This reflection paper explores one student's personal experience acquiring English and Japanese as a native Korean speaker. The paper examines how age, immersion, motivation, and teaching quality each influenced language learning outcomes. The author learned English early in life, used it consistently, and retained it strongly; in contrast, Japanese was learned later, under poor instructional conditions, and was eventually forgotten due to lack of consistent use. Drawing on these experiences, the paper highlights key principles of language acquisition, including the advantages of early learning, the role of environmental immersion, and the importance of sustained practice in maintaining language proficiency.
Learning languages that are not native to you is not easy, but it is something that can be accomplished by people who are passionate and dedicated. The easiest way to learn a language is through immersion, and the best time to learn is during childhood. Children absorb so much of what they see and hear around them that they can pick up a new language almost without consciously trying. However, as they grow into adulthood, language acquisition becomes more difficult and complex. It is certainly not impossible to learn a language at any age, but some periods are more favorable than others. Taking advantage of those easier windows — such as childhood — is the best way to learn something new and retain it long into the future.
I am Korean, but I also learned Japanese and English when I was young. That combination may seem unlikely, but my father was a pilot, and I was fascinated by Japanese anime. My father's job gave me the chance to travel to many different countries. As I got a little older, I began thinking about developing my English skills more fully. English would allow me to travel the world and communicate with a far greater number of people, and it could also serve me well in the business world. Even in countries where English is not the first language, it is commonly spoken — and it is almost always present in business contexts. When I wanted to connect with people who were not Korean, English opened doors that would otherwise have been closed to me. I began to see English not merely as a practical tool, but as a foundation for my future.
Just before I came to America to study, I had a valuable opportunity: I got to teach English to children at an English institute. That experience helped me explore options and pathways for a potential career. I gained some teaching experience and had time to reflect on what I wanted to do with my life. By tutoring others and helping them improve their English, I was challenged to improve my own. I also genuinely enjoyed learning English and sharing it with children, which kept me motivated to learn as much as I could about my second language.
Doing well is very important to me in anything I pursue, and when I find something I am passionate about, I work continuously toward mastery of that language or skill. While I understand that perfection is neither possible nor required, that does not excuse me from giving my full effort and learning to the best of my ability. The sense of purpose I attached to English — seeing it as a gateway to travel, communication, and a professional future — made it feel worth that level of commitment.
"Japanese learning hindered by poor teaching, later revived"
The teacher I had for Japanese language classes was not passionate about the subject and did not seem genuinely interested in teaching students to speak it. That made learning significantly more difficult. Even if I had been highly motivated, it is very hard to acquire something as complex as the Japanese language without proper instruction. Rather than lecturing or structuring lessons, the teacher chose to show Japanese animations during class and let students watch. As a result, 29 out of 33 students in the class — including me — failed the final exam.
Once I arrived in America, I took Japanese classes again and approached the language much more seriously. I also had a Japanese girlfriend at the time, and conversing with her helped me develop my skills in meaningful ways. It was exciting to communicate with her in her native language, and I found it deeply satisfying to speak another language so fluently. Eventually I reached a level where I could converse comfortably in Japanese, including with native speakers who had no difficulty understanding me. That success kept me highly engaged in my coursework.
Eventually, however, my Japanese classes came to an end, and so did my relationship. Without classes to keep me learning or a relationship to keep me practicing, I used my Japanese skills less and less frequently. Now I use Japanese only rarely, and I have forgotten much of what I once knew. My proficiency has fallen to an elementary level.
Whenever a person wants to learn or acquire a new language skill, it is important to be in environments where that language can be used regularly. If the environment does not support frequent use of the target language, it is much harder to learn and to keep what has been learned fresh in the mind. A person can learn a language far more quickly when fully immersed in that language and its culture.
It is also important to recognize that children pick up new languages much more easily than adults. Adults can learn new languages, but they face greater challenges because the brain does not absorb new information in the same way it did in childhood. The brain of a child functions like a sponge when it comes to acquiring language — children can memorize a target language quickly, and their progression is typically faster and more lasting than it would be if they began as adults. The critical period hypothesis in linguistics supports the idea that there are windows of time when language learning is most efficient, and childhood represents the most powerful of those windows.
"Why English was retained while Japanese was largely forgotten"
"Consistent use and perceived value drive long-term retention"
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