvJ. Plays down the fact of ever being in Japan. Lots of liars in the online language world.

[@based9930]

@@baronmeduse Matt lies a lot, but I don't think his being in Japan for 6 months matters. Tons of people have lived in Japan for decades and can't speak any Japanese at all. Another liar is Ken Cannon, there is no way he got that good watching anime in his room. Same with Khatz. Both of them clearly grew up around Japanese being spoken around them regularly.

[@TheFiestyhick]

One of the better approaches out there. I also respect that he doesn't make false claims or exaggerate stuff. The people in his community have pretty realistic expectations of what is required to attain fluency, unlike a lot of these gurus promoting gimmicks

[@AskTetsu]

Just darn stubborn. I know a guy like that. I see him in the mirror everyday. Bravo Matt!

[@storylearning]

Haha, does his name begin with T?

[@adamlasry1691]

To learn a language you need to be 1. Motivated, 2. Put in few hours a week to consistently practice, 3. Speak , listen, watch tv and don’t give a hoot about making mistakes...with perseverance and dedication anyone can learn anything. As a Moroccan, I learnt English in 2 years (from zero to fluent). I’m now learning Hindi at 50 years old. My trick is simple: I read a lot of kids’ books in the language I want to learn. I listen to radio and TV, etc. Nowadays, with KZbin and audio books, it is much easier to learn anything - if you find the time! If I this can motivate someone to pick up that foreign anguage book, then I will be happy. I do speak French, Spanish, Italian (learnt in my teenage years) and can read and understand German...BUT to me the most beautiful language is my own language: Arabic. Poetry in Arabic is divine...in Persian too, to be fair -=)

[@sk8_bort]

Arabic seems absolutely impossible to learn.

[@adamlasry1691]

@@sk8_bort Hombre! No digas esto! Sabes que el español tiene miles de palabras de origin árabe... conozco a engleses que hablan árabe. Cuestión de dedicación y tiempo. Imposible no existe...Ánimo, tío! De un maroqui que habla más de 5 idiomas! Ojo! Tengo 55 anos y estoy aprendiendo el hindu! Imposdible no existe in mi diccionario...

[@sk8_bort]

@@adamlasry1691 Es cierto que el español tiene miles de palabras de origen árabe, pero el sistema de escritura del árabe parece muy difícil. La verdad es que todos los marroquíes que he conocido hablaban muy bien español incluso llevando muy poco tiempo en España. Gracias por la motivación!

[@adamlasry1691]

@@sk8_bort De nada. Ánimo. Hay gente de Corea que aprenden el árabe...un desafío intelectual. Con el tiempo...Saludos.

[@tokkieram]

I really needed this comment bc ive been feeling bad bc my way of studying japanese is different from these who are fluent, bc my english came most of watching series with my native language sub (brazilian portuguese) and studying at school i become almost fluent. From this day, i will study japanese on my way, i will study grammar, watch tv shows, radio, podcast, books or whatever, but the most important is if i am feeling good with that.

[@kdakaisa6668]

Does anyone else have the problem of learning about learning but not actually doing anything?

[@Arctagon]

100% yes.

[@aesyamazeli8804]

Analysis paralysis

[@giornogiovanna3139]

I started when I was 14, now I am 16. I hope to be very fluent by 5 years as well.

[@bungeegum1369]

I'm 17, and I picked up on alot of loose vocab but it's worth it honestly, keep practing input and any song lyric try pronouncing even if you screw it up it doesn't matter you're learning! Keep it up ❤️

[@pazu2222]

@@bungeegum1369 I'm 19, and I've quit gaming and stopped hanging out with my University friend (on discord) to do this hardcore Japanese just like what Matt did.

[@bungeegum1369]

@@pazu2222 I'M SO PROUD OF YOU KEEP IT UP :))))))) and if you want to we can be study buddies!!! :))))

[@keidanekeith668]

@@bungeegum1369 I'm 15, I'm so passionate on French. I'm self learning, I can read quite an amount but I'm not on the level I want to be. Hopefully I'll be back here in a year or 2 with good news

[@chevvvv]

how's it going?

