Discussion What is the best way to learn Japanese ?

[luffy28]

I have a program from this company for Spanish
http://www.acceleratedlearning.com/language/home_study.html

and in the dvd it says to write in the book and mark it up with non bleedable markers and to stick post it notes of the spanish word of an item for example for my Computer Monitor I would put a post it with the spanish translation of " Monitor de ordenador".

Is there any programs like this for Japanese. I know the company has a Japanese video but that's it. I'm not advertising this I'm just asking if there are any programs similiar to this for Japanese.

 

[EvilGenious]

I have always thought immersion was best, but that is my opinion...

 

[ILUVATAR]

hm, there are some books on sale from the internet that you could buy that could help you to learn Japanese on your own (tough way)
another way is a site that i have, unfortunately the homepage is on Greek, but i have already checked it and it can find links in English. i could try giving you some links, it's not a problem. the thing is if you would want that ^^
for example: http://japanese.about.com/blbasic.htm
*This Web site provides thirty-six basic Japanese lessons. The lessons are based on situations that people come across in daily life including introducing people, at the post office, at the restaurant, and asking directions.*

or so it says ^^
there are many more sites like this one, better or worse, if this one isn't enough or not satisfying for you, feel free to ask me anytime

 

[krazykone12]

There's no better way to learn than to study, 拝承 hai shou "learn" then 学習 gakushuu "study"

oh yeah your gonna be annoyed when you get to the kanji

here ya go http://nihongo.j-talk.com/parser/search/ use it well

 

[Grimory]

the easiest way, at least for me, is just plain old raw memorizing power(expecially for those darned kanji..) and conversing with skilled people like my sensei and those japanese guys at the ramen shop near our house..

 

[dj_fujon]

To be honest there is not easy way to learn japanese but the best way is to learn japanese is probley watch lot of anime and try to pick it up from there.

if you have any question give me a pm.

i can help you out

 

[Gold Knight]

Yep memorization is key.

Memorizing hiragana takes about 1-2 weeks on average, katakana another 2 weeks.

Then, of course, the hard part, kanji. You'll probably never remember every kanji, but that's okay. That's what a dictionary is for - and anyway, it'd be hard for you to remember and know every word in your own native language too, so it's not a big deal.

http://www.kanji-a-day.com/

That's how I started memorizing kanji. Write them down on a notecard and carry it around with you, try to remember what they are. It's pretty much constant studying and training your mind to recognize each symbol.

Start with basic words that you would use often. Start by categorizing the symbols - for instance, colors, actions (run, walk, jump), elements (fire, water, earth), directions (north, west, east, south), etc. Line them up and memorize each row of kanji.

After a while though, the good news is that you start to see repeating patterns that will help you remember what words they stand for.

And then, if you like manga, I definitely recommend downloading the RAWs and reading them in Japanese. After a while you can even translate what's being said in your mind - if not translate them into another language exactly (that takes yet more time.)

Be warned though, never use manga as an example as to how you should talk to somebody in normal conversation. It's very different and informal. There are plenty of 'Common Japanese Phrases in Conversation' websites you can check for that, though.

 

[NinjaDog_unit]

I'm not learning Japanese but noticed something while looking up Kanji and katakana (because of western names and how they are spelt) out of curiousity.

To recognize the symbols, I think it's good for you if you read video game texts with the voices. Or reading blogs.

 

[Neo]

Good thing this thread exist for us, hehe.

My two cents:

I just started to (try to) learn all by myself. I'm beginning with kana writing, and my strategy, for now, is making lines of every one of them (boring, yet that's the way I learned my own alphabet).

I can say that anime helps a lot on the listening skills. Try to listen while reading subs, and by repetition you'll start to recognize words by association. Also (and maybe it's not a good idea after all), isolate as much as possible from your native / usual language, like listening lots of J-pop or watching lots of anime. I've noticed my hearing kind of adapts to the japanese speech and pronounciation, and makes easier hearing some words.

