- Media
- Social
- Foreign Language Education
- Formal Academic
- Professional
Hello! I am curious about why WaniKani users are studying here. I’ve come up with potential “Purpose” categories of students:
Media: to enjoy books, movies, news programs etc. in Japanese. (speaking skills probably not required).
Social: to foster relationships with native speakers, but not fully conduct business or formal education Japanese.
Foreign Language Education: to complete a high school or college course in the target language.
Formal Academic: to formally study or conduct research in Japanese alongside native speakers (in Japan or elsewhere).
Professional: to conduct business in Japanese (in Japan or elsewhere).
I think that this is interesting because it affects what topics, vocabulary, and registers of language a student is focused on. I don’t mean this to imply anything about your skill goals. A high skill Media student would be far more capable than a beginner Professional, they are just studying for different reasons.
[ Skill level descriptors are already pretty well established:
JLPT (N5 … N1)
DLPT (0+ memorized … 5 functionally native)
CEFR (A1 basic … C2 proficient)
ACTFL (novice … distinguished)
college/university completion (various) ]
7 Likes
That was a hard one to answer because sometimes things are tied together.
For example, I could say media because I do enjoy reading books, playing games and watching anime (sometimes)… but I’m also perfectly happy with the localized versions. It’s more a means of practice/reward than a goal.
The actual goals is to go to Japan and experience the culture, which is surprisingly not a category though I suppose the closest would be social, but not really since I don’t necessarily need to foster relationships to enjoy a trip abroad. The added benefit is so my kids can experience another country, which would be Foreign language education, but it’s for them not for me. And sure I’d probably talk to some classmates, friends, teachers, etc… So it’s sort of social. But really it’s for travel and cultural appreciation.
However to get a longer stay I don’t necessarily want a tourist visa. So I want to work there, not because I actually want to work there, but because it’s a good path to a longer trip. So Professional is the reason why I’m on WK because if I don’t make that happen, I can’t make the rest happen.
5 Likes
@Squintina you are exactly right! I think everyone has a little bit of several categories, but I’m asking, what is the primary purpose of your study?
But I like your point - I think I should change the category to include Social/Cultural: to foster relationships with native speakers or experience culture, but not fully conduct business or formal education Japanese.
2 Likes
Thanks for everyone who replied. This confirms what I had guessed from the community posts - the large majority of people participating in the boards are here because they love anime and manga, which is great!
Of course, the broader group of actual Wanikani users might have a different focus, and be less inclined to participate in the community discussions.
I take away that you are less likely (but it’s not impossible) to find people on the community boards who are interested in using Japanese for education or professionally.
