They're studying abroad. Learning japanese is probably why they're there. A lot of people do that. It's kind of the point. They're living with a host family, not alone. They didn't technically even move there.

Most Japanese are highly supportive of foreigners trying to learn Japanese so I don't know why you have your panties in such a knot. Students study abroad all the time in an attempt to embrace the language and studying abroad is the best avenue to do this. Total immersion is the best teacher. You can hate all you want, but I picked up basic Japanese very quickly out of necessity, then became more advanced as the time went on. That's usually the case for most abroad students. Most students who study abroad and stay with a host family are usually in high school, so it makes sense they haven't mastered the language yet, especially in something like Japanese, which is rarely offered in most high schools. Most study abroad programs don't require students to speak the language either.

So you never go on holidays? Otherwise you would need to learn their languages.

#55 I do go on holidays and it just so happens that I speak several languages, in fact it's that much that on any part in the world I'll be more than fine. Also in this case, Japan is special. It's known that with English you are not that far and mostly people who study "Japanese studies" get the easy privilege to study abroad for one year in Japan. Unfortunately most of those students are just idiots who "like anime" and think therefore they chose the right major. Anyway, being in any country without even being able to help yourself riding trains and stuff because of language problems just shows that your brain is 3rd class. Reading this FML I just know that OP is one of those students i just described. And learning a language shouldn't take more than 6 months, otherwise you're doing it wrong anyway. Cant blame people for being stupid I guess.

無事で良かった！日本で楽しんで下さい。うらえまし！

Where are you staying in Japan? I'll be moving to a town near Osaka next month!

If you're anywhere near Tokyo, all the train announcements are in Japanese and English. My favorite part is listening to the English translation on the subway lines because of how badly pronounced everything is. Gl not dying here; shit is expensive.

With Google translate once you're on WiFi you can download the language and use it offline later. I did the same for Italian when I went to Italy.

Actually, I think it's pretty common! Or at least as far as I'm aware. The program I used had no language requirements, and many of the people going didn't speak any Japanese. The goal of the program is to learn a language and different culture through full immersion.

Having studied six languages, twice abroad in countries I didn't speak the language, and the rest in a classroom, I can attest that the absolute best way to learn a language is through total immersion. You'd be shocked at how quickly you pick up the language when you're forced to. My Japanese is still the best of all my languages because I lived there a year and went in knowing very little. Lots of students do this because it's the best way possible.

What program are you on/who is it through?

I'm on YFU: Youth for Understanding!

That's a dumb requirement. Nearly all Germans know English you tard!