I started learning it through audio lessons, but I haven't llistened to it for a while. Also, from only audio lessons you can't learn kanji or even romaji [you can guess but it's not always right.] Once my exams are over I am going to really try and start up again in the holidays [though I have been promising myself I will learn many new things and haven't managed to.] I only know things like how to introduce myself, saying things about my home town, compliments, saying what I like and dislike and similar things. It is more difficult because I have no-one to talk to, I think I could find it a lot easier if I could practice.

I have been attempting to learn through audio with iSpeak Japanese but I've kindof lost track. But now I have exams and we can get out our music players when we are through so thats what I do during that time

Your allowed your music players :O

It's well unfair, if we have music players or mobile phones on our person during they exam or even in the exam hall, we will be disqualified from that paper and potentially any past papers or future papers of that year. Obviously because of cheating you aren't allowed them at any time. So I don't even bother taking mine to school ^_^

yeah but only in certain classes. most teachers will take the exam up then let us do what we want...i usually always have mine so i just ask and they are all whatever. but phones are a no for a fact cus if mrs. wood [principal] walked in and saw us, she'd suspend us all. mp3, ipod, she dont mind though

:O Really? Are they like official qualifications or just practice exams?

just end of sememster exams....dont know exact name for them

Ah I see, well then it would prolly be the same for us then. I thought you meant in official exams :O Certainly not allowed then ^_^

A school down the road does Japanese at GCSE ;_; I wish we did it at my school, so unfair! Our school is good for Business and Japanese is a good Business language to learn because of all the technology [ our school specialises in Technology too ]

Hi!
My experience about learning japanese was very good but I sadly had to stop it due to work (my job) priority.

To resume, I didn't found it very hard:
- first: you learn the 46 hiragana, try to make five a day, the -a -i -u -e -o in each kind of syllab, i.e ka, ki, ... ta, chi, .. sa, shi, ... Normally you should take 3 weeks to a month. A good thing is to learn vocabulary using the hiragana you 're knowing while learning them, it is a good way to word assimilation (personaly I worked on fish and animal names, good stuff!).
- second: the next month, you do the same with the 46 katakana: used to spell foreigner (gaijin) words. Be careful, if you are like me and focuse only on true japanese word, you may less retain in your mind katakana than hiragana.
- third: now you are ready for grammatical lessons; Don't worry, you'll learn some of the 1945 kanji with time during your lessons. Don't remember that as in young schoolboys books or upon the name of the train's stations, you have the furigana, that means upon the kanji (or hanzi in chinese, that means the chinese character), you'll have the syllabic hiragana, so you can read the words.
- forth: as a french, I can say that japanese conjugation and grammar isn't very difficult (and it is more obvious as I learnt some latin). So you have to learn the polite conjugation (as a gaijin it is essential), then the neutral (casual) one (to understand, usual in anime or movie, for exemple), and after the adjectives conjugation (a thing that I found outstanding and very very interesting).

With that and a little vocabulary, you should not understand all, far away from this, but you'll have quite the basis, and I believe they are the good ones. I think with that if you're lost in Tôkyô and need to ask your way, if you have the appropriate vocabulary (not less than 400 words and verbs, it is a minimum!), you should do your way through.

As I'm not japanese, I can't say all of this would be OK, but if some natives are reading this, I'm sure thay could offer more information or correction about what I'm saying. (and their well-known kindness certainly would help you).

Expecting I could have helped you too,

Kitsune:ywave:

we can have them for grad exams as well....pretty much all exams as long as we arent taking the exam

日本語は楽しくて面白いですよ！！！