@dj_fujon: I'll contact you one of these days, when I start to go crazy with it :-)

 

[Triple_Platinum]

Lazy man's way:

Just keep watching Japanese shows, learn the basic alphabets for Japanese (hiragana and katakana), memorize kanji and word meanings (hardest part), then after attaining a sufficient amount of learning, go look for a conversation-practice teacher. It's up to you if you want to learn how to write in Japanese though (as that's a whole different lesson).

 

[kai-uchiha]

by watching anime offcourse, that´s how i learned A few japanese words, AND IF I CAN THAN ANYONE CAN!!!

 

[Darrenj]

courses can be pretty cheap, here in adelaide (aus), a adult collage (WEA) does 90min lessons for 10bucks (6US)

 

[大天狗]

If you really want to learn japanese, like, learning it to fluency in both spoken and written language, you should check out the AJATT method:

http://www.alljapaneseallthetime.com/blog/about

The method is about learning the language through total immersion. It's quite demanding, but I couldn't think of a better way of learning japanese.

 

[kimizzle]

In my experience, the best way to learn a language is to be surrounded by that language all the time. Also, you really have to speak no matter how bad/embarrassed you get, just keep on at it.

 

[bax]

Yup, I agree with kimizzle. Of course you need to learn/memorize/etc at first, but at the end of the day, the one thing that will make a difference is the practical application, in which verbal application is the best way to do so.

How many years we speak our native languages before we can speak it without thinking? I mean, we don't have to think what words to use, we just have to think about what to say. It's the same here. With practical experience, it'll be a lot better.

 

[Emily00]

My way:

Lots of study, and lots of immersion. I study whenever I have the chance, I try to make sure I study for at LEAST 30 minutes every day, though often try to go for more.

I try to immerse myself in Japanese as much as I can in my life (which is hard, argh), I watch Japanese TV online, even if I can't understand it, and sometimes will just leave it on in the background when I'm doing other stuff on the computer. If not TV, Japanese music.

I'll play games in Japanese, sometimes games I've already played previously in English. (currently I'm playing through FFXII in Japanese) I also own a DS that I have "hacked", 95% of my games on it are Japanese games. A lot of them are study games for students over in Japan to practice Kanji and etc. Also various other games in Japanese like Pokemon Platinum, etc.

Also I own a lot of manga (raw obviously) IRL, most of it I keep next to my side of the bed and some on my computer desk. Before I go to sleep I'll always read some manga.

I haven't quite made the switch to using all Japanese websites (like, only using Wikipedia in Japanese) because it's still tough, but at times I try to. I also visit Japanese community websites a lot to try to understand people (lots of slang!), like 2ch, niconico, kotonoha, etc.


Obviously I'm not one of the pro translators yet, but I believe this way works very well, as I've learned a lot of stuff and quickly since I've started trying to immerse myself more.

 

[Fortisdiablos]

I don't know if music is the best method. They extend a lot of syllables and alter the pronounciation of a lot of words to match the beat of the song. Anime will teach you a lot of stuff that won't be useful in a practical conversation but it's good as a recognition tool. Also, anime usually won't help much if you don't have some basic knowledge. If you're perceptive and keep your ears open, you can pick up certain patterns. That's how I learned a couple verb conjugation methods before I was taught in any classroom.

If I can make one recomendation that I found true for me: don't bother with romanji. It's best to just learn Hiragana/Katakana and use those and eventually kanji to write anything, even if you are just practicing with flash cards. I've seen a lot of people struggle to unlearn romanji.

 

[blai]

I'd say a 19yr old sexy girl as a personal tutor.

 

[candy rain]

more practise ,more listening,and more speaking

 

[illusionsfool]

From what I've experienced, learning Japanese is best by taking formal classes. Now, the problem with that is 90-95% of the class will not be serious about actually learning the language and that is extremely frustrating. But when you try to teach yourself and then go into formal classes, it'll be difficult because you won't know the logistics of conjugation and things like that. I saw that a lot too when people came into the formal class and had already taught themselves some Japanese. I didn't know a lick of Japanese when I started taking classes.
I had that same problem when I went into formal German classes though. German was my first language so I just learned it from hearing everyone around me speak. Then when I went into the formal class, I didn't know any of the reasoning behind why certain things conjugated certain ways, or even what any of the verb forms were called, or anything like that.
That's just been my experience though.