How to become fluent in Japanese? - Interview with Steve Kaufmann

Steve Kaufmann
/ thelinguist
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[@takashiifromjapan]

TOKYO GUIDEBOOK takashifromjapan.com/tokyocompleteguide

[@Thelinguist]

Really enjoyed our discussion and happy to see so many comments from people who are enthusiastic about learning Japanese and getting to know Japanese culture and society, as I did over 50 years ago. Thanks for the interview.

[@maj.mp4]

Thank you so much for your time! This was a really interesting discussion to listen to as an aspiring japanese speaker.

[@riaconradt2554]

I enjoyed your insights to learning a language. I am interested in learning Japanese and am currently learning Korean. Some people romanticize learning a language or make bold claims of being fluent after a year or so, but the truth is learning a language takes a lot of effort and exposure to it and is a continuous process.

[@alexshewan]

The second I saw Steve's name in the title, I had to check this one out. I'm 27 and have "looked" at many different languages with deep fascination. I started learning french, which lead to Spanish, which lead to Norwegian, then German, and now Japanese. I speak none of them - I cant seem to stay committed for very long before I jump to the next and end up not making much progress or losing what I did acquire. That would be ultimately my biggest question today - how do you commit to just one when they all seem useful?

[@jorgeshimada6934]

I've never dreamed to see an interview with you. It's amazing! Thank you so much for your time, it's very inspiring!

[@xuser9980]

Steve, you sir are inspiring.

[@OrientalPearl]

I’m so happy to see this collab. You’re both awesome!

[@takashiifromjapan]

Oh another polyglot here! thanks!

[@jimross7648]

As you've said it takes effort and perseverance to master a foreign language. I like that he indicated that you need to understand certain cultural components to help understand the true meanings of words or sentences. As I been advancing in my studies I have found that I get the correct words, but my understanding of the meanings or order of words is lacking, and therefore I don't always get the exact meaning. I'm close but close still can leave a lot of room for misunderstandings.

[@shlabedeshlub3334]

@EB18 they collabed 2 weeks ago

[@OrientalPearl]

@@jimross7648 Nice to see you here too Jim. I’m glad you’re being diligent with your studies.

[@Chris-ih4hj]

So much polyglot

[@jagsart9720]

This message is so true. I been studying Japanese for three years and I have notice it takes a lot of time and practice. I am still currently not able to speak much but I started to be able to watch movies and shows in Japanese without subtitles. So for everyone learning just keep trying and don’t give up!!!! You will get it :)

[@FickleWid]

That's bigger than you think, keep it up!

[@heidiw3615]

I learned English through youtube and shows. It's rather accessible to learn Japanese because anime is so easy to find and watch and they come in different level of difficulties. However, for me, I want to learn Swedish now and it's such a niche that I don't know where to find enough videos and shows for me to watch to be able to learn it better.

[@erturtemirbaev5207]

Thank you

[@Tanerion]

@@heidiw3615 I live in a Nordic country and we see TV shows from other Nordic countries all the time on TV. So Swedish is a language that I've passively picked up and understand completely, but I wouldn't be able to string a sentence together in it. Maybe you could try to find a Swedish public TV app, sometimes they have shows that aren't region locked that you can watch. Or just search random Swedish words on KZbin, you're bound to find a bunch of Swedish channels.

[@heidiw3615]

@@Tanerion thank you! Any children shows you would recommend? My level is still pretty low lol. I watched a movie called "en man som heter ove". With Swedish subtitles, I can kinda understand it, but still it was a bit hard for me. I also watched shows like the Bridge and Beforeigners, but they were both a mix of couple of the Nordic languages instead of just Swedish. I love Beforeigners though!

[@takashiifromjapan]

Thank you so much for watching! I’m uploading twice a week for now Tell me your opinion about it Is it too much or not enough?

[@doromizu.]

Just enough 👍

[@Joshuu333]

perfect!!

[@lizawinslow4773]

It’s enough. Just remember when you feel tired, STOP!

[@andy_maverick1]

Perfect

[@jieunan479]

Please interview Japanese-American people or person in Japan. There are also Little Tokyo and Japan town in California, US. So a lot of Japanese people are staying in US.

