あ Is for Apple: Learning Japanese and the JLPT
The FT is owned by Nikkei and is always looking for ways to improve relationships and collaboration between the two organisations. We were lucky enough to be part of the first cohort of employees to go through a new Japanese language learning program offered by the FT. The offering was a 60-week course in the Japanese language, with lessons given through SOAS (London’s School of Oriental & African Studies) Language Centre. The material covered SOAS’s Beginner and Elementary courses and the aim was to pass the initial level (N5) of the standardised Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) at the end of the course.
Tell us about the course
Emma: I joined the course from the start — April 2022. There were 10 of us in the class from across different parts of the FT and different levels of seniority, plus our teacher Hitomi-sensei. Of those 10, 7 finished the course (plus two extra people who had some prior Japanese experience and joined us along the way). We had a 90 minute lesson each week during work time, and were given homework to do in our own time. The course covered the three writing systems of Japanese: hiragana, katakana and kanji, the latter of which we learnt around 200 of the 2,000+ characters which are thought to be necessary to be literate in Japanese). We started off learning how to do basic greetings and introductions, and progressed through asking for directions, talking about daily life, ordering food and drink, giving instructions, expressing conditional intentions and giving opinions.
Andy: I started the course half-way through after another student dropped out, though I seemed to join around the point where my previous studies had ended, so the timing worked out well. Hitomi-sensei was insistent on homework being submitted in written form, which forced me to learn Japanese in its written forms as I had previously had an over-reliance on rōmaji (the Latin script to write Japanese). The students comprised FT employees from different departments throughout the organisation, so I made connections with a variety of newsroom editors, journalists, and marketing and partnership managers who I’d never met.
What, if any, was your prior background in Japanese?
Emma: I lived in Japan for almost a year after I finished University. I studied some basic Japanese then and really enjoyed it, but in the following *shudders* 13 years I had let it slide. Getting a place on the course inspired me to pick up Duolingo before the course started meaning that I’d refreshed some knowledge before we began. Some people on the course also had some basic experience, whereas others were completely new to the language.
Andy: I had been learning Japanese casually over the preceding ten years and met language buddies through meetups who were in London on work/study placements. Sadly these stays were temporary and they would eventually return to Japan, though we will always meet up if we are visiting each other’s country. I also spent a couple of years on a collaborative FT-Nikkei project and so was working daily with the Japanese members of the team and we also spent two weeks working at the Nikkei office in Tokyo, and during this time I resumed my studies.
Emily: I did my final year of university at Sophia University, and then after graduating lived in Yokohama and Tokyo for a few years before leaving Japan in 2015. Since then, I’ve been a poor Japanese student and rarely practised or used what I’d learned. The class was an amazing refresher and a way to return to key basics which was extremely helpful for me!
How much did you have to study?
Emma: Ahead of starting the course we were told we would have to commit to 2 hours of self-study outside of the lessons. At the beginning of the course, given that the material wasn’t totally new to me this was enough time to complete the homework and do a bit of revision/consolidation each week. I know others in the team needed to spend much longer as the material was new and the learning curve at the beginning of the course was very steep for those with no prior knowledge. As the course progressed, and particularly as the exam approached I spent much more time than the mandated 2 hours per week. I studied most days using free JLPT apps etc, plus the homework and consolidation that I was doing previously. I may have gone a bit overboard…
Andy: I generally spent upwards of three hours per week on homework as I wanted to complete the questions but also ensure that I had tried my best to memorise new words and phrases from that week’s session. There is no official curriculum for what is covered in the N5 exam, meaning preparing for the exam means trying to commit to memory every new word or phrase you might encounter rather than having a nicely defined list to reference. There are good resources for preparing for the exam, especially the listening section which I find the most difficult, and as the date approached we formed a small group to run mock tests.
Emily: The homework on average would take me around two hours or so, and from there I spent most of my time studying Japanese in relation to passing the JLPT. I admit this isn’t the ideal way to learn Japanese, but it’s a means to an end. Similar to Emma I used a lot of the free resources available (my favourite was Migii), but also watched a lot of YouTube videos and sought out advice from past test takers online.