[@Mitch_Crane]

日本語上手

[@nauth1002]

Oh no, you're fucked Matt

[@retrofilmwork]

ですね

[@konkyolife]

Great to see a young guy focusing his energy like this.

[@asupoyopoyo6081]

His Japanese is definitely at the native level. His commitment for perfecting the language is amazing. This is such a inspiring session

[@DengueBurger]

I love this video, it’s like a trimmed down version of my favorite videos of Matt’s language learning journey.

[@ClowdyHowdy]

I've spent the past 9 months following a similar path as Matt but for Korean, and I wouldn't have it any other way. Also, I've recently started reading your korean stories book and it's led to a lot of progress in solidifying all the basic grammar and common vocab. I'm familiar with most things in the book, but having a concentrated focus at an easier level without more complex grammar is really helping the transition to more native reading material. So thank you for releasing a great book.

[@storylearning]

Thanks so much, and keep it up!

[@laciruela7772]

Hey Clowdy, I see you a lot on the refold discord lol

[@jonbacon6664]

Any suggestions with books? I want to read Spanish books but don’t know where to start. Cheers

[@atta4786]

Hi cloudy!!!

[@pranavraja9045]

ITS MY FAVORITE KOREAN IMMERSION LEARNER ON KZbin

[@ShavosBlackJacket]

I'll let myself take a break from immersion to listen about the homie Matt :). He's taught many of us so much.

[@perryfrancis7640]

Brilliant, this young man gets it. I loved the comment about having conversations multiple times. I keep several tutors just for that reason alone, it's very effective to be able to repeat yourself or a story multiple times without driving a single listener crazy. :)

[@luketruman3033]

This is a really interesting video, you and Matt both have a lot of great work! Keep it up. Be interesting if you do a breakdown for AJATT seeing as both xiaoma and Matt used that as the basis for their methodology when starting out

[@k.5425]

Hope he sees this comment. Would love to see a video like that. Following this series breakdown

[@anitawaters4745]

Inspiring video! Thank you 🙏

[@mauroboros8566]

I don't regret taking Italian in high school, but I wish I could've started learning Japanese back then too. But I'm starting now! Better late than never

[@CBR_squid06]

I hope it’s going good 2 months later 👍

[@anamilliebaez8920]

Perfect vid for me. Thank you Olly and Matt for sharing your knowledge and experience. This vid is gold!

[@dianeh2481]

That is exactly what I did to learn English. I am originally from Romania and I hated English taught in school, but when I moved I was forced to learn it. I spent 3 months without talking to anyone but just listening and learning words and phrases. Therefore after 3 months when I started highschool I was able to converse and write essays. Yes my grammar needed some work but I was able to have a full conversation and be understood by others around me. That was only when I was 15 years old... now I am learning Korean and still doing it the same way :) and wish to study it in college next year !

[@storylearning]

That’s fantastic, Diane!

[@hijay8501]

Thank you so much for this. This was so helpful I'm very motivated now, thank you!

[@christobotha7191]

Olly, thank you very much for this video. I needed some inspiration. I am from South Africa and I started to learn a local language called Sotho. i find your videos very inspiring and helpful Baie dankie ! Groete Christo

[@adamgilleece4936]

Great video! I'd also really like to hear more about your "runaway" to France. I can definitely relate to that feeling of wanting to move as far away from home as possible, and that's what I did last summer. So far it's been great, but I'd like to hear about your experience and if you think it was the right move looking back.

[@futurez12]

The thing I've learned about doing it this way is that it's one thing to think/plan/aim to do it... It's a completely different thing altogether to actually _do_ it. It requires an unbelievable amount of passion and dedication.

[@storylearning]

Indeed. Just think about how much your priorities change over the span of 5 years... and to keep it up amid all of that.