[@mrsTraveller64]

I must say, for me the key is FIRST to learn to LISTEN to the language, to hear what it exactly sounds like, the pronountion,the "melody" of the language, THEN start to learn it. That is how you not only learn to speak it,but you also learn to pronounce it fluently.

[@annajonske6566]

Exactly what I was thinking!! As ridiculous as it feels, it really helps trying to imitate exactly how a native speaker said something. And as hard as it might be, when learning a language that's so different from ones native language, I'd say one has to try to completely break away from what one has developed as "my talking melody", that ofc carries a lot of personality, but can't be transfered to the new language. And for so fundamentally different languages I'd say to also break free from thinking everything can be translated if you try hard enough. Not everything can and that's the beauty of language and culture in the end and why learning new languages means to get another perspective on the world i believe :))

[@mrsTraveller64]

@@annajonske6566 aso learning to sing a foreign song just by listening, helps you alot to get a grip of the language, I was a teenager when I played an Italian song "ci sara'" over and over again, and learned it by heart,not knowing what the words meant😊I can still sing it today, and I have googeled a lot of the words just to get a grip of the song. Same with the Israeli song "hallelujah" sang by Milk&Honey, I learned it by heart with the pronouncions and twenty years later I learned Hebrew! Realized I have heard lots of sentences wrong but still pronounced them like as it was Hebrew!

[@annajonske6566]

@@mrsTraveller64 Totally!! Amazing 🙏🏼

[@otakuperofresa]

oh god, thank you so much takashii for this video and for all of your content, I really enjoy it and is very useful for my studies in japanise! どもありがとうございます。

[@hillarysudeikis2264]

Please don’t use God’s Name in vain, Exodus 20:7

[@tiffanyacuff9450]

I love Steve Kaufmann. He has had a huge influence in the way I have directed my Japanese learning/acquisition. It is nice to have a "well seasoned" opinion and view about things. Thanks for sharing!

[@Momo-qo7is]

Excellent interview! You are very talented in interviewing people. Takashi-san knows how to bring out the best from whom he interviews with. He has an excellent listening skill. Yes it’s very true. Steve picked up Japanese vs. Mandarin and English vs. Spanish. I have been learning Japanese together with Mandarin, while learning Spanish together with English. They can support and relate to each other. It’s also very important to take each language individually and understand everything behind the languages. I am very glad that I listen to this interview. Many thanks to Steve for sharing these amazing techniques. I am fully motivated to enjoy the learning process.

[@maegalroammis6020]

he just discourage us to go in japan.

[@MrShem123ist]

"Language learning is a process that never ends." Thanks for the motivation, Mr. Kaufmann! Glad you also talked about Friends, that really made my day. Great video, Takashi san! 素晴らしい!

[@takashiifromjapan]

Yeah I'm still learning English!! that's so motivating1

[@mypet330]

Don't get stroke man i know some any trying me appropriatly disgusting here even i'm just commentator you know that.

[@mypet330]

Those cleanest fepol vocabulary didn't apply from the face of civilization from their goods until today crack education geographic. Remember european before the curriculum 2 years washing is not a highblood from the right thing cause was that time in our corruption in government and i think bong will solve it now.

[@maegalroammis6020]

japanese is a torture of a language. it's worse than hebrew, greek, russian or chinese.

[@maegalroammis6020]

thank you for the discouraging

[@CesDayrit]

What a very insteresting topic! I’m now currently studying nihongo here in Japan. But before coming here I used to watch alot of Japanese drama series. I think the best way to learn Japanese language/Culture is to watch alot of Japanese movies or drama series😄 It will be very helpful to understand their culture, society and environment. Thank you Steve and Takashii! おつかれさまでした。

[@fade7978]

Should I wait to do that until I have a decent comprehension to understand at least some of it? Or just do it right away? Also, should I turn off english subtitles and have japanese subtitles on instead? Thank you.

[@RizwanKhancovers]

Please recommend a few dramas

[@trevor1749]

i agree! i watched anime for about two years and then began learning japanese and it provided me a great foundation for just recognizing sentence patterns and words as well as the culture.

