I am going to review the top 2 website for learning Japanese, or least top to that are recomended or talked about the most. japanesepod101.com and 123japanese.com
Learn Japanese online. With our podcast, learning Japanese is easy. | JapanesePod101.com
I think this website is great if you want to download and listen to content with you. Its good for busy people who would rather listen on the go, than sit down and read. For the most part, they do have a lot of content, many lessons that help people.
But there are a lot of downsides. The website isn't free, which isn't the problem, the problem is they are misleading about thier prices and what you get. I'm not going to give exact numbers, because they seem to change frequently, so I will use example figures.
You can sign up for a free account, but they mislead you when they say you have "access" to thousands of lessons. You only have access to about 30 audio clips at the most with a free account. Then if you want to upgrade, there are hidden fees, and the prices arn't really up front. You get locked in a contract that automatically renews, and you actually don't get to access ALL the content.
Now asside from the financial downpoints of the website. I find its NOT well organised, and lessons are not even sorted correctly. Infact, the lessons on the website go like this . They play an audio clip thats about 2 mins long of a story, then they directly translate the words in the story. So the only bits of the language your getting is pits of a story, which I really don't think is a good way to learn a language.
It makes things confusing for people who are ACTUALLY a begginer. They jump into saying numbers like 4,10,8 (example) without even giving you the knowledge of the other numbers, you have to keep watching, hopeing they will cover this information.
I belive the website is only good if you already know some Japanese.
123 Japanese - Learn Japanese online for free
This website is the opposite of japanesepod101. It actually has no audio clips, except for the video lessons. You can't download any content, and you view it right on the website. So if your looking for something to study away from the computer, its impossible.
The website is 100% free, which is a bonus. But really shocks me is how much content they actually have for a free website. Its true when they say they have the largest vocabulary section, They really do. about.com japanese section has a pretty large vocabulary section, but this website has a larger one, and it certianly is easyer to view.
The one downside is there is no search feature, so you can't search if your looking for a certian word, you gotta go through the catagories.
Another downside is parts of the website seem to be incomplete, the kanji section actually doesn't have all the kanji, for the longest time the section said underconstruction. Usually when a website doesn't have a section thats complete yet, they don't make it available to the public, because it probably makes them look bad. But i guess it is a benifit depending on how you look at it, at least viewers will get Some information, as it gets built.