[@futurez12]

@@storylearning Yeah, that's quite something. The odds of staying the course, whilst maintaining that kind of intensity... It's mindblowing, honestly. Just the intial couple of years alone; staying immersed in something you understand so little of for those first couple of years must've been something close to torture. It's all very well finding things of interest, but even things of interest lose their interest when you can't understand them, lol. Just nothing but the highest respect to anyone who manages to see this approach through to fluency, particularly in a language so far removed from any other language/s you already know.

[@araknus7863]

I absolutely love Matt. The way I view the philosophy of mass input based learning is this: Through your input you develop your comprehension skill, which is the bass of every other ability in the language. While immersing, it's like you are slowly, little by little constructing a complex machine. Once built, speaking practice is just learning how to operate this machine properly, of which you already have a very strong mental image of every button and lever and learning to use it without thinking should not take too long. If you don't have this machine built, well, that's like trying to hammer in a nail with a screwdriver, I'm sure you could get pretty decent at hammering in a nail with a screwdriver with a lot of practice, but it's still a screwdriver.

[@Acolytemedia]

Really liked your video man. Also i love the fact that you actually do understand Matts method very well. I think its quits easy to brush off inmersion learning and dismiss it without understanding it fully. Ive seen a number of videos where people are just like "this is too extreme and completely unhelpful" and not really dissected the process. Ive been learning Russian with this method (not as crazy extreme but definitely very high levels of input) and its insane how quickly your conprehension grows. I think the thing that peopld dont give this method credit for is just how great people's comprehension gets doing this method. Ive seen lots of language learners who say they are fluent but im pretfy sure would get immediately lost in a real conversation or watching a movie without subtitles. Anyhow really good video and you've earned a sub :)

[@jsbart96]

This gave me renewed motivation for pushing on with Spanish. Thanks :)

[@fabianvillarroel9028]

Tu puedes! Es un lindo idioma.

[@dr.corneliusq.cadbury6984]

I watched a few of his videos and (though he doesn’t seem to emphasize it) I got the sense that he did do a fair bit of book type studying since he said he was studying/memorizing word etymologies and stuff like that. And he seemed to be intimately familiar with several different dictionaries and reference works.

[@storylearning]

Yes, but I get the impression this was Self-directed and based on satisfying curiosity. Dictionaries are a great way to get more input in and of themselves.

[@allayth3247]

One of you best videos Olly. Thank you so much.

[@storylearning]

Wow, thank you!

[@dmaxwell2123]

If there is gonna' be an anime about language learning, Matt's story is the perfect basis.

[@danielcook1271]

I LOVE the language learning community on KZbin. So inspiring. I've been learning German now for two months and have learnt more in two months than I did in the 3 years I studied it at school.

[@TheBillaro]

As a marketer, you are on point with all of your little comments, well researched and presented ;)

[@mohammadk6548]

Breakdown method videos are great 👍🏻

[@phoenixhou4486]

It’s a really interesting niche you found in the language-learning community! Abusolutely love it! Maybe you can analyst my case sometime lol😂😂😂

[@bangkokadventures298]

I've' been watching him for a long time now. You and Matt are my go-to sources as far as language learning goes.

[@storylearning]

🙏🏻

[@stephenbui490]

Interesting !. I capture that the idea keys of success are "not giving up " and "doing it with your passion"

[@paulwalther5237]

I like this video I'll have to look for other videos where you analyze someone's successful language journey.

[@Alaedious]

My favorite video you've made so far. I found your commentaries very interesting and on point. 😎👍 Great work!

[@storylearning]

Thank you!

[@chsinskyy]

That's so dope 🙌

[@LittleThingsinJapan]

This is a serious analysis of Matt's method. Great content full of inputs for Japanese self study .👍

[@storylearning]

Thank you LTIJ!

[@richardconejo5460]

Great channel. I've just started my Japanese learning journey (2 weeks) and I've been watching various videos such as yours and others about acquiring a language. I've joined Tandem and HelloTalk and made a few japanese friends, with one in particular meeting on scheduled basis. Watching netflix with no subtitles, I just need to get going on the reading.

