Learning Japanese

[Craved]

Hey Guys .. where do most of you learn Japanese?

did the normal year 7 stuff.... but forget everything!

any ideas where abouts i could do a little learning before going to do a course ..

like a website i can go through at work etc.. any and al info would be great

cheers guys

[totoro]

well im not sure about sydney but in perth you can go to universities or TAFE(college) for course as short as 1month to full degrees, so the best bet will be checking with your local educational facilities. also im sure there are a lot of japanese communities in sydney so may wanna do some cultural exchange so you learn more about culture as well as language... also pick up those free publications for japanese community they can be a good help too...

also on a side note watch some manga/movies, listen to music, etc or find a japanese student who wants to learn english and ask them to teach you phrases, etc... getting to know what you like and getting into it from it will be much easier and enjoyable...

if you got questions feel free to mail me.... will do my best to help ya....

good luck dude!

masahiro

[Intensevil]

ATM im just teaching myself with resources from the internet, but that can only go so far.

http://japanese.about.com/

use this to get the hiragana and katakana alphabets and remember them.

For me i find that looking at the symbols then writing them down in their romaji form and matching them up to their hiragana form works but you could also make flip cards (romaji on one side, hiragan on the other). Just whatever works best for you.

Once i've got those memorised i'm going to start to translate slabs of hiragana text. basicly its a practice thing, you gota get yourself to remember and recognize things instantly.

I dont recomend watching anime as a way to learn japanese because a lot of it is informal and very context sensative which gives the wrong impression because the subbers dont usualy explain the context, its just a given.

[totoro]

oh yeah dont get me wrong the grammer is not there but for hearing practice it will be good but for beginner level even just hearing it will be good... and it is best to talk to actual japanese ppl once you get the basic done...

[Laurence]

Don't I never hooked you up! http://www.manythings.org/japanese/links/

The best one I have used is a video called Let's Learn Japanese which is about Yan-San and his wacky adventures. It is from 1984 so it is full or weird funny retro stuff but i am finding it really helpful.

The real advantage here is that I can sit on the train and try to read signs or just listen to anyone talking and it is a free Japanese lesson. Rightly or wrongly the first thing I have tried to do is learn Hiragana which I found really helps with pronounciation. I find that I tend to say things wronger using Romanji

I have done this quiz about 1000 times. But instead of just clicking the right answer I try to say all three before I have listened to them then click the right answer. Also I found practicing writing them very useful in remembering.

http://www.okayama-u.ac.jp/user/int/study/.../hiragana2.html

http://www.okayama-u.ac.jp/user/int/study/.../katakana2.html

Those links are from the links page above.

[Craved]

cool thanks for the info guys .. i'll check it all out at work on monday when i can get some bandwidth ... see how i go with it!

[Nozila]

the best way to learn japanese is to either go to japan itself and talk with the locals and familiarise yourself with certain dilects depending on where you are or talk to a native japanese person in Australia. Talking is the only way to learn japanese - orally anyways. Writing and reading is another thing in which if you cannot master the art of reading kanji, keep trying until you do. These are my experience in learning japanese anyways so take it with a grain of salt.

[akeenan]

Get the basics down first .. start learning hiragana and katakana straight away.

as well as basic sentence structures

someone also metioned living in Japan is the best way ... I`d agree with this and also you gotta speak if you dont speak your going to suck .

Also depending on how serious you are about the whole thing dont get to caught up with kanji IMHO its more important to be able to speak than read every single kanji ... if you plan on living in Japan its a whole different story

[Nozila]

i mentioned kanji b/c hiragana/katakana is not used or widely used as kanji. yes, get the basic done. You can understand/get the idea of a sentence if you can pick up certain characters in it.

[n154thrlz]

Hey Guys,

Sorry about the bump of the old thread, I want to learn basic Japanese, mainly speech.

I've searched, d/l the programs/got the urls, so that’s covered.

Other than:

Uni - Not offered at my campus

Tafe - Can't get there/clashes with uni

Private Tutor's - Seem expensive - understandable.

Japanese g/f - hehe

What other options do I have to learn the language? Really need something weekends... (Saturday school isn't open to uni students from what I have been told...)

Its looking like a PT is my only option but I thought I'd give this post a go.

Cheers,

Gav.

