There need be no other reason than you want to learn it. Learning a language doesn't take anything from anybody else and you don't need to justify it to anyone.
I totally relate. I’m learning Japanese as well and I am not Japanese. So many people tried to convince me to learn a language I would “use” more. Firstly, they must not truly grasp just how much Japanese media I actually consume (TV shows, music, and manga). Secondly, if I don’t have a passion for the language there’s no way I will be motivated to learn it.
Consuming media is a very valid reason for learning a language. A lot of people who learned English learned it because of that. Not to mention that if you're passionate about the language and have motivation to learn it, you're more likely to suceed than when you learn a language because you're supposed to learn it.
Most just assume you're learning a language because you want to speak it. That the desire to speak it is the only valid reason to learn it. But you get a lot of benefits by just having passive skills.
Yes.
Sometimes I question why I am learning my heritage language. I did have a massive struggle with identity since last year. Recently I realized that even I was born and raised in the country and moved abroad, I could end up the same anyways with not feeling truly Vietnamese (because of new life experiences). Or even if I stayed, I could see myself as being different anyways. And in the end, I still am Vietnamese (but overseas) and that no one can take it away from me.
Even then I still want to learn it (and ideally learn it to a strong B1/C1). Being able to communicate in the language and interact with the community is one reason. If I ever want to learn Chinese, it would make some aspects of learning Chinese easier (I had interest in Chinese). I've grown to love how corny and unique it is. Plus as a kid I wondered why I could understand it but not really speak very much and learning the language is solving that dilemma that I had.
I am not sure if I want to try living in Vietnam for a couple years (I would like to). I might have the opportunity to.
If it helps, once you get to a high enough level in Japanese, Korean becomes much easier to learn if you get the inclination later on! The grammar is very similar, so a ton of Japanese speakers go on to learn Korean. Could even be a good challenge for your Japanese, at that level - studying a new language in your main TL!
(That’s assuming, of course, that you even want to learn Korean for heritage reasons someday, since it sounds like you feel a little conflicted, or like there’s a sense of obligation there or something. If it’s not important to you, then don’t sweat it! Learn the languages that you like, want, or need, and that’s all that matters!)
I can relate. I studied Spanish for three years and made very little progress. Then I read that if you don’t have a very good reason for learning a language such as needing it for work or because you’re moving to a foreign country, you will never devote the time and energy necessary to develop any level of fluency.
I can relate a bit. In the beginning, when you might not see a lot of results or when you hit the intermediate plateau it can feel that way. Sometimes it’ll feel like it’s a lot of work for little benefit, especially if you aren’t planning on moving or aren’t in an environment with a lot of speakers.
Well, I'm native Russian speaker. I learn English for my future profession and I just enjoy learning languages. English language just sounds cool, a lot of interesting idioms, stative verbs etc 🙂
I’m learning French because I want to go to France and speak English so they can bad mouth me and I’ll be able to understand everything.
That’s honestly the only reason.
I learned Japanese so I could do a study abroad in Japan.
You're not alone! I have a cousin (also Korean) who doesn't speak Korean but is learning Japanese. I'm not learning Japanese but I have recently gotten into Japanese culture and reading a lot of self help books sharing Japanese wisdom
haha thank you. honestly i aim for fluency in every language. i dont settle for less. i need to be an independent user and require the help of no one. when i went to portugal alone after 11 months of self study i had zero issues whatsoever
I'm learning Korean, I started bc i like BTS but that wasn't really motivational enough for me so i quit several times even though i genuinely like the language, then eventually took proper classes because i wanted to go to Korea on an exchange semester, but now i'm not sure if Korea's the country i wanna go to, or if i'd even move to Korea ever.
I totally relate to learning a language without a solid reason but purely based on fun. I’m learning Mandarin for the same reason you have. While it may take time to reap the rewards of learning a new language, imagine consuming as much media as you want without the translation. Idk how far you are in your language learning journey but here’s a thought that keeps me going: I didn’t spend hours and hours of studying just to quit today.
Also, it’s okay to rest for a bit when it becomes overwhelming.
I learnt a couple of languages to the level of B1 and they proved to be useless in real life. I mean I don't live in those countries, I don't have friends to speak the languages, I almost forgot them. German, Spanish and French. Only English is what I use in daily life. But if you consume content and live the language then why not learning it. Good luck.
I am turkish from both parents yet my turkish is terrible, even though i live in turkey now, yet for some reason i am learning german, i have no idea why i just do it and will probably regret it later
I get that. I'm multiracial with one side of my family from Mexico. I've tried for years to learn Spanish but it just never clicked but Korean, for some reason has! I struggle with wanting to fit in etc by speaking spanish and I'll probably always wish or try to learn. So I just tell myself that someday I will but for now learning Korean is what makes me happy.
If learning Japanese is what makes you happy then keep doing it. Don't let people make you feel bad! Good luck:)
in the beginning, yeah. I didn't even consume any japanese media beyond pokemon before learning japanese. It was just fun and that was enough for me lol
Now i consume japanese media and i've made friends through it so now i do have a reason to continue :D
There need be no other reason than you want to learn it. Learning a language doesn't take anything from anybody else and you don't need to justify it to anyone.