[@storylearning]

It’s the start of a wonderful journey, good luck!

[@Adrian-TJ]

You should watch with subtitles as a beginner! Gl!

[@richardconejo5460]

I thought the general view was to have them off. At this stage I can pick out certain words and hear the patterns. I'm relying on the images to make sense of what's going on, which is about 1/3 of the time.

[@tommyfletcher1357]

Put japanese subtitles on. I think it helps a lot

[@learneratheart2564]

This is a really cool video format!

[@storylearning]

Glad you like it Luke!

[@The235Anil]

Matt is the king of language learning KZbin!

[@tomatrix7525]

That’s actually a HUGE point. Bottom line is not giving up. Those who succeed aren’t necessarily effective learners, and while the combination of determination and effective learning lends likely to a faster pace of achieving your fluency, if you don’t ever give up, basically regardless of how slow your progress is, once you’ve progress being made at all , and continue for long enough, you will inevitably achieve any given level.

[@itsumoookini]

👍すごく役に立ちました。

[@paulwalther5237]

I'm a Japanese learner and not surprisingly a fan of Matt's KZbin videos. When he talked about the lightning striking and this sudden crazy obsession with the language as the big drive propelling him to learn the language I felt like he hit the nail on the head. That happened with me for German around age 21 and later with Japanese at age 34. I've studied other languages and enjoy it and I try to get that same lightning strike phenomenon to happen again but I can't seem to make it happen. I still enjoy other languages but I think I'm doomed to A2 maybe B1 or just semi competence in the languages as opposed to achieving something really special. (I've gotten a strong B2 in German and Japanese)

[@Donavelo]

Thank you for your content Olly and yes Matt is definitely one of the examples to follow when approaching languages.

[@storylearning]

You're welcome, glad you enjoy it!

[@ifechukwuejiofor8479]

Wow! Inspiring!

[@amadeusmalonje8263]

Great video, would love to see more videos like this. Definitely picked up somethings from this

[@storylearning]

More coming! :)

[@k.5425]

@@storylearning yay!

[@damianloder6080]

Yeah! Amazing. Go get it, make them dreams come true! No excuses, persistence and consistency. Thanks Olly, very inspiring story. Maybe one day you can interview me, how I became fluent in Tagalog 🙂

[@erturtemirbaev5207]

Are you from Australia?

[@damianloder6080]

@@erturtemirbaev5207 yes

[@Eudaimonia239]

I am currently learning korean with a similar method , so far is going good.

[@del2744]

Thank you for this video Olly, merci beaucoup c'est très intéressant ! En tant que française qui apprend le japonais depuis plusieurs mois (années...) je suis très touchée de voir l'implication de Matt et surtout le rêve accompli ! Je suis curieuse d'avoir votre ressenti sur l'apprentissage du japonais en comparaison à l'apprentissage du français... C'est l'objet de blagues entre mes amis japonaises et moi : combien le japonais est plus difficile à apprendre (elles ne sont pas d'accord haha !). Au final, les langues nous rapprochent, on se comprend sur beaucoup de choses :)

[@thenaturalyogi5934]

This just proves how personal a language is to the person outside of it being a language everyone in your life speaks. There are those languages and then there are languages that you just want to learn because are curious about it and excited to listen to and use it. I learned Mandarin in school for close to 15 years but as soon as high-school was over I stopped using it and all Palace dramas and martial arts shows became boring to me that I don't enjoy watching them so that language has been at a B2 until now I can understand and speak at the same level comfortable enough to not get lost in a bigger Mandarin speaking city, I will get lost in provinces that speak other Chinese languages but the point is the journey is different for everyone.

[@vasilisa2241]

I followed the same input-based method (however I didn't know it was a thing) when I was learning English. Now I'm advanced in it. Moreover, I work with the US market, managing business communication in English every single day. I'm Ukrainian, 22 y.o.

