Learning Japanese

[Solid Snake]

Hey, I want to learn Japanese - any programs / tools / resources work well for you?


Thanks

[kat]

Read alljapaneseallthetime.com . Find things in Japanese that you like, and which inspire you, and surround yourself with them.

Read "Remembering the Kanji". Use and live it.

Use audio. Songs, movies, language courses with audio by native speakers (without tons of English), or, best of all, unabridged audiobooks while following along with English text.

Enjoy.

[Mark Lapierre]

If you can afford them, check out the Pimsleur Japanese audio lessons. I found them very very helpful.

[LifeFirst]

Only use this technique when you have learned the basics and the fundamentals of the Japanese language:


Pick a Japanese movie (hopefully a good one), don't go for those old Samurai or old Yakuza films, because the dialogue in those films are extremely hard to understand, and they don't really talk like that in everyday life. So pick a modern Japanese film, and then watch it again and again, until you can almost memorize the dialogue.

Just leave the movie on, when you're surfing the net, cooking...eating..just listen to the dialogue over and over again...and you will memorize it. Then you will soon get it.

Anime works too...but I like movies better.

[uberinquisitive]

YesJapan.com

[A2K89]

Can anyone suggest some Japanese anime or movies I can download?

I've never been into anime, but if its for the sake of learning the language...

Originally Posted by LifeFirst

Only use this technique when you have learned the basics and the fundamentals of the Japanese language:


Pick a Japanese movie (hopefully a good one), don't go for those old Samurai or old Yakuza films, because the dialogue in those films are extremely hard to understand, and they don't really talk like that in everyday life. So pick a modern Japanese film, and then watch it again and again, until you can almost memorize the dialogue.

Just leave the movie on, when you're surfing the net, cooking...eating..just listen to the dialogue over and over again...and you will memorize it. Then you will soon get it.

Anime works too...but I like movies better.

[Tasaio]

Originally Posted by Mark Lapierre

If you can afford them, check out the Pimsleur Japanese audio lessons. I found them very very helpful.

Interesting that you mention Pimsleur, because I recently gave up on those lessons.

My knowledge of spoken Japanese from Pimsleur was useless. It didn't help my reading or listening comprehension...at all.

Conversely, when I switched to learning the written language, it helped my listening skills a great deal.

I know of other people who have criticized Pimsleur for its limited dialogue (Do you want to drink osake? Do you want to drink beer? Where do you want to drink? Would you like to drink something? Do you like beer? ).

I'm guessing, Mark, that you're a very social person who spends more time speaking Japanese than reading and writing it. Would you say that Pimsleur would be helpful to someone more focused on the written language?

(Of course, I'm the person who forgot the "n" in "konnichiwa", so I still have a long way to go in learning the language. )

[Tasaio]

Originally Posted by Solid Snake

Hey, I want to learn Japanese - any programs / tools / resources work well for you?


Thanks

The best advice I can give is to stay away from Romaji (the use of the latin alphabet).

The first thing you should do is learn the hiragana and katakana alphabets. They aren't hard at all!

TheJapanesePage.com - Learn Japanese for FREE -- How to Wow! with language, culture, kanji, and grammar
Japanese Writing

And then start learning grammar:

Tae Kim's Japanese guide to Japanese grammar

I'm learning Japanese too, it's my family's second language. Good luck!

[Tasaio]

Originally Posted by A2K89

Can anyone suggest some Japanese anime or movies I can download?

I've never been into anime, but if its for the sake of learning the language...

Yeah! There are some great anime movies!

Only Yesterday (おもひでぽろぽろ)

Grave of the Fireflies (火垂るの墓)

Spirited Away (千と千尋の神隠し)

Don't bother with overrated films like Mononoke and Nausicaä. The above films are the best!

[Mark Lapierre]

Originally Posted by Tasaio

My knowledge of spoken Japanese from Pimsleur was useless. It didn't help my reading or listening comprehension...at all.

Conversely, when I switched to learning the written language, it helped my listening skills a great deal.

I know of other people who have criticized Pimsleur for its limited dialogue (Do you want to drink osake? Do you want to drink beer? Where do you want to drink? Would you like to drink something? Do you like beer? ).

I'm guessing, Mark, that you're a very social person who spends more time speaking Japanese than reading and writing it. Would you say that Pimsleur would be helpful to someone more focused on the written language?

(Of course, I'm the person who forgot the "n" in "konnichiwa", so I still have a long way to go in learning the language. )

I think your criticisms are valid, and that as helpful as I found Pimsleur, I should have mentioned that it shouldn't be the only resource someone uses. And no, I don't think it would be helpful to learn to read/write. But it did help me get around Japan the first time I was there. It was definitely not enough, but it helped me learn a lot in a short amount of time (especially since listening to the lessons on the tram to/from work was very convenient)

I found Henshall's "A guide to Remembering Japanese Characters" to be useful for learning Kanji, and the Minna no Nihongo series very good for learning everything else (I used that series in classes here in Australia and in Japan).

Oh, and for learning a variety of Japanese conversational speech, I'd suggest people try Japanese dramas. They're better than some anime because anime isn't necessarily the same speech that the Japanese use in general conversation (at least this is what I've been told, I'm certainly not at the 'general conversation' level. And it depends on the anime). Many Japanese dramas are fan-subbed.

[LifeFirst]

Originally Posted by A2K89

Can anyone suggest some Japanese anime or movies I can download?

I've never been into anime, but if its for the sake of learning the language...

That's probably because most of the anime you have seen are more geared for kids. You know, the types with stupid comedy and immature stuff. You should go for more adult/mature anime such as Shigurui (best anime ever made), Serei no Moribito, Ghost in the Shell....things of that nature.

[A2K89]

Originally Posted by LifeFirst

That's probably because most of the anime you have seen are more geared for kids. You know, the types with stupid comedy and immature stuff. You should go for more adult/mature anime such as Shigurui (best anime ever made), Serei no Moribito, Ghost in the Shell....things of that nature.

I've seen a few episodes of Ghost in the Shell, good show.

Thx LifeFirst and Tasaio for the recommendations.

[SchoolisHard]

For a language like Japanese, it's tough for an Engish speaker. Maybe you should approach it like a child. Learn the hiragana first. Once you feel comfortable at least pronouncing the words in japanese books for children move on to the katakana. Slowly continue with these two sets of characters until they are second nature. After this, try a thematic approach to the kanji. I find it helpful to pick one niche per week such as months, vegetables, etc.

Good luck!

[Christian223]

I tried to study Japanese in the past, and because i had nowhere to apply it i forgot about it almost completely, so for me the most important thing is to apply what you learn almost daily, maybe japanese games that dont have much text will help, too, gluck.

[LifeFirst]

I think the BEST way to learn Japanese, without going to Japan, is to read a Japanese novel. I know they're hard to find so you have to pick another type of medium. But if you can take a novel and read it, then you will improve dramatically.


Or you can just follow my advice by watching movies or anime, here is a good site to watch them:

crunchyroll - feed your need!


You don't have to download them or anything, just watch them stream online. They got tons.