Lesson 6-The BENEFITS! ! !

Dear Reader

I hope that everything went smooth this week with your
listening sessions. By the time you read this, I've
got my fingers crossed that you are almost done with
or have already finished listening to the first set of
conversations 100 times. Much congratulations if you did.
I'm really proud of you and impressed with the persistence
you have shown towards this program. Your enthusiasm
also keeps me motivated to keep creating these lessons.

By this time, because you have absorbed the contents of your
first set so thoroughly, you should be able to recognize with full
understanding any of the words or phrases from the conversations
when you encounter them in your daily life. Further, you should also
be able to effortlessly read any of the kanji that appeared as well.

In contrast to last week's lesson which focused on how to avoid
falling into the biggest booby trap, this week I want to move away
from the negative and focus on the positive benefits to be gained
from sticking to this program. These positive points will hopefully
serve as more motivational fuel to keep you moving forward.

********************FIRST BENEFIT***********************
Firstly, one of the tremendous benefits you'll obtain from doing this
program is that your speaking skills will improve hand-in-hand with
your listening and reading skills. PLEASE NEVER FORGET the basic
mechanics underlying the Absorption Principle: You can only output
what you have first inputted. Absorption and lots of it must come
first. What a lot of beginners do is skip the absorption process all
together. As a result, they get into the bad habit of practicing
incorrect Japanese over and over and over again. Their pronunciation
and intonation is all messed up. Their grammar is all over the place.
Their foreign accent is so thick that its no wonder Japanese people
reply back to them in English. All of these problems could have been
avoided, had they understood and applied the absorption process.

**********************SECOND BENEFIT**********************
This leads me to the second great benefit to be gained from this
study process, Over time, your pronunciation and accent will become
very native-like. In my case, although my accent isn't 100% perfect,
the one aspect of my Japanese ability that has received more praise
than any other is that I sound very native (not perfect but close and
very natural), as if I must have absorbed the language from a very young
age. I smile whenever I receive such positive feedback because I know that
these marathon listening sessions are the secret weapon and source behind
my authentic pronunciation and accent. But then again, if you take some
common sense and think about it, after literally hundreds of hours of pure
absorption, how can one not sound close to a native. Again, and I'll never
get tired of saying it, your output is simply an accurate reflection of
your input period. SO KEEP ON ABSORBING BABY!

***********************THIRD BENEFIT**************************
The third positive point to be mentioned is that you will actually really
study and retain the contents of your chosen textbook thoroughly. In
a sense, you will literally squeeze every drop of blood out of that text.
After I've listened to a set of conversations one hundred times, its a
great feeling to know that I will never have to go back to it again.
I'm liberated of it and when I'm done with the whole text I either
wholeheartedly give it away or throw it in the trash. It's a great
feeling!

**********************FOURTH BENEFIT***************************
The fourth benefit is that studying a foreign language is really good
for your brain. Here are some interesting quotes that I randomly
picked up from the web:

「Researchers from University College London studied the brains of 105
people -80 of whom were bilingual. They found learning other languages
altered grey matter -the area of the brain which processes information -
in the same way exercise builds muscles.」
Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/3739690.stm


「Did you know that most people experience a general improvement in
memory from studying a language? There's more. Are you geting older?
It has also been demonstrated that you can halt the age-related decline
in mental function by learning a new language. You can tuck that little tip
away for later in life, or better yet, start learning a new language today.」
SOURCE: http://www.buzzle.com/editorials/3-18-2005-67283.asp

「But language acquisition, in particular, has a protective effect on the
brain, not only on language related skills such as vocabulary, but also on
non-verbal and cognitive skills.」
SOURCE:
http://www.linguaguide.com/articles/38/1/Keep-youromr-mind-young-
The-benefits-of-learning-a-second-language/Page1.html

Personally, I found that one of the greatest things I acquired from
studying Japanese is the objectivity I developed in perceiving my own
native American language and culture. Language study, in a sense,
allowed me to step outside of myself and perceive myself in a new way
that I had never perceived myself before. I found this to be incredibly
stimulating. This mental flexibility which I gained over time even sharpened
my clarity when it comes to expressing myself in my own native tongue.
I sometimes teach English part-time once or twice a week and find that
my Japanese language study has made me a much better English teacher
as I am able to sympathize with the student in his or her struggles and
share the methods I utilized to attain fluency in Japanese.

*********************FIFTH BENEFIT*************************
The fifth thing is the abundance of employment opportunities that will
open up to you as you become more and more fluent in the language.
Before I achieved my present position as a professional translator
at one of Japan's most prestigious power companies, I worked for five years
as a staffing recruiter introducing secretaries, accounting assistants, receptionists etcetera to a wide variety of corporations that had a consistent
need for such staffing. From this lucrative experience, I can honestly say that the type of staff we most valued was a foreigner (especially a native English speaker) under the age of 35 with upper-advanced Japanese skills (both speaking and writing ability). The reason that this profile is valued so much is because its so rare. There are tons of Koreans speaking Japanese but I sure don't see a lot of Westerners like us fluent. So study Japanese and achieve instant
differentiation power.
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Well since this is getting kind of long, I'm gonna stop it here. But I
hope this will be added incentive for you to keep on with your listening
sessions.

In the next lesson, I'm going to talk about some interesting ways
you can apply and practice what you've been studying and even
introduce a few conversation clubs located in the Tokyo area.
However, as I've mentioned before about a million times, I wouldn't
worry so much about output yet. At least for the first three months,
diligently just stick to your listening sessions. Don't worry, in due
time, everything will come together.