Online and Lesser-Known Resources for the Japanese Learner

Introduction

Japanese is difficult, from the sheer number of kanji needed even to read basic materials such as menus and train schedules, through to the alien pronunciation, to the esoteric sentence structure and impenetrable grammar, to the myriad politeness levels needed to not cause offence, things are not easy for the Japanese learner.

However, these days there are a wealth of resources available to the Japanese learner to help with the process. A whole suite of methods, learning techniques, software programs and the like are available online for use by the Japanese language learner, often free of charge, or on a donation basis. People who have succeeded in tempering and mastering the language enough to work in roles other than English teaching now regularly blog on the Internet and share their techniques, advice and tactics on how to succeed. More crucially, the Japanese language seems to be shedding its cloak of mystery and intrigue (perpetuated by the Japanese themselves) as an “impossible language for foreigners to learn”, and turning into a viable and feasible language for everyone. It has never been easier than now to consider studying Japanese as a second language.

Over these net few blog posts, a handful of these modern techniques and software available to the Japanese learner will be discussed, as well as some thoughts and opinions into their effectiveness. Like with everything else, there is no silver bullet to successfully becoming fluent in Japanese. However, these days, there are plenty of killer apps available in order to make your learning experience as efficient as possible. With a series of different methods under your belt, enough grit and motivation, and plenty of hard work, it is possible to crack the Japanese language and reach a high level of proficiency.

Here is a list of some of the methods, pieces of software and techniques that will be discussed over the next series of posts:

Heisig – A Mnemonic Learning Technique for Kanji

Anki and Spaced Repetition Systems – A intelligently scheduled flashcard system

“10,000 Sentences” – Khatzumoto of AJATT’s preferred method of learning grammar, vocabulary and whatnot all in one go, instead of over-analysing the language.

MSN/Chat/Sharedtalk – Chat programmes are still a great way of assisting your learning. They provide a semi-real time environment to supplement your learning and build your confidence from purely academic/study into more realistic conversational environment

Rikaichan – A pop-up dictionary plug-in for FireFox to assist reading

Readthekanji – A beautifully designed and useful website to build vocabulary and kanji reading/typing confidence

My Japanese Coach – DS Software developed to help Japanese learning

Learning Japanese is a large undertaking, but its far from impossible! Many of the characteristics of the experience of learning Japanese are somewhat similar to learning a musical instrument, from the repetition elements, to the timescales involved, to the differences between private study (software repetitions) and public performance (speaking in public with Japanese people). And plenty of people have managed to learn a musical instrument successfully.

Of course, like with every undertaking of this nature, its important to consider what do you want to achieve with Japanese and what is your end goal. If it is a survival to intermediate level confidence, suitable for finding your way around Japan, ordering at restaurants, feeling confident booking tickets for transport and the like, you probably don’t need every technique and piece of software described. However, if your goals are to work and live in this country in a professional context, then a high level of Japanese is often required and this will require developing strong skills in all areas, from reading to writing, from listening to speaking. But with the introduction to the various software and techniques provided in this blog , and some hard work, it is more than possible to develop your Japanese quickly and effectively.

The next article will cover the Heisig Method, a powerful method for stuffing all them masses of kanji into your head without forgetting too many of them! Until then, happy studying!