Comments by "Gordon Graham" (@gordonbgraham) on "What's it Really like Living in Kyoto as a Foreigner?" video.

@maegalroammis6020 You have numerous posts mocking "the Japanese" for not being able to speak English. You're on several videos on Japan, always commenting on how "the Japanese" are two-faced backstabbers. You think a comment like "Kyoto is a nice city" absolves you of your bigotry of "the Japanese". Go ahead and report me, Maegal...and let's see what the moderators dig up in your comment history. Have at it. I'm waiting with eager anticipation. Don't delay...do it now! You are aware that moderators have access to all your YouTube comments, even the ones you've deleted (of which there are numerous...due to the realization that they reflect badly on your character), right? Maybe a little self-reflection is due, eh, Maegal?
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@maegalroammis6020 You mean the way you pretend to be friendly to them...then come on the internet and crap on them? Backstabbing is something you're an expert at, eh?
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@maegalroammis6020 Says a guy whose posts are those that primarily backstab the Japanese...ironic
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It took me only about a month to be functional (ordering food, asking for directions etc.), but about 5 years to be conversational, 10 years to be fluent and 15 years to become fully literate. I've lived in Japan for 30 years.
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H Hiroshima and Nagasaki is where they built warships
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@nojck If your courses are in English then, no. You can easily get by in your daily life without a single word of Japanese. If any of your courses are in Japanese and you have yet to be at an even high school level of native Japanese then drop the course immediately. I got my teaching license from Rikkyo University. It took me a full 15 years of diligent study before I could apply for that program as it's entirely in Japanese.
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@demetriusmorgenroth2835 I obtained my teaching license from Rikkyo University's education program. All courses were in Japanese. I had to submit a 2000 word hand-written essay on 2nd language acquisition and its corresponding pedagogy as a prerequisite. It took me 15 years of diligent study to attain that level of literacy. I'm not clear on which point of mine you disagree with. Do you think it's unnecessary to learn how to read and write at a native speaker high school level to take a full course load in Japanese? I can't begin to imagine how anyone could.
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@demetriusmorgenroth2835 Law is much different from Education, at least at Rikkyo where assignments and exams were to be hand written. How could you possibly be able to write an essay type question on an exam while being functionally literate at a minimum of high school level? Impossible
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@demetriusmorgenroth2835 What do you consider “a handful of years”? I have 5 kids all of whom were born and raised in Japan as Japanese. They are all either in or have been through the public school system here. They have all been tasked with daily reading and writing exercises. It takes native Japanese more than 10 years to become proficient enough to write at a university level and that's with exclusively reading and writing in Japanese daily.
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@demetriusmorgenroth2835 There's a lot to unpack here...which I may at a later date, but I'd like to address this point specifically. "(1) Japanese native students study for more than 10 years not to acquire language proficiency for university, but for overall proficiency (including knowledge on their desired field)" I didn't intend to mean that Japanese study for more than 10 years to acquire language proficiency "for university" only that it TAKES more than 10 years to attain such a level of proficiency, and that's with reading and writing daily in one's native language. My eldest daughter is currently on scholarship at University of Tsukuba. She's studying microbiology, not English. She's an exceptional student. It took her more than 10 years to become proficient in Japanese in terms of literacy and that's with attending juku 3 nights a week since 3rd year junior high school. I've also taught at a high school of 1500 kids for 30 years. I'm well aware of how many kids fail the university entrance exams for the school of their choice and have to take exams for lower ranking schools as a result. Only about 1/4 of students pass their initial entrance exams for university. Regarding this point " it took me approximately two years to take a handwritten, ~1500 word paper exam on Japanese law written exclusively in Japanese and pass it." You are clearly an extremely exceptional case. I'd be cautious about making recommendations to others who are likely not of your exceptional level, especially when the stakes are so high, as they are in terms of money, time and commitment vis a vis studying at a university in Japan from abroad.
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@demetriusmorgenroth2835 Where did you deduce that he’s a STEM student. He said he’s planning on going to Kyoto University...that’s it.
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@demetriusmorgenroth2835 He’s planning on going to Kyoto University and he’s asking a random stranger on the Internet whether or not he should study Japanese before he goes. I would have asked the school. I would have gotten an outline of the curriculum and each course’s syllabus. At least he now has two perspectives from which to make a decision, one that insists it’s possible to take a full course load in Japanese while not being able to understand Japanese and another who thinks that’s impossible. Hopefully, he contacts the school before risking his parents investment.
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There's a video of Takashi interviewing a Japanese Iranian girl that might be of some interest. It's about "halfs" in Japan. My son's best friend is an Iranian guy. He's very popular and seems to be enjoying his life here. He came to Japan when he was quite young, maybe 3 perhaps, and he went to a Japanese public school so he's fluent in Japanese. Speaking the language at a native level makes a big difference in how well one can adjust to life and assimilate in Japan, including making friends and finding a decent job.
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@maegalroammis6020 Still spitting out bitter pieces of your failed life in Japan eh guy?
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@gaellegarcin401 No one is perfect
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@Zavora1 I've lived in Japan for 30 years and can't recall someone not sitting beside me when there was a seat open on a crowded train.
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