[@CesDayrit]

@@fade7978 Hi, I suggest watch the episode all the way through with subtitles in your native language or english sub until you become familiar with the words. Honestly, I’m still watching series with english sub tho 😄 it’s not that easy to become fluent just by watching series. But if you have like a favorite drama or anime it’s better if you watch it multiple times. And best way also is to download some apps and practice atleast everyday even just for 1 hour to widen your vocabulary. 🤗

[@CesDayrit]

@@RizwanKhancovers Hi, Based on my personal preferences, I like the kind of drama/anime related to food, comedy, close to reality and many more. I think you will like; 1 Midnight diner : Tokyo series 2 Kinou Nani Tabeta? (What Did You Eat Yesterday?) 3 Naked Director 4 Million yen women 5 Old enough 6 Mother ( Mana Ashida) and many many more..

[@ganndalf202]

I agree. You have to go through the repetitive process. I strugled so much with katakana, some hiragana and now vocabulary and kanji but I forced myself to repeat it every single day and now when I'm through basics i am so curious about the langauge and everything, I try to read and understand everything I can and it's so much fun for me. I even approach Japanese and try to practice with them now and most are happy to help. But also the mindset is a thing, I was just talking with my Japanese friend how we are friends for a while but despite that our cultural differences are still a thing so it still causes misunderstandings so we are trying to educate each other. Honestly just enjoy the process and learning about different culture and people, the experience itself is worth it. Just like Steve said, japanese is very hard. I'm not native english speaker but learning english, german and other western langauges was way easier for me than japanese so just enjoy.

[@ta4music459]

The cultural differences shouldn't be underestimated - the differences aren't large, but can cause confusion and conflicts at a language level. Even I and the wife (she's Japanese) run into this, even though we know each other so well. Some of that *is* because of the languages though.. a simple thing like Japanese having the verb at the very end. So you don't really know what the other person is saying unless you wait for the sentence to complete. And because of that you don't start your reply until the other party is finished (except for the Japanese way of nodding and coming with encouraging "I'm here" sounds). And that becomes _culture_: *Don't interrupt the other person*. Whereas in my native language all the important stuff comes very early in the sentence, the latter half of the sentence is just filler. So it's totally common and acceptable to start replying half way through the other person's sentence.. that's how we all do it. But my wife can't get used to it, even though she speaks my language well. So if I forget myself and replies early then it's "You are not listening to me!". To get out of that habit has been very difficult for me. Unbelievably difficult. I didn't realise how much of what I do and say is automatic and so hard to get under conscious control.

[@LIJ]

This is a great video! Very encouraging for learning Japanese (and true I think). I especially liked what Steve said about the Japan of today, I do think it is more open than ever.

[@KimiChanJapan]

I liked this guy, he seemed really nice. His words about learning Japanese and trying to really enjoy studying made me want to study harder. I also liked that he liked Japan now more than in the 70s. I appreciate even in the US when older people aren't the ones criticizing the present and constantly complaining about how better the 60s', 70s' were.

[@abhinavchauhan7864]

I am just 20 year old and i dislike kids of my generation. Older people were better. Old world was better

[@IGamingStation]

Study, study. People need to stop treating learning a language like it's a damn "chore". You study for your midterms and cert exams. You learning a language because you want to communicate and connect with people better and understand the culture (unless of course, learning a foreign language is part of your academic curriculum, in which case studying is crucial).

[@abhinavchauhan7864]

@@IGamingStation but not everyone learns a language to connect with people or understand the culture or because it's part of the academic curriculum

[@maegalroammis6020]

these people ages badly

[@sharkall_today]

Awesome video! Thanks a lot for the insight! I'm a brazilian learning english and japanese, watching english videos helped me a lot and now I started doing it with japanese now that I'm getting used to the language :D ありがとうございます！

[@Vrunge90]

Como vai a aprendizagem do japonês??

