Although I was unaware at first, I now know the truth. How hard it would be for me to find a real human! So you've got to do your best at the competition. It's a matter of my pride and honor. Got it? All right, then. Which one will be your winning dress? The two of them went back to comparing the four gowns. It does indeed take time to become fully competent in all four skills of the language — Listening, speaking, reading and writing, with the last two being very much more time-consuming. In fact, for native English speakers it takes about five times longer to achieve equivalent full competency in Japanese than in French, with its easier script and greater familiarity to English speakers. To start off your study without an awareness of this relativity can result in considerable frustration. But let's put this into context. the skills of listening and speaking are by no means difficult to master in Japanese, Though it is true You are disadvantaged to some extent if you can't reinforce verbal material by reading and writing it.