Hello Everyone!!!
Perhaps in most cases, your nearest college or even your school (k-12) have Japanese available as a foreign language. However, in some cases, the one college that does offer Japanese is way too far and tuition, books, and gas money make it difficult to study the language. Having that said, some of us have to teach ourselves the language.
I've been teaching myself Japanese almost three weeks now through an online course you all my already know of called Japanesepod101.com. I never buy into those "fast, easy, most fun way" gimmicks. I'm pretty self motivated without the "fast, easy, fun" ridiculousness, but I decided to give it a shot anyway and was surprised that I really enjoy it!
My only complaint is that I do not quite feel like this method is...structured, if you will. It is not as structured as when I learned German back in school. Maybe it's because the languages are so different that they have to be taught in different ways. I don't know.
Anyway, to any of you who have self-taught yoursel Japanese or teaching yourself Japanese, what resourced do you prefer/use to teach yourself Japanese. Paid for or Non-paid for, it doesn't matter. The important thing is to learn the language.
Ready...set...go!
I have used several things while self teaching. A lot if them I have paid for.
• An English/Japanese dictionary. (You can also find one online. I think, Jishou.com? Might want to google that first before actually going there. >.<)
• I found a SparkNotes type tri-fold cheat sheet with several vocabulary and lists on it)
• Japanese For Dummies
• Instant Immersion Japanese book (one thing I didn't like about this was that it was all in Romaji.)
• Have an Android and need help memorizing the kana? Look for KanaMind in the Playstore, it's free! It helped me with my hiragana, and then I got an iphone before I could really memorize the katakana... And it is not in the app store. :(
• FlashKana is a flashcards app for the kana on the iphone and I think Android.
• Have an iphone and want to learn some vocabulary? Look up Memrise. It helps with short term and long term memory.
• Have a Ninetendo DS? There is a game called, "My Japanese Coach," it's fun and interesting, though some of the strokes they teach you when learning to write hiragana are wrong; just be cautious of that.
• Remebering the Kanji, a book by James Heisig. This was published in the 1980's, but I don't think much has changed with Kanji since then.
• Children's books written in Japanese. These are usually written in the Kanas, and I think it really helps reinforcing what you have learned. You can find them on Amazon, I think...
• Genki 1: An Integrated Course in Elementary Japanese; textbook AND workbook. This is what we used in my Japanese class last year in college. I really like it and think it is worth it.
there are several other webpages I have found throughout the years, but I can't remember them. I like using multiple sources while learning Japanese. :3 what sources have you used?
Thanks, Lauren! Your comment is very helpful! I too like to get resources from elsewhere instead of sticking to just one resource. The thing with sticking to one source is that you may be limited to formal Japanese. Well, the problem with that is that when you want to watch a Japanese film or listen to Japanese musc for practice, there is a lot of use of informal Japanese.
My resources, other than Japanesepod101 are:
Barron's Foreign Language Guides Japanese Grammar (a little $7 book I bought at the book store)
Tae Kim's Guide to Learning Japanese (Very impressive. It's online and on the appstore)
A bunch of random internet articles on grammar.
A mixture of apps from both Android and Apple (own a droid smart phone and iPad). I haven't used some of the apps though.
For hiragana and katakana memorization, I really just built up my own technique that helped me remember out very quickly. I may need som help on the Kanji though! Haven't started learning it yet.
I, however, use an app from the appstore called Kana. It gives you quizes on the kana. So, whenever I feel like I haven't written enough kana for a while, I go to it to see if I still remember.
That's about it so far. I'm really considering getting that Genki book. Most of my research mentions those books. My problem is I really want homework and tests. I feel like I'm learning a lot, but I want to practice it. I want to be put to the test.
Haha, I see your Baby Metal picture :)
Immersion is great and all, but I can immerse myself as much as the internet allows me....and I'm not sure I can believe everything the internet tells me, haha.
I do the same. I watch Japanese films, listen to Japanese music, watch anime, try to read manga, and now I'm trying to speak to native speakers online since there are no native speakers where I live.
I've already mastered hiragana. I need to work on my katakana. Kanji is next. I want grammar...or just a formal Japanese learning experience. Similar to what you have in the University without actually going to the University. Price doesn't matter. I guess it might be hard finding a legit college level education in Japanese...
I once read an article, bason on an interview of the UN's chief interpretor, who is supposed to be able to speak 32 languages fluently. When asked "What is the best way to learn a language?", he answered (I paraphrase): "The best way to learn a language is to whole-heartedly throw yourself headfirst into that language's culture".
However, I believe that a very basic knowledge base is of use. So here's what I did:
1) Studied hiragana (with sheet and paper, modern me), grammar and basic vocabulary for some months, like 5 months, maybe. Then I hurtled myself into Japanese culture; anime, music, etc.
