Joe In Japan

Being the netizen that I am, I listen to many podcasts. For those of you not in the know, podcasts are rich media files that are enclosed in an RSS feed, which can then be subscribed to with a program called a “podcatcher.” Any time a new file is placed in the feed it is automatically downloaded by the end-user’s podcatcher. An example of a popular program with podcatching capabilities is Apple’s iTunes.

If that all went over your head, all you really need to know is that podcasts are like TiVO for radio on the Internet. Podcasts run the gamut of topics, including Japan. Here today I’m going to detail some of my favorite podcasts relating to Japan. Please note that I’ve mentioned one before, JapanesePod101.com. However, the ones I’m mentioning today are not educational in nature - they are more for people with a general interest in Japan.

• Josh in Japan - Despite being discontinued indefinitely about a year ago, this is still one of the best podcasts out there on Japan. Josh is/was (I’m not sure of his current status) a medical technician in the United States Navy, stationed at the time in Yokosuka, Japan. His weekly podcasts were full of humor and great anecdotal information about the culture and people of Japan from a gaijin’s point-of-view. Each week, he highlighted a particular aspect of Japanese culture and gave about an hour-long show on that topic. Dig through the archives, listen and enjoy. This is about as good as it gets if you have even a passing interest in Japan or the Japanese. I will also mention that the title of Josh’s podcast/blog was an inspiration in choosing my own. Thanks, Josh!
• Japan Talk (The Japundit podcast) - Hosted by professional translator and operator of the Japundit blog Edward Chmura, Japan Talk is the de-facto podcast for weekly English-language Japanese news. Released every Saturday, each podcast centers around news stories from the Japundit blog, in addition to a selection of podsafe music. Edward really does a wonderful job with this podcast, as each episode has high production values - this could easily pass for something on AM radio.
• Guzen Media Japan - Done by the self-titled Chaz, Guzen Media Japan is a podcast/vidcast (meaning he releases videos too) that comes out on an irregular basis. The most likely reason for this is that he is an English teacher in Japan, and as such probably has to work long hours. Because of his profession, much of the podcast is about his experiences as a teacher and features interviews with people that he has met through teaching, including other teachers and students. This podcast can be a little esoteric, so you will probably have the most fun with it if you are interested in teaching English.
• A Year in Japan - A fortnightly podcast from Joseph Tame, this podcast chronicled the British foreign exchange student during his year in Japan, 2006-2007. Having just ended, he probably won’t be making many more significant updates, but the archives are a great listen if you want to see what it’s like for a student abroad in Japan. I happened to find this podcast quite interesting, imagine that. :P

There are many, many more Japan-themed podcasts out there - this is just a sampling of my favorites. Who knows, maybe I’ll throw my hat into the ring. I have been known to do podcasts before. No promises, though.

[Photo by OllyHart used under an Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.0 Generic Creative Commons license]

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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.

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