[@humanbean3]

スティーブさん大好き、めちゃ面白い動画です。スティーブさんにもっとインタビュー見たいでしょうね。たくさん知識を学べられて、確かに昔の日本に外人で住んでたについては聞きたい I love Steve. Really cool interview! I'd love to see more interviews with him. There's a lot of knowledge we could learn from him. I'd like to hear more about being in Japan as a foreigner in the old days.

[@leoru9861]

”エンジョイしてください” - truely tip no. 1

[@soniacaridad5059]

I found this interview so interesting and inspiring at the same time, specially for all of us who have joined this journey of learning such a rich and beautiful language as Japanese! Thank you so much Takashii and Steve 👏

[@zackaryallam1396]

こんなインタビューめっちゃ役立ちますよ！ありがとうございます😊

[@dindi380]

Thank you for putting english subtitles, and for creating interesting content! I am learning Japanese now, so these type of videos help me a lot.

[@vjgamer8835]

This was without doubt one of the most important and informative video ever about learning japanese. Steve sir told us the whole proceedure so calmly that it went right inside my head. This video should get more videos. And Takashi san THANK YOU VERY MUCH !! for uploading this video for us, it helped me solve a lot of questions i was worried about as a beginner japanese learner.

[@laurencetaylor5046]

I just found this channel, great resource for japanese learners! I also want to say I really enjoyed Steve's reflections on Japanese society at the end of the video. Steve talks so much more about language learning than his own life that it's easy to forget what an interesting life he's lived. Growing up in Montreal in the 50s, studying in france in the 60s, then moving to Hong Kong and Japan in the 70s... His reflections on the changing society of these places are so interesting, every bit as interesting as his reflections on the languages themselves. Thank you for leaving that last bit in!

[@pynkieeast8223]

Not only did we received the advice of learning Japanese, more like we got the advice of ‘how to learn things effectively’. Thank you!

[@richardhanson4600]

This presentation is a gold mine of sage advice. Many thanks to Mr. Kaufman for giving insight into this complex topic. Thank you also for the subtitles. I hope this video will go viral.

[@specialk9999]

I lived in Tokyo as a child in the 80's. It's been a long time since I have been back there and can't wait until I can visit again.

[@MsCarolina143]

I think this might be my favorite video from Takashi. I really like all of his videos but the one one one discussion allowed for a deeper conversation and Steve is such an insightful interviewee. I'm glad you kept the English discussion at the end as well to allow the convo to continue!

[@MacRoods]

This was really helpful, one of the best videos so far! ありがとうございました。

[@mariotaz]

Steve Kaufmann is such a great motivator for language learners. Super realistic about his approach to learning with no BS.

[@thatPEARL]

This is such an insightful interview! I totally agree with everything he said. Although it was opposite for me, i realized learning Japanese was easier for me when I focus on the things i enjoy like music, idols, anime, anything pop culture related. But for me to reach my level right now, I enrolled to a proper Japanese language school, pass the JLPT, and improved more by using the language through my work(I work in a Japanese company) and talking to Japanese people. Everyone has their own methods of learning, but nothing beats learning when you’re enjoying it as well.

[@nativitymusic]

wow! a Steve Kaufmann collab. very awesome to hear/see him speak Japanese. congrats on hitting 200k plus! onward to 1 mil!!!!

[@Eric-le3uu]

Great interview. Enjoyed Steve's stories on Japan in the 70s!

[@beataolszewska3173]

For me, as a beginner Japanese learner, and generally language learning enthusiast, the conversation was really captivating. I so much concur with the idea of enjoying the learning process, as it boosts your motivation and uses the natural mechanism of learning any content. Thank you so much for summarising and emphasising the tips as they definitely are key factors to language acquisition.

[@brenokobayashi7689]

As always this video was very cool. I'm a Nikkei born in Brazil. I also lived in Japan for almost 6 years when I was younger, but I've been living in Canada for the last 10 years. Japanese is my true second language, but I'm also fluent in English and French. I enjoy your videos because I can see and hear real people, like when I was living in Japan.Your videos are helping me to reconnect with Japan, so I'm really thankful. I really enjoyed your interviews with Brazilian Nikkeis in Japan, so if you could do more of them, that would be nice.

[@etodillerx2095]

didn't expect you to have an interview with Steve. Nice to see your channel grow so fast, while learning Japanese!

