How important is it to learn Japanese?
This vastly depends on the person! I know some ALTs who only know very basic phrases, ALTs who are near fluent, and everything in between! I came to Japan with near zero ability, but today I can order at KFC! Haha! It's a marathon not a race! I definitely had lots of down time at work, during those times I would try to study some Japanese. Studying kanji at your desk is sure to impress some curious onlookers. Thankfully all your JTEs are great at English so you don't have to stress about translating difficult/important information, but definitely using your skills to connect with your coworkers and community will only make things easier!
Japanese Language Proficency Test (JLPT)
The JLPT is a test which measures your Japanese ability. N5 being the most basic to N1 being the most difficult. It is the plight of non-native speakers in Japan. It tests you on reading, kanji, grammar, and listening. The test is held twice a year, once in December and once in July. When I first arrived the test was about 6000円, but since then it has gone up to 7500円. The nice thing is that if you pass N3 or higher, CLAIR will subsidize the cost of the test! So this is a nice way to keep you motivated to pass! If you want more information on the test, or are interesting in signing up click here! Note that the sign-up date for the test happens pretty early and closes months before the exam so try to be diligent (I have almost missed the date many a time)!
Learning Resources
Now I am not no where near fluent, but I could get by! It'll depend on you how you want to go about studying but I can recommend what I used during my time here!
- Kanji: For Kanji I mainly used Wanikani and the "Nihongo So-matome" books! I would say Wanikani is good for the rote memorization aspect of Kanji where as So-matome helps you more for need to know kanji for the JLPT! Note that Wanikani is a paid subscription once you pass a certain level!
- Grammar: Ngl I did not spend much time learning grammar. I learned most of it just listening, or talking to people. When I would sit down to study basic grammar points though, I would use the "Genki I and Genki II" books. If you complete those, it would surely bring you up to an N3 grammar level! I also suggest NHK Easy News. This site posts news articles daily in simple Japanese! The articles on this site are about an N3 level, but you can use furigana which helps a lot!
- Speaking and Listening: This will come naturally the longer you live here! You'll be hearing and speaking Japanese on the daily! Ofcourse anime and music are a fun way to study too! Personally, I liked to watch "初めてのお使い"(Old Enough!) on Netflix to learn basic Japanese ! For music, I really loved studying Fuji Kaze's lyrics! Going to izakayas and talking to old Japanese men was a fun past time for me and helped me out for enkai convos!