I had no prior experience with Japanese before coming here (save a few Japanese CDs a month or two in advance). I came knowing absolutely nothing about how the language worked. But, once here, I went to my local bookstore and got my hands on a few books that taught me the basic rules. This allowed me to do some very rough communication.

My Japanese skills are still quite rough around the edges, and I know just enough Japanese to get me into trouble. I try my best to be realistic about studying, though. I don’t expect to wake up tomorrow and instantly know how to speak fluently, or know all my kanji. It’s a process.

Read on to learn how to go from knowing virtually no Japanese to being able to communicate effectively!