Learning Japanese with a Familiar! Got a pet or perhaps a cardboard cutout of Thor? You can practice your Japanese with them!
This insight was originally published on July 06, 2021, and transferred here later.
Imagine yourself in Japan, listening & speaking to native Japanese people with ease. How fanciful~! For some of you though, that idea might not be much more than a daydream. Perhaps at your skill level, this dream looks more like nightmare that carries the heavy realization that you're not mentally prepared to chat with any person in Japanese, let alone a native speaker. Yikes!!
If one of your goals is to actually speak Japanese however, then it is (unfortunately for you) imperative that you get lots of practice speaking it. That old adage "Practice makes perfect" rings true here more vibrantly than it ever has. That is why classes often have practice sections dedicated to actually speaking with a partner. It gets you used to speaking Japanese, and speaking it with another human being who can both learn from you and correct you.
But sometimes you don't have a classmate to practice with; and sometimes you don't have any friends who want to practice with you, nor any people you feel comfortable reaching out to. Because of that, finding someone to speak a new language with can be incredibly difficult and intimidating.
Introducing: my Nihongo Familiar
(omg, they said the name of the site!)
It really just sucks when you don't have anyone to practice the language with. It makes things a little more difficult for sure. But that's okay! I don't have any friends either-- Whoops! The cat is out of the bag~
Luckily though, what I actually do have is a cat. In fact, they just came out of the bag!
When I need someone to practice speaking Japanese with in a pinch, my little kitty buddy sometimes helps me out in little ways. It helps a lot more than me resigning myself to silently read a textbook forever.
There is something about a Familiar face
Opportunities to practice speaking Japanese can be created for anyone here who has creatures or creature-adjacent beings in their life. Be it a pet, an infant or young child, or even creepy cardboard cut-outs and dolls, they can act as your language learning Familiar! While the inanimate objects option is less... something... all of these beings and things have a factor in common that makes practice speaking Japanese more accessible: judgement, or more specifically, a lack there of~
A big reason that deters people from attempting more immersion and interactions with native Japanese speakers is a fear of judgement. If you have this fear, you are in good company with people who have fears of public speaking and perhaps even meeting new people in general. It isn't anything to be ashamed of, and I would venture to say it is so common that it is practically synonymous with being a human being.
These special entities that act well as a Nihongo Familiar aren't there to judge you when you speak Japanese with them; and usually they lack the intimidating factors of the human gaze and contextual social "rank" that would make you feel like they are. They aren't likely to put down or harshly critique your learning progress. Sometimes they may even actively support your hard work!
While I do want to note that critique is a valuable tool for learning that shouldn't be ignored forever, it is also important to understand that sometimes people just need the space to learn through exploration and figuring things out with their own trials and errors. This can be especially important for learners with less confidence in their ability to speak Japanese, or people who are just trying things out.
And so, a good beginner partner to speak Japanese with could be your dog; it could be a paper doll, or even your baby brother! You don't have to speak with a fluent stranger until you learn to grow the confidence in your ability to speak better Japanese as you're learning.
How do I even speak Japanese to my Familiar?
The truth is, you just speak! That's really all there is to it~ But if you need ideas, there are quite a few things that you can do to practice speaking Japanese with your new-found learning buddy. I'll give you a few of the ways and things I talk about in Japanese to my kitty familiar as an example!
Greetings
When I adopted her, I quickly learned that my cat is a naturally timid & nervous beast. So in order to create a better home environment for her and bond, I try to greet her when I unexpectedly approach her. When I leave home and when I come home, I make sure to announce it so that she knows it's me and what is happening.
Interactions that apply a lot of consideration for those around you are pretty common in Japanese culture and language. Thus, there are plenty of words and phrases to learn and use for these sorts of situations! With this alone, I bump into plenty of opportunities to practice speaking Japanese with my scaredy cat.
Training
A lot of people train their dog tricks like "sit" and "stay". So too have I decided to work with my cat to train her some tricks and a disciplined attitude. Where I can, I try to do it in Japanese! This not only makes the cues for inciting the behaviours I'm looking for recognizable for her compared to language I normally use in everyday life, but it also gives the opportunity to apply a little practice with verb conjugations. Yippee~
Note: Just remember that if you do train your familiar, be kind and patient. You are not the only one who is learning.
Talk about what you learned today
Sometimes it is a slow day, and I just want to talk to someone about what cool Japanese language stuff I learned! My cat listens to me while I practice new grammar rules, and she listens to me ramble on and on about the differences between seemingly indiscernible kanji as I try to figure out how to differentiate them. If I feel like being super weird & annoying, I might read a whole short story out loud to her in Japanese!
Maybe it's boring to her, but then she would just get up and walk away. I think she takes a genuine interest, even if it is just in being near me and listening to me make more strange human noises. Cats are like that, and contrary to popular belief, show a great interest in spending time with their humans.
If you're there for your Nihongo Familiar, they're there for you too.
The creature, person, or thing you want to act as your language learning familiar will listen and offer an open space where you can safely practice speaking and saying new things in Japanese as you learn. They encourage you to be the best you that you hope to be! They might not be able to respond back in Japanese, but they incite an optimism for learning and trying that is just as good as if they did.
If you're especially lucky, sometimes you learn a thing or two about comradery and being considerate to those around you. That is an experience you can both learn together~ Thus, you & your Familiar are a team! So go out and invite prosperity into each other's learning adventure~