[@SuperTwoU]

This was a very interesting interview! I've been struggling with my Japanese learning lately, I feel like I'm making no progress even though I study everyday for about 1 to 3 hours. But now I feel confident that as long as I persevere and keep at it, I will get better at understanding Japanese.

[@robyikoto3]

Interesting topic. thank you! 面白い話です。

[@donelmore2540]

I was in Japan in 1967 for a week while on R&R from Vietnam. My buddy and I had no problems getting around on the trains, etc.. Young people would give us directions and translate for us. I found everyone friendly and helpful.

[@lunaKitsune0x0]

This was so pleasant!!! Mr hoffman seems like such a fun person and a great advice giver!

[@Republicofpeter]

This was the best interview you’ve ever done. Excellent content.

[@MotivationalSham]

I would love to be fluent in japanese

[@CodyRockLee13]

The journey of a lifetime begins with a single step. Go for it!

[@fourspiralarms]

このビデオ大好き。Steveさんはずっと前からフォローしているけど、このビデオの中でたかしいさんが普通のビデオと比べたらとても自然です。please do more videos like this!

[@Celeste77789]

Your video's always help me learn alot, arigatou 🙇.

[@dennismcquoid9751]

Thank you, Takashi-san. I'm moving to Japan in about 18 months and am beginning to learn now. This episode is helpful.

[@fionafidela]

i really have so much respect for steve kaufmann

[@clementk.2561]

This is a really good interview. That's what I've always thought about learning a language. If you want to be fluent you have to be able to read the language, listen to it, speak it and immerse yourself in the culture.

[@nicolekollman]

thanks for the interview....I have been in Mexico for 30 years and learned Spanish.here without a teacher....like Steve said...first vocab then TV and later youhave to absorb the culture to understand the jokes at parties or even simple conversations etc. Now I am about Steves age and trying to learn Japanese through you tube and other means just for fun..and its coming along....and really you even can absorb the culture through the language....the making of coffee too now is self-service here but back when...yes youhad to do everything for the boss.. there was a formality about everything...today things are more relaxed...enjoyed the interview a lot.

[@chlorind]

my god... the stories from a foreigner who experience Japanese in 70s is really valuable to hear...

[@MelissaR24]

Extremely happy you did this interview. I was unsure if I wanted to learn Japanese not because it's a difficult language but because when it comes to Japanese music I actually enjoy not being able to understand the songs. To me, it sounds cool and I have fun listening but as he mentioned it's better to experience something yourself because a translation can only do so much. Now I truly want to learn not just the language but the culture:)

[@mnmaddict37532]

Very wise man. His advice about enjoying the process can be applied to learning any new language or interest

[@HaiTomVlog]

This was a great video with great advice! Your guest was very positive about learning Japanese. I would have loved to hear more stories from his experiences! 😄

[@chair6180]

So inspiring. I learned Cantonese, stepped into Mandarin (both are Chinese, and they're "quite" similar), and now am learning Japanese. It is A LOT OF fun!!! I can't wait to be able to speak 4 languages! Planning to learn Korean next.

[@SantiagoSarmiento1]

The best crossover of the year!! I follow both of you! And I hope to live and study in japan someday.... ✌🏻 🇯🇵

[@Ladykyra101]

Very nice video. Thanks for sharing. 👍🏼

[@TheEffectOfMass]

Great interview! I liked the part at the end where he talks about the differences from the 70's and now.

[@commentarytalk1446]

His context seems unique to learning Japanese: He already learnt Kanji / Cantonese or Mandarin he did not say. Expanding vocabularly and knowing the SOUNDS of each vocab seems like very good advice, irrespective. However, I'm surprised there was no mention of "Talking + Context". I'm sure that is as equally important to learning Japanese? Thank you for the useful and interesting video.

[@gamermasterL]

Wow I just discovered Steve's channel recently and now you are interviewing him. What a coincidence.