[@imwortyoflove369]

Matt is famous! His English sounds very natural!!! 😮 Awesome!! ✨✨

[@k.5425]

😂😂You know english is his native language right? Matt is an American. It's talking about how he learnt Japanese...

[@imwortyoflove369]

@@k.5425 Oops!! What I wanted to say is “His JAPANESE sounds very natural!!!” 😅🤣🤣 My bad. Lol 💦

[@nfrankiksa4596]

@@imwortyoflove369 😆

[@user-qh7rw5gy5i]

Lol he's just that good that you mistaked him for a Japanese person learning English

[@solarpunk_hive1306]

Dai sempre ottimi spunti!

[@UltraNyan]

That wall back in his bedroom, I wonder what stories it could tell.

[@BeeNeeLimitless]

Fantastic ❤️ Thank you 🙏 OLLY

[@Aaron-kr7rj]

I'll know I have finally mastered Japanese when my hairline comes back like matt's

[@genfermin4774]

Facts

[@chesterfarrington9853]

Yeah this happened to me with Puerto Rico. I lived and worked there for a while, but only half learned the language, so conversations with my coworkers were brief, and simplistic. Couldn't really make close friends because we had to talk to each other like we were 6 year olds

[@onoff101]

ty for enlightening us; he started as a child so yeah I understand better why

[@weil46]

i think it's never about how long it's take. never about 1 to 10 years od learning. i respect the way he did it. and i believe their will others can achieve that level in less time. for me i started learning since high school, but wasn't huge progress. and one day i had an opportunity to study in the us. and luckily since i want to learn the language. 20% came from institute and college 80% came from me. i spent a year in English institute and than took a break before college. and bcuz i wanted it. i transform my entire life to English and that how learned faster and be fluent. so the point is. if u want to learn, just transform ur daily life to the language u want to learn and u will make a huge progress in short time..

[@jadeevergreen]

I've been studying Japanese for about 4 years and recently I've been stuck between not being completely bad at Japanese, but also not actually being good in it either. That's why I've been trying to study by immersing myself more in the language by watching News and listening to Podcasts. As I'm not interested in most of the mainstream anime and light novels, I sometimes find it hard to find content I can immerse myself in that is also accesible in my home country. Does anyone have any recommendations?

[@diariosdelextranjero]

His content on languge learning is one of the best that is out there. He's authentic and real 👌🏼

[@storylearning]

It is, that's why I chose him as a subject!

[@SkaterStimm]

I have a similar experience to Matt, I studied Japanese in High school and college, actually got a minor in it. However I focused too much on textbook Japanese, and reading/writing and not enough on listening and speaking. I can understand most written Japanese, I have a high level of Kanji and vocabulary, but my listening is so poor that I have trouble conversing with people. Now I can do the same thing Matt can did where he has a scripted response to blow Japanese people's minds. "hi are you Japanese?", then go and start speaking Japanese to them and answering their questions as to why I was interested, but my Japanese listening ability was so limited that I couldn't do much more after that. I spent 2 weeks in Japan and I immersed myself and believe it or not my Japanese listening improved tremendously during that time, I almost would have a headache at the end of the day because all I did was listen listen listen. I completely regret not doing more Japanese listening practice (kikitori/ 聞き取り) because like Matt said this is 100% the most important part of learning, and it gives you the same experience a baby/child would have learning their native language. Recently I have been forcing myself to do listening practice but I really struggle trying to find material that interests me at my level. For example most N4/N3 listening excerizes are the most boring content imaginable and the interesting stuff I want to listen to is way to hard, and N5 is way too easy. Satori Reader seems decent, but still kinda boring. I am 40 now, and I have been studying Japanese for over half my life, but in total I am probably only a few years in since I haven't completely immersed myself. I think in the next decade I want to get to N3 listening level, and if I do that I think I can start reading books and watching tv shows pretty comfortably. Wish me luck!

