Originally Posted by AznFriday
The tips I could try to give you are probably cliche's. BUT here it goes:
1.Rosetta Stone.
Yes, it might cost a hefty chunk of change, but it also has one of the most diverse groups of nouns that are specificly and non-specifily stated. It also has it's share of problems, though most are workable, such as: Not telling you any kind of grammar....[b]Period[b]; Only using Romaji; Not even attempting to teach the kana....etc.
For me, it's just not worth it, but a lot of people like it.
2.Power Japanese.
This has done a superb job of teaching the kana, and the best part is: It only costs 50$! If that doesn't sound very reasonable, go look at Rosetta Stone, lol. The down-falls are as follows: Does not teach you that many nouns (in it's defense, however, it comes out and explicitly states that it is not mainly for nouns; only grammatical structure and the kana); Looks like a gimmick (it's not the most graphicly or best sounding program, but it cuts to the chase); Doesn't have background music (Yes, I know this sounds kind of strange, but it makes study time really quiet.)
This program has yet to fail me, and it also comes with a kana editor (So you can type the kana using romaji for their sounds). NOTICE: It does not teach kanji
3.Flash cards.
It seems as if I'm getting a little primitive here, but the're the easiest way (It truly is) to memorize Japanese. I learn by writing, so I write everything (including the kana) on a 3x5 index card. If it's some kind of list, then I write it on a 4x6.
4.Books.
I stress books very much, but only certain ones. i suggest (strongly) learning which and what kind of books you like by going to any book store and scrutinizing every book they have (On Japanese, of course, lol). When your done at one, move to the next one, and so on...
5.Media.
Watch Japanese movies or listen to J-Rock/Pop often to familiarize yourself with common words. I would suggest Kagrra if you like J-Rock; Utada Hikaru for J-Pop. Once, my grandma had a customer come into her friends shop who watched nothing except Japanese movies. She learned perfect Japanese.
6.Your Grandma
Listen to everything your grandma says. Coincedentally, my grandma was born on a southern island of Japan and likes to teach me Japanese also, lol. It, can be very confusing at times, but persistance is the key. In example, I don't know how many of my friends I've seen drop out of guitar due to a lack of persistance.
I hope this has been a help to you as a generalized post, but it's the most I could do at the moment. Good luck.
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