berdy said:
___
Oh boy. Long text ahead.
It's a very serious question I know, but I think Biboo is also very serious about learning Japanese, so I asked her anyway.
Biboo can definitely pick up A LOT just from immersion and her interactions, but just to be realistic as well, having a wide range of vocabulary/knowing certain words doesn't equate to having the basics/foundations about grammar rules. And also that being able to hold a conversation is a different beast altogether from just you understanding what the other party says.
I'm in a kinda similar situation with Biboo because I'm currently in Japan (not PR, but I've been here for 6 years straight already) and I've had the opportunity to learn through "trial by fire" and interacting with JP-nikis. Having known a lot of vocabulary by binge-watching anime back then, and also knowing how to read Hiragana and Katakana + having JLPT N3 certification, I thought I was already good enough to communicate when I went here for the first time, but then I got bitch-slapped by reality. Not to say trial of fire wasn't effective, but it's definitely not as simple as just throwing yourself out into that fire. I can only guarantee how effective it is if you have the foundations. (It helped me get to JLPT N1 yay)
That said, with how much vocabulary she's learning these days, I think she only really needs to learn the basics of sentence construction. Once she gets that, her learning will be much much more effective, and she'll connect the dots so much easier.
Btw some people really took my SC wrong huh, I never said "SHE SHOULD" limit herself. Considering that she really likes to stream and she also have lots of hololive homework, it's just an example of a schedule lmao (Maybe I could've written it better but lemme just go ahead and use the ESL card in here)
If you read all that, thank you and have a good day. If you skipped to this part, have a good day, still

To those who are learning Nihongo, your studies won't betray you. Keep going!!!