[@joelgonzalez9467]

good video!

[@videogamerka0009]

Honestly Matt is like my numer 1 language mentor on YT. I also want to get super fluent in one language like him. It's rare to find, usually language KZbinrs focus on quantity.

[@jukeClassic]

THANK YOU FOR THIS VIDEO!! I feel like I've learned so much I can apply to my own attempts at immersion learning through this video. I have so many gray areas in my understanding of immersion learning but feel like this cleared up more things than any other video I can think of!

[@storylearning]

That’s wonderful to hear

[@EnglishWithIzabela]

When I moved to the US (decades ago) I was a teen, i spoke 0 english. What Matt said about spending all his time in the library studying hit hard because I spent all my time with the dictionary. ESL (in my humble opinion) is a laughable waste of time and I refused to go, I insisted on full immersion into a regular classroom and I struggled but became fluent in 3 to 6 months. AJATT (or in my case AEATT) works and if someone has the discipline to set aside socializing for the sake of self improvement for a few months, it pays off.

[@Komatik_]

Japanese does have the added kink of having a complete clusterfuck of a writing system. Raw immersion's a good bit easier if the language is written with a phonetic script.

[@isabelle441]

Lol while watching this i'm the same age as when Matt first started, I hope I can work hard to become really good at speaking the language like him

[@aidenbradfield1129]

5:15 same thing for me I want to move to Japan to get away from problems (mainly social) and start over

[@tankeryy1566]

subscribed!

[@maniravandi5983]

he is our language prophet

[@tehs3raph1m]

Yknow, good point. I don't think I really do have the dedication to do that. Maybe it's time to give up

[@naxcapfolsap1683]

Make one about a person who learned Cantonese and korean through the same method!!

[@cristianhcm1914]

Very interesting. Looked like a total nerd as a kid. He chose Japan. Good for him.

[@goviralshortz]

While i don't have time to watch this because I'm too busy applying Matts strategies everyday, I'm making time because I can allow a little bit of english content in my system right 😂

[@storylearning]

You have permission! 😅

[@SlyGuyMorad]

So what I got from this: he just learned by flash cards, memorizing as many words, studying the language in-depth in school, complete immersion in the language, and practicing speaking with Japanese friends.

[@75adag]

It's incredible how shis voice changes completely when he speaks Japanese !

[@alysimone]

This series is super interesting and insightful. Thanks for taking the time to make this video series!

[@storylearning]

Cheers Aly!

[@damon2847]

Interesting video, Olly. He's definitely taken control of his own learning, but what I found especially interesting is that once he started really speaking Japanese, he was dictating the topic, and direction of the conversations. I've noticed this about other language learners who impress their interlocutors. I think this is especially ego-boosting when used among speakers who are not used to non-L1 speakers speaking their language proficiently.

[@copingforever6093]

never thought he would be such a mad man

[@williamrios6976]

The real key? .. NEVER GIVE UP! 👍🏼

[@garpthegramps4282]

How would you use these tips if not as lucky as Matt and getting things such as trips etc?

[@FlowUrbanFlow]

I find it interesting that people call it native level when you're fluent with a good accent. I've seen a lot of people that are very fluent that seem to just completely ignore pronunciation being accurate, and it baffles me. I don't consider myself very good at Japanese but people who are much better than me have complimented me on how good I sound when I speak. I used to do a lot of impressions as a kid so maybe It's easier for me to change my voice than most people

[@rsmith02]

Maybe it's better to not sound so good but understand everything.

[@shogun9409]

This video was lot helpful. But can i get some advice pls? I just started to learn japanese i mean self teaching myself. But i barely know any words. I cant read japanese apart from some common words that i hear all the time in the animes that i watch. So as I discovered from this video, reading can make my japanese improve to actually be able to speak. So i want to know what should i do if i want to read japanese as a beginner who doesnt know anything. Pls help me.

