Passports allow people to travel to countries around the world.
What's Proficiency?
Proficiency is one’s ability to do something. So, language proficiency is what you’re able to do with a language. When you’re learning a language, this should be your goal. It’s all about what you can do, not just what you know.
Many of us can relate to the experience of studying foreign language in high school for two or three years, and still not being able to communicate. This isn’t because foreign languages are too difficult, but because our goals weren’t right. We were focused on learning about the language in order to pass a test, not learning to use the language in order to communicate.
What’s a proficiency passport?
So, what’s a proficiency passport? It’s like a road map that guides you to use your language learning time in the most efficient way possible. Anything that isn’t helping you become proficient--or in other words, helping you to be able to do something you want to do, is wasting your time, and you should stop doing it. Focusing on proficiency is like a shortcut to success.
The Stout Sensei method is unique because it focuses on the essential steps to proficiency. Starting at the Absolute Beginner level, and continuing through the Advanced level, we focus on the steps necessary to move to master each level, and nothing else. Each level has its own passport(s) that help chart your course and measure your progress.
The Absolute Beginner level of proficiency, for example, helps learners gain an understanding of the sounds of Japanese, how to say them, and how to read them in hiragana characters. It also includes the most basic Japanese expressions, such as greetings, counting, and other daily-use words and phrases. The Absolute Beginner Proficiency Passport can be downloaded here.
I invite you to get your passport today, and join me in the journey to Japanese proficiency!
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