A guide to learning HOW you learn Japanese

[Khengi]

If it helps the people out there who want to learn Japanese on their own but don't know if it's possible, then I can help you.

From and earlier post of mine:

I started teaching myself from books when I was 16, graduated High School early so I could attend Purdue Calumet, passed Japanese 101, 102, 201 and 202 by testing out of the first three, took the 4th one in-class and became a student teacher for this fall. I'm going for the JLPT2 in December.

If it means anything, than it at least means it's possible. I started from learning from various book and websites, little by little changing the resources I use to better myself everyday. If I knew what I know now about studying Japanese when I first started, I could possibly be on a native level or at least in the proximity (This is also because I'm always talking with natives).

Here are the steps that I wish I had taken, but now use them everyday:

1. Learn Hiragana and Katakana. These are very important:
Hiragana and Katakana Practice - Real Kana
Teach Yourself Japanese (2.1 to 2.11 to hear pronunciation)

*2. Study Taekim from lesson one to the end, review from the beginning every Saturday (or whatever day of the week you're free, at least one day should be devoted to studying Taekim)
Tae Kim's Japanese guide to Japanese grammar

Use his forum if need be to ask questions (It's not the most active in the world, but expect an answer before the end of the day, or sometimes hour)
Tae Kim's Guide to Japanese Grammar Forum

*3. Step 3, like step 2, is an ongoing process. Begin to think in Japanese, take what you know and constantly use it. Learn new Kanji every day, but learn them in words. Make Japanese a part of your life, constantly writing, speaking, reading, etc. If someone is in Japanese, try to read it. The more you read the more proficient you become.

4. Use this website to learn new words all the time. (I posted this on Taekim's forum):

There's (close to the middle) a quiz with 4480 of the most common or 必要な words. Obviously, that quiz would take forever, but the creator (and various other people), split it up into 344 smaller quizzes covering all of the main quiz in increments of 12 words.

Here's what I do: Take two of the quizzes and study them (24 words in all). Take these words and make them the focus of your studies for a week, constantly writing them and such. The next week, take 3 quizzes (36 words in all), and keep up this process.

English-Japanese Vocabulary Quizzes

5. When your Japanese as gotten to a good fluency, use this website to talk to Native Japanese speakers that are trying to learn English as well, and are happy to reciprocate your requests.

Language Exchange Community - Practice Foreign Languages

6. Watch things that have Japanese in them, mimic them the best you can (I am a musician, so I was able to catch on to the subtle flow in pitch). Listen to Japanese radio as well -- anything to hear how it all sounds.

Japanese Talk Radio - Listen Online

*7*. The final step is to go out and try to find native Japanese to talk to. Do whatever you can to achieve this step, as it is very important. You need that immersion, I assure you.

I hope this helped.

[RKitagawa]

Thanks for taking the time to put this together Khengi. I know I'll find it very useful. And I'm sure many others will too.

Thank you

[Khengi]

Originally Posted by RKitagawa

Thanks for taking the time to put this together Khengi. I know I'll find it very useful. And I'm sure many others will too.

Thank you

No problem, I enjoyed doing it very much as it also puts my best known means of learning in one spot.

I should also note that Jim Breen has just about the greatest dictionary in the world for Japanese:
Jim Breen's WWWJDIC

[KyleGoetz]

Kenghi, I think SpaceALC is better: www.spacealc.co.jp
But I don't think it really offers anyone anything until they've gotten advanced. Until then, WWWJDIC works just fine.

[Khengi]

Indeed, スペースアルク is awesome, but until you get to quite an advanced level, it won't even be understandable (with a site like that, you need to know Japanese to learn Japanese, hahaha)

[Kawatta]

niceness, i definatly need this, thanks alot Khengi

[MMM]

Jim Breen has lots of things SpaceALC doesn't, and vice versa. I usually have both open at the same time.

For example, a word as fundamental as 金星 (planet Venus) is "dazzling victory" in Jim Breen.

On the other hand, many katakana names appear in Jim Breen that don't appear in SpaceALC, so when in doubt I check both.

[Beatreee]

Heyyy

thank you so much for this i think it will really help me (and others) because i am finding it hard to find a way to learn a language and still fit it around school and stuff. cause all the groups i know of are in the day or finish to late for me to be able to my school work



Thanks again
xxx

[ModusOperandi]

Hey Khengi. I just went through your website and liked what I saw. I'll try to follow it as much as possible.
[EDIT]
Oops mistook you for someone else with the rest of my comment..I edited it out though.

Still great and useful websites.

[Khengi]

Glad everyone is enjoying this very much. Hopefully we can have more Japanese speakers on the forum that can speak with us who already know the language