[@ernestorevollar3632]

Steve Kaufmann is a wonderful, legendary polyglot whose language learning skills and wisdom are really impressive to us. He's such a phenomenon at the language learning field and I admire him so much. Cutting to the chase, Japanese is a very hard language to learn in all senses but sometimes I come across some inspiring, amazing Western KZbinrs who have learned that language in several remarkable ways to go through it because they're quite interested in learning the language for a certain period of time and personally I have no interest in learning it so far because of its complicated grammatical structure, writing system, vocabulary as well as the word order which scare me away to be honest. But after all, I could change my mind in the future if I want to regarding trying to learn Japanese even though I'd have to spend a lot of time (several years) on learning it. We can always trip up making unavoidable mistakes when learning a totally new language, this doesn't include English, to me, due to its numerous similarities with Spanish which is my first language by the way. Goodbye.

[@Suhnik]

Gave me real hope to here Steve say that even for him it took 5 years to actually feel comfortable in the language. I started to feel really down for not being able to understand anime or KZbin after 2 years.

[@SoneBlink]

Very cool and interesting interview, thank you both!

[@assweetasjam8627]

Thank you Takahashi-san for this interview. I have been watching anime for over 10 years and can watch it and understand most basic Japanese and same with Korean as well, however it is really hard as Mr. Kaufman said to keep it up. My first language is german and english is second, so absorbing languages has come to me easier then many people. Yet, I still struggle keep up with it and retaining all that I have learned, but this interview has taught 2 things: I have READ and LISTEN a LOT to keep it alive until I. Can visit the countries and experience the culture for myselg. Again thank you so much! Arigatou gosaimasu

[@maiconalmeida8017]

So good 😊 delightful to watched thanks

[@MrJayda0025]

Very impressive! I enjoyed this video!

[@hopperhelp1]

Ah that’s so cool. Been following Steve Kaufman for over a year now. Great collaboration.

[@t0ny97]

Damn,did not expect you to collab with him.Amazing video! keep it up

[@elfchild9]

That was super interesting! I especially liked hearing his observations about how Japanese culture has changed over the decades. A lot of the language KZbinrs I listen to are younger, so they never had the chance to experience those things firsthand.

[@mahacherki6858]

Thanks so much for this video i nearly lost motivation to keep learning the japanese language but now i feel refreshed thank you takashii san and steve san

[@TheNinGenTai]

Steve Kaufmann is such a nice person!

[@Ks-wy8ry]

Very inspiring to hear Steve talking Japanese, I heard him talking Spanish. It’s brilliant. Thank you very much for the content. Brilliant interview.

[@christiangroth2677]

Great video guys! Mr. Kaufmann has been a huge influence on me during my looong journey with the Japanese language. Language is the gift that keeps on giving and there is truly no substitution for being able to communicate with strangers in their home country.

[@sadhbh4652]

This was really interesting. I would love to hear more about the differences between the Japan of the 1960s/70s and the Japan of today.

[@nessava]

wooww what a nice sweet video, it was so helpful, thank you so much💜💜💜🫂

[@songthanh896]

Wonderful conversation!

[@sesui]

Enjoy and Perseverance! Great interview...Thanx

[@krissydiggs]

I feel a bit motivated! Thank you! Recently I’ve noticed I can understand and manage a lot of conversations daily. It’s slow… but it’s happening. My best advice is just to keep at it. It doesn’t seem like you’re making progress, but then suddenly you have. It’s a cool feeling. Video games with text are a great way to practice reading too! I’ve been playing Harvest Moon ( ぼくじょの物語り) and it’s a good one because you see the same phrases a lot and the Japanese they use is related to real world things. I tried Pokémon but it was too confusing since I don’t know the Japanese Pokémon names… 😅 みんな、頑張ってねー♪

[@Pakalani03]

This was very interesting and educational. Steve Kaufmann was full of the history of older Japan and his ideas about learning Japanese were insightful. He's amazing. Thanks for this video. I learned a lot.

[@priscaadamma9806]

happy you are growing and having more colabs 👏🤝 i learned alot.thanks

[@matthewjay660]

Takashii-kun, I liked Steve's stories about the 1970's office-Japan versus today. It was like going back in time. 🇺🇸🤝🇯🇵

[@Y0UNGN1NJ4]

Wow, amazing interview! 感動しました！Steve Kaufmann, legend!! 🔥🔥

[@mick3027-i4d]

What an amazingly educated man!!