[akeenan]

do some research in your town(what town are u in) and find out where the local private english school is. go down their with a sign that says

Hello. , My name is ............. , I am ..... years old, I like ..... and ..... and am interested in learning Japanese. If you would like to teach me and I can help you with your english please email me at ................... looking forward to your email .........

ask if you can put it on their notice board

Language exchange. Its kinda like blind dating. It also often turns into casual dating. good luck be nice

Edited December 29, 2005 by akeenan

[Yorik]

I am currently doing the Pimsleur system on MP3. Quite good, they teach you actual words and phrases that you would and do use.. Each lesson is about 25 minutes in length and there is 24 lessons per unit, I have unti 1,2 and 3. I am upto lesson 12 in unit 1 and I think I have enough to barely survive in Japan unassisted for a few days. I can do all the usual stuff, food, drink, thanks, hello, goodbye, what is the time etc..

I actually got the Pimsleur System off of a File Sharing network, along with a heap of files and documents etc for learning Japanese.. I have tried a number of other ways to learn and nothing has been as simple and easy (and fun) as this System.

As an example, I am putting thefirst lesson on my site for you to try, it is 18MB, so be patient.. It is uploading right now..

Here is the link

http://yorik.biz/Pimsleur%20-%20Japanese%2...Lesson%2001.mp3

If you like this system, I am sure that we can work something out..

[Rezz]

I just wanna add that 'making mistakes' is the only way you can get to semi-fluent level quickly... just open your mouth and spit it out, if it comes out wrong (and you have a native speaker around) they'll correct you every time... but pay attention to the correct way and not the mistake!! My 2c...

[akeenan]

yeah .. ive made pleanty of mistakes...

eg: okosu(to wake up)　and okasu(to rape)

kenkasuru(to fight) kekkonsuru(to marry)

Also things like telling people your on holidays for 2 months instead of 2 weeks.... its all fun and games.. but this is the best way you learn.. making stupid mistakes .. 　

Edited December 30, 2005 by akeenan

[Yorik]

Well I am planning ona trip in Aug/Sep and I have now been learning for about a month, I am hoping to have a small grasp on the basics by the time I go there. The main issue for me is that I am in a country town with minimal ability to find someone with native Japanese tongue. The local High School teaches Japanese, I am thinking of attempting to get some private tutopring from the Japanese Teacher once I get a bit more under my belt..

My amin issue at the moment is stringing together a lot of words. I can do short sentences without too much of an issue, but once the sentence or phrase goes more than abotu 6 words I start to get flustered..

[n154thrlz]

Thanks for the feedback guys

Cheers Yorik for the file.. I'm slowly d/l it as we speak.

I’m around Hornsby (NSW). My best bet is Chatswood from internet research etc etc....

I went to Japan back in 2004 with Blitz and a few other ppl. Since then I’m like "I gotta live over there for a year.. or 2" see how we go.

I have 1 more year of uni (BA of Education), mid 2006 I'm hoping to have some kind of idea of the Japanese language for the JET application.

Cheers guys...

I'll let you know if I find anything to help other ppl looking on here.

Gav.

[n154thrlz]

Yorik - That MP3 file is great *thumbs up*.

Im going to look into what Borders have on the topic. I've looked at my Uni libary database and they have some stuff 2.

Cheers,

Gav.

[cowie165]

Gav if you visit amazon.com and search for 'Japanese' you'll find LOTS of resources to teach yourself. Pimsleur is regarded as one of the best but is expensive unless you grab the .torrent.

Another one that came highly recommended, that I'm going to try once I go back to work, is "Learn In Your Car: Japanese". Positive reviews on amazon.com and as it's all verbal you're practicing your pronunciation and hearing how it should sound, rather than guessing from reading a book.

Also, a lot of reviews/forums/etc. have caned Romanji saying that it is a huge crutch and a waste of time that will only result in poor pronunciation. There are a few books out there titled "Teach Yourself Japanese Without Romanji!" as a lot of teachers believe it to be a handicap.

Cheers

Mark

[momo]

Quote

The best one I have used is a video called Let's Learn Japanese which is about Yan-San and his wacky adventures. It is from 1984 so it is full or weird funny retro stuff but i am finding it really helpful.

The adventures of yan-san are f"#ing hilarious! its really cheasy and i recon its even older than 1984, maybe even late 70's. I love in the beginning yan, the imigrant gets picked up from the airport and they're driving in the new car (late 70's corona type thing) and the owner kind of nods his head for yan to look at the amazing electric arial pop up from the boot, and hes well pleased with himself, Classic stuff.

Pimsluers is really good for speaking\listening practice as mentioned and you should find it at www.torrentspy.com or isohunt or something simular.

[Yorik]

I have been looking through different learning techniques as well. As I am about to book my holiday for August (including the D1GP at Ebisu) and the few that I ahve come up with are a bit patchy as compared to the Pimsluer system, I will keep my eye out for this stuff also.. I don't believe I am at the level yet where I could watch somehting and keep up, it takes me a while to translate it in my head still..