Have you used your Japanese skills since doing the course?
Emma: Yes! Partway into the course Christina Nicholson, Talent Partner in Learning and Talent at the FT, arranged a mentoring program with Nikkei colleagues so that we could practise what we were learning in the lessons. My lovely mentor Shogo-san was incredibly patient and kind and it was great to actually talk to someone in Japanese and build my confidence. I work in visual and data storytelling at the FT and we’re fortunate enough to collaborate from time to time with Nikkei’s equivalent Visual Data team so I was also able to communicate with them in Japanese sometimes, both in written form on Slack, and spoken — most notably when I gave a presentation that was partly in Japanese.
Andy: I likewise have a Japanese mentor from Nikkei, Satuski-san, who I meet monthly. In our first session I over-enthusiastically attempted to conduct the entire conversation in Japanese though quickly realised that this resulted in very limited exchanges. However, doing this is a good exercise to find out very quickly which words you don’t know. Since then we focus on a different theme with a mix of reading, writing, and listening, and he has really helped solidify my understanding of certain concepts and meaning behind words. Passing the JLPT exam means that the FT will sponsor a short secondment to the Nikkei office to work with a team there, so I’m hoping to do that in the near future where I’ll really have to use what I’ve learned. The Japanese I had learned also came in useful when getting to know the Nikkei contingent who recently visited our London office for Engine & Delivery Room (our department’s annual internal conference).
Emily: In November I was able to go to Tokyo for a two week secondment with Nikkei. It was an amazing experience to knowledge-share with another media company. I met with many product and tech teams throughout Nikkei to discuss the different products and innovations they’re working on, which inspired a lot of ideas for us. It reminded me of how crucial it is to work with leaders in your industry to stay ahead of the curve. I also got to work with the FT’s team in Japan to better understand regional nuances of our own products & services. It was an enriching trip, and going in with basic Japanese was crucial to the experience.
What was it like to sit the exam? And how did you do?
Emma: My main memory of the exam was that it was very nerve wracking and extraordinarily hot! The exam is split into three parts: Vocabulary, Grammar/Reading and Listening and each section requires a pass to pass overall. The first two sections felt like they went smoothly, but I found the Listening section quite challenging. We had an anxious wait from the exam in June until the results came out in August, but I was delighted with my score and am now eagerly awaiting the arrival of my certificate…
Andy: It’s often said that a good way to learn is by making mistakes; it’s just a shame when those mistakes happen in the exam… Embarrassingly, given the organisation I work for, I did not identify the kanji for ‘newspaper’, though I now won’t forget it for the rest of my life. I am also a slow reader, which meant that in the reading section when the invigilator called “five minutes left” I still had two walls of text left to work through. I still somehow managed to pass so I am very happy with the result.
Emily: It was scary! I hadn’t sat for an exam in ages and I forgot how stressful it can be! But luckily all my research and practice exams paid off, as they gave pretty good insight into how the test would be. The listening section was definitely the most difficult for me, as they only play the audio once so focus was key. I left the exam feeling quite unsure if I had passed or not — but thankfully I was relieved with my score and also how detailed the scoring breakdown was so I could see clearly where my weaknesses are!
What are your Japanese plans going forward?
Emma: I’m really keen to continue learning Japanese. We’re waiting to hear what the FT will offer for the next part of our learning journey, but I’ve loved the whole experience and am keen to keep going. Since the exam I’ve been focussing on learning more kanji and vocabulary as this is something I find tricky. I’m hoping to start lessons again soon and continue on my grammar journey too.
Andy: I am certainly keen to have a break as it was an intense experience alongside the full-time day job and other life commitments. I’ve always got a few languages on the go on Duolingo (including Japanese), so along with my sessions with Satsuki-san, I hope to keep it fresh and gradually progressing.
Emily: The class has really invigorated my love of Japanese, and I’m dead set on not losing it again! When I was in Japan I picked up quite a lot of reading material to practise, and have started diving into N4.