[@veronicamaldonado6511]

I'm so engaged with the twist of your content in the last two months... Thank you Takashii-san :)

[@luizantoniofranciscopinto8484]

I'm from Brazil and I really appreciated your interview. I study English for now, but I intend to learn Japanese in the future. Tks

[@AitanaStark]

so interesting! thank you so much for this interview I enjoyed it a lot

[@BTSForever-oq7xc]

Really good interview. Made me laugh. What Steve said about understanding the words but not understanding the situation/ context is so true. This also goes in one's own language. We can speak the same language as another person but there may be no deep understanding between us.

[@weilaiyvn_DEACTIVATED]

I believe that the most important thing in a language is the linguistic alienation of the concepts / words ("average meaning" that the people tend to use). This changes with the time, location, moment and the social group that you're or willing to be in. It's impossible to know all the possible meanings of the worlds, but what we can do is to get to know the most commons meanings, the alienations for that field / region. And, as obviously, it's an historical and cultural process, what forms certain meanings and the average alienations of some terms. The words for themselves are empty, it's the individual who give meaning for them (and that's why impossible to know all the possible meanings). So if you didn't know some cultural and even historical side of that "place", you certainly going to not understand or be understood, because the words going to making any sense for you or the others. We can't catch or express something that we didn't know (heard, though, seen, lived etc). So this is why is important to really dive in the culture and some historic (helping to know the etymology) of that people, and I believe that is this what can make we more near of some native level, but at least fluent, because we're gonna know how to read and use the same thing with others concepts and contexts. The language learning it's and constant process because the culture is an constant process. I think that even for natives is like that, even in my language tongue I still use to learn things. So this is what I believe that can make an fast or slow results in a language learning.

[@sandram2974]

Wow! What a great conversation! That you for creating this video. Loved getting Steve’s perspective on things and really enjoyed the questions that you asked. 😄❤️

[@CoopDysfunction]

Thank you so much for this. I am learning so much about Japan as well as the language. I have been studying for 8 or 9 months now at my own pace, but getting better each month without question.

[@malerieglasser5276]

This is so incredibly admirable

[@777rogerf]

knowing many languages led to Steve Kaufmann developing a wide understanding of human nature and, in a way, our host, Takashii, is on a similar path because he interviews people from many countries. This made for an especially good interview.

[@charleshorseman55]

10:43 The "awe" is telling. Speak of it.

[@Sune]

Thank you for making this video!!! I will keep his words in mind for my Japanese studies. 頑張ります！

[@ewayjeng1]

Awesome interview!

[@robertoquezada4465]

This was an awesome interview, thanks to both for giving us your knowledge 🙂

[@KarinaLlanos]

What a beautiful interview!

[@etodillerx2095]

I would like to add one thing that i personally use to study languages. In my opinion, twitch streams are really helpful. I learned English this way, now it also works with Japanese. Hearing casual speech from native speakers and trying to have a conversation with them is a key. It might be difficult at the start, but gradually becomes easier.

[@maryj13]

a wonderful video, thank you thank you thank you💜💜💜

[@ekurea12]

やはり、経験って相当人を輝かせるのね、 しかも本当にローマは一日にならずなんですね。 何事も... 続けることが大事なんですね、 英語を話せるようになりたいけど、 私は、映画をみるとか、好きな菓子やパン作りを、 外国の方のyoutubeで見ようと思ってます。 英語が母国語でない国の方の映画は案外とても聞きやすいです。 ためになる動画ありがとう。

[@vivianefernandes5640]

I really loved this interview! Congratulations 😍

[@AndrewRyusen]

Enjoy the experience - good advice. It's about everything. Be nice, make good and no matter from where you are)

[@nikg6305]

This video was awesome. Mr. Kaufmann gave such a good interview. Thank you!

[@mayhem435]

Such excellent content! Highly intereting and i love to see you progress day by day with your channel 😍🙌 keep it up, i'll support you, you're awesome takashii!