I have been a student of Japanese for a nearly two years now, and I felt that today I would share the various websites, podcasts, programs and books I have found useful in the learning process. To be sure, there is an abundance of material out there, for free, that can be used to learn Japanese (or any other language for that matter) online. I’ll start with those.
- JapanesePod101.com - The most complete site on the net to learn Japanese with. Its foundations are the podcasts that Peter Galante and crew produce every weekday. You get great audio lessons with native Japanese speakers, and a helpful community through blog comments and the forums. For a little extra money, you can get access to the “Premium Learning Center,” which includes additional study materials like lesson notes and flashcards.
- Yamasa Online Kanji Dictionary - I really like this dictionary for one reason alone: every kanji has an animation of the stroke order. It makes learning to write the kanji a breeze.
- Remember the Kana by James Heisig - Ok, now for the stuff you have to pay for. This book is well worth it. Instead of relying on rote memorization to learn the hiragana and katakana, Heisig associates each character with an image relating to its sound. For example, you remember け (ke) by seeing the image of a CApe and dagger.
- Visual Language Learning Cards - Once you get the kana down, you are going to want to consolidate what you have learned. These are good, sturdy portable flashcards that include both a hiragana and katakana set.
- Yookso! by Yasu-Hiko Tohsaku - This is the textbook that we are using in my Japanese class. I wouldn’t recommend it by itself, but it is good in a classroom setting. This is a good resource for learning grammar as well.
- Rosetta Stone - This set of computer software is a bit pricey, but it’s a very different way to learn from the other tools I have shown so far. At no point do you do any translating or hear any English. It is immediate immersion. You learn vocabulary entirely by listening to a native speaker, and then try to match what they said from a selection of four photographs. I can testify to it working very well, but it does require a more time if you are not fast on picking up on the sounds.
A few more hints and tips: Learn the kana right away. It is important to not rely on the crutch of “romaji” (Japanse written with roman letters) when studying. You will need to learn the kana anyway if you want to attain any degree of literacy in Japanese. If you can manage it, take a class on Japanese, preferably through a local college. Being able to interact with other people and speak to them conversationally does a great deal to help you retain what you learn. It is also the most fun way to learn if you have a good instructor. Also, listen to as much Japanese as you can. Get your hands on Japanese music, watch anime with subtitles, do what ever you can to hear it everyday. By doing so you learn the natural patterns in the language and this helps you to speak more fluenly and increases your comprension.
Finally, if you have a Mac, I would recommend you download Provoc and Genius. These are two wonderful pieces of software. Provoc is a neat way to create vocabulary lists and study them in any variety of user-defined ways. Genius is primarily concerned with memorization of vocabulary and works by using a special algorithm that adapts to what you know and what you don’t.
Well, I think that will do it. Hopefully for all the new students of Japanese out there, you will have found this to be helpful.