[@completebilingual]

Yeah. The main reason that I feel that people move to Japan is because of something they're running from. Definitely. Everyone I've observed. Like not getting along with their family or not popular with the opposite gender or just plain hating their life. Me on the other hand, I didn't have a choice because I was 9 years old.

[@niels2958]

Isn't that the obvious reason for all people living outsite their country of origin? Migrating has always something to do with choosing a place where you think life is better or more valuable for various reasons. If you don't run from something or want to improve something for yourself, there wouldn't be any reason to move to another country (of course, moving together with your parents is the exception). Even when westerners doing welfare in poorer countries it is some kind of escaping (mostly from the fact that they might have lived a meaningless life before). In the case of Japan I think every reason is okay as long as you are really interested in the people and culture rather then phantasizing about living in some dream world that all your comic books and anime made you believe Japan is. Because, living in Japan (like really living, being responsible for earning money and stuff like that) has a lot of downsites. I often think that most people are making more of Japan than the country really has to offer, because they are too lost in their anime and fantasy. This goes especially for nerdish people coming from the US or Europe.

[@completebilingual]

@@niels2958 No, that's not true. Running away and finding someplace you'd like to be instead are two completely different things. I've heard a few stories of people moving to Japan simply because of their fascination with Japan. That's not ESCAPING something, that's a HOBBY. Of course, the average listener is not interested in drama, so you will never hear about the people who didn't get along with their family or didn't fit in in American society and decided to come to Japan.

[@niels2958]

@@completebilingual well, moving to another country because you feel not fitting in the country/society of your origin is in my opinion a fair reason. I know a lot of chinese living in Japan, guess what their reason is (besides their interest in Japanese culture). But I agree, running from personal problems that are not connected with something like political might be a huge mistake because personal problems will not disdappear just because people move to another country. In the case of Japan it might get even worse because besides all the superficial kawaii bullshit Japan has a quite cold society (depending on the people you can make friends with of course) and a weak mental health system in general which is even worse for foreigners.

[@completebilingual]

@@niels2958 Everyone else sticks it out when the problem is political. Why should the people that RUN AWAY to Japan be any different? They're wimps, that's how they're different. You don't have an entire country migrate to a different one. That's just absurd.

[@iam03j32]

I’m at a crossroads... I want to learn Japanese so bad but I’ve been learning Spanish for a few years and I’m at a decent level but not fluent. Idk if I should just put Spanish to the side and focus on Japanese or if I should just go all out and achieve fluency in Spanish and then learn Japanese... damnnnnnn

[@Themoment888]

If you watch lindiebots, she has this method where she learns another language in the language she's learned. So learn Japanese using textbooks written in Spanish ect.

[@DavidJJames]

When I read the email I thought this was going to be Matt Johnson, whom you can see on my channel doing a spoof of the Polyglot multilingual video genre.

[@hijeffhere]

I'm laughing while watching this video because I can relate to Matt at this point of my learning. I was so obsessed with perfection that I forgot to enjoy my life. Then I realized that and said to my self "FCK IT! I'll throw away these books and immerse myself instead." Right now, I'm seeing more progress than before and overall, I'm happier because I can spend my life living. I'm nowhere near Matt's level but someday, I will definitely! I'll never give up until then

[@jackattack5209]

Forget how he learned Japanese. How tf did he grow his hair back?

[@weltschmertzz]

Japanese is very tough to learn. I've been trying to learn it on and off for years but I still can't communicate in it.

[@Kaleshe]

I would love to do the full immersion approach but I don't really watch anime and can't find japanese content that I'm interested in 😞

[@calinuur4032]

Hi dear teacher thanks for sharing this outstanding information. I actually do appreciate it for making this beautiful video. Honestly i have found tremendous idea and i will definitely apply this idea into my process leaning, because right now i'm struggling in order to improve my speaking ability as well as my fluency. And I hope that you will bring up many video like this because this video is really inspired me in order to concentrate on my study and to get the level that i desperately need to attain. I wish you the best.