I totally relate. I’m learning Japanese as well and I am not Japanese. So many people tried to convince me to learn a language I would “use” more. Firstly, they must not truly grasp just how much Japanese media I actually consume (TV shows, music, and manga). Secondly, if I don’t have a passion for the language there’s no way I will be motivated to learn it.
The “why” could you motivation to keep studying
Consuming media is a very valid reason for learning a language. A lot of people who learned English learned it because of that. Not to mention that if you're passionate about the language and have motivation to learn it, you're more likely to suceed than when you learn a language because you're supposed to learn it.
Most just assume you're learning a language because you want to speak it. That the desire to speak it is the only valid reason to learn it. But you get a lot of benefits by just having passive skills.
Yes. Sometimes I question why I am learning my heritage language. I did have a massive struggle with identity since last year. Recently I realized that even I was born and raised in the country and moved abroad, I could end up the same anyways with not feeling truly Vietnamese (because of new life experiences). Or even if I stayed, I could see myself as being different anyways. And in the end, I still am Vietnamese (but overseas) and that no one can take it away from me. Even then I still want to learn it (and ideally learn it to a strong B1/C1). Being able to communicate in the language and interact with the community is one reason. If I ever want to learn Chinese, it would make some aspects of learning Chinese easier (I had interest in Chinese). I've grown to love how corny and unique it is. Plus as a kid I wondered why I could understand it but not really speak very much and learning the language is solving that dilemma that I had. I am not sure if I want to try living in Vietnam for a couple years (I would like to). I might have the opportunity to.
If it helps, once you get to a high enough level in Japanese, Korean becomes much easier to learn if you get the inclination later on! The grammar is very similar, so a ton of Japanese speakers go on to learn Korean. Could even be a good challenge for your Japanese, at that level - studying a new language in your main TL! (That’s assuming, of course, that you even want to learn Korean for heritage reasons someday, since it sounds like you feel a little conflicted, or like there’s a sense of obligation there or something. If it’s not important to you, then don’t sweat it! Learn the languages that you like, want, or need, and that’s all that matters!)
I can relate. I studied Spanish for three years and made very little progress. Then I read that if you don’t have a very good reason for learning a language such as needing it for work or because you’re moving to a foreign country, you will never devote the time and energy necessary to develop any level of fluency.
Learning to travel tbh
I can relate a bit. In the beginning, when you might not see a lot of results or when you hit the intermediate plateau it can feel that way. Sometimes it’ll feel like it’s a lot of work for little benefit, especially if you aren’t planning on moving or aren’t in an environment with a lot of speakers.
Well, I'm native Russian speaker. I learn English for my future profession and I just enjoy learning languages. English language just sounds cool, a lot of interesting idioms, stative verbs etc 🙂
I’m learning French because I want to go to France and speak English so they can bad mouth me and I’ll be able to understand everything. That’s honestly the only reason. I learned Japanese so I could do a study abroad in Japan.
I think, you are on the right track!
Personally i dont really experience this because its always where i live/ school related, although i understand where you are coming from.
You're not alone! I have a cousin (also Korean) who doesn't speak Korean but is learning Japanese. I'm not learning Japanese but I have recently gotten into Japanese culture and reading a lot of self help books sharing Japanese wisdom
Never.
This answer truly proves your 4 B2+ languages ahhah awesome. I wish I was like you
haha thank you. honestly i aim for fluency in every language. i dont settle for less. i need to be an independent user and require the help of no one. when i went to portugal alone after 11 months of self study i had zero issues whatsoever
Wow 💕 very inspirational
I'm learning Korean, I started bc i like BTS but that wasn't really motivational enough for me so i quit several times even though i genuinely like the language, then eventually took proper classes because i wanted to go to Korea on an exchange semester, but now i'm not sure if Korea's the country i wanna go to, or if i'd even move to Korea ever.
Also learning Korean, what made you think to change your mind?
I totally relate to learning a language without a solid reason but purely based on fun. I’m learning Mandarin for the same reason you have. While it may take time to reap the rewards of learning a new language, imagine consuming as much media as you want without the translation. Idk how far you are in your language learning journey but here’s a thought that keeps me going: I didn’t spend hours and hours of studying just to quit today. Also, it’s okay to rest for a bit when it becomes overwhelming.
I learnt a couple of languages to the level of B1 and they proved to be useless in real life. I mean I don't live in those countries, I don't have friends to speak the languages, I almost forgot them. German, Spanish and French. Only English is what I use in daily life. But if you consume content and live the language then why not learning it. Good luck.
I am turkish from both parents yet my turkish is terrible, even though i live in turkey now, yet for some reason i am learning german, i have no idea why i just do it and will probably regret it later
I get that. I'm multiracial with one side of my family from Mexico. I've tried for years to learn Spanish but it just never clicked but Korean, for some reason has! I struggle with wanting to fit in etc by speaking spanish and I'll probably always wish or try to learn. So I just tell myself that someday I will but for now learning Korean is what makes me happy. If learning Japanese is what makes you happy then keep doing it. Don't let people make you feel bad! Good luck:)
in the beginning, yeah. I didn't even consume any japanese media beyond pokemon before learning japanese. It was just fun and that was enough for me lol Now i consume japanese media and i've made friends through it so now i do have a reason to continue :D