How did you learn Japanese?
 

I'm just interested to know how the majority of people learned Japanese. I've been self teaching for a while but I'm finding it very difficult, and I was considering getting lessons. Really I wanted to know how many people had lessons with a teacher or are self-taught, so I know it's not impossible to do it by yourself. Also I'm interested to see what method taught you the most. If you have used mulitple methods please just choose the one that helped you the most.

For me, it was by living in Japan.

im trying to teach myself at the moment but ill be looking into lessons in the next week or so

When I was in the United States, I took private lessons with a native teacher for 1 and a half hours, once a week for 5 months. It was very helpful and gave me a decent basis in grammar, hiragana, and building my vocabulary. But then I came to Japan and started studying full time at a Japanese language school 20 hours a week. We covered just about everything I learned from my private lessons within the first 2 weeks of language school. I've only been at the language school for 5 months so far, but I can hold very simple conversations in Japanese. I've gone out with some of the students at my school who are in the Intermediate and Advanced classes who've been studying full time for 1 - 2 years and they have no problems conversing with native Japanese speakers in daily situations. I'd really like to get to that level.

How about "All of the above"? I've used books, cd's, internet programs, flash cards, and conversations with my girlfriend. Now that I'm living in Japan I take a lesson every week.

all of them except native and visiting japan.

I'm still learning, but I'm teaching myself through books mostly. I don't trust the internet so much anymore since one site will say one thing and then another will say something completely different.

I live in Japan!!!! Well...only part-time, but yeah! Native speaker here!!!
Lately I've been working on my English...because it's poor...

My option isn't up there: in school.

From a book, which doesn't help with pronunciation.

I thought リー was pronounced like ライ, remember, MMM?

It also wrote "Katakana" in hiragana.

I learnt that I know by self-teaching and books (mainly the Banzai french method, Ellipses Editions; but as it has some failures, I have too an advanced japanese small handbook, which helps me sometimes, an universitary Kanji Manual, very nice stuff, a Doraemon's japanese book 1006 kanji, very cute, and other little books).

I began in May 2005, after passed my last rank at work and seeking something good to train my mind during two years in prevision of the following grade to pass. So I worked 5 kana a day the first month, so I mastered well the hiragana, a bit more less the katakana because I wanted to learn mainly true japanese vocabulary, not much english rooted words (I still have some hesitations on a few katakana).

I tried to work at least 5 days per week, one hour and half, not working mainly on kanji (I know about 110 of them).

For the pronounciation, I'm a big fan of old japanese classic movies, so I could get full of examples. Anyway, for a french, japanese pronounciation is not far from our, except the u as ou (kind of oo in english) and the classic japanese r which is between r and l. So I managed that as well (except the first times as I was speaking with a too virile Toshirô Mifune's style :p ). But listening japanese actress helped well to stick out of this anyway.

I worked at this rate during two years, learning about 500 words and the basic grammar, but had to stop because of my next rank test. My tests are very technical and very tough, so I couldn't manage learning new japanese at the same time. I just kept in memory all that I've already learnt by little exercises sometimes.

I failed my test 2 years along, and I just finish 2008 's one today. If I'm lucky this time, I certainly would return to intensive japanese learning very soon :vsign:

At the moment, I learn Japanese by reading a textbook. I am also tutored by a Japanese person, who comes to me every weekend. I have been to Japan last year, where I managed to pick up some vocabulary there. I hope to go again next year before I go to university to study Japanese.

Teaching myself...i have cds & 2 books that came along with it (language & script)

I`m thinking this would probably be a lot more helpful if you were to limit your field to those who are actually functionally fluent in Japanese.
Sure, people may be studying via web guides, but I highly doubt they`re going to reach any level of fluency that way.

I haven't learned it, I'm learning it, so I'm nowhere near fluent and don't fit any of the choices of the poll, for the most part.

First I think you have to define, 'learned Japanese'.:D

I once met a person who said I spoke Japanese well. I said," Thanks, but my reading is terrible. Can you read Japanese?" And he said Yes. A straight yes. He wasn't lying. He could read Japanese, but he could only read Hiragana. :(

Did he learn Japanese? Yes. Has he learned Japanese? I think, no. He has just "learned some Japanese" or "knows some(very little) Japanese".:confused:

To say that you "learned Japanese" I believe you need at the very least an Intermediate level (chart below) in both speaking and reading.:rolleyes: But you don't really know Japanese until you've reached Upper Intermediate.


The Levels of Speaking Japanese

Beginner
Being able to pick up a girl(guy) in roppongi who doesn't speak a word of English. This only requires you to know only a few phases so it is the first step.;)

Intermediate
Have Japanese friends who can speak some English, but will still speak to you in Japanese. This varies much on the Japanese person's English skill. If it's very high and he or she still wishes to speak to you in Japanese rather than English this could be closer to an Upper Intermediate level. This could also depend on how many other people in the group understand Japanese or English.

Upper Intermediate
Able to listen to the news with 80% or more comprehension and talk about with in Japanese. I say 80% because even native speakers don't understand 100%.

Expert
Able to bullshit your way through a topic that you have no idea about, of course in Japanese and without getting caught. It's easy to talk about something that you know. However, even in your native tongue it's difficult to something you know nothing about.

The Levels of Reading Japanese

Beginner
Read Hiragana and Katakana
This is really no big deal. Just reading them individually can be learned in 1 week if someone put their mind to it. If you can read them with good rhythm you are closer to Intermediate.

Intermediate
Read 6th grade Kanji

Upper Intermediate
Read a Newspaper with 80%+ comprehension.

Expert
Read Non-fiction and literature.

I just thought up this chart now so it's probably full of errors:mtongue: ! There are other factors, as well. How much of the culture and history that you know and maybe your accent.

Well, essentially that's what I meant, I should have been more clear about it.

It seems the best method for me would to try and get tutored lessons, and through the week come home and revise from textbooks and notes. There is no-one I can talk to in Japanese so I can't really practice because my mum would think I'm a loon talking to myself :) None of my friends are particularly interested in it so I can't converse with them. So a class would be a good option and probably the only way I'm going to learn properly. So far on the internet I've only learnt a mish mash of random stuff and I want a structure to my learning. At some point I also hope to visit Japan on a holiday so that would give me an opportunity to practice.


Thankyou everyone for your responses it is very helpful to see the methods people find useful!

hmm. for me it was mostly just useing the cp and slowly memorizeing the romaji...hiragana i learned on my own, as well as kana. but kanji comes to be more dificult, thats why a friend helps me a little, im half japanese. so i woud like to, learn about my other side of me, since i live in america, born and raised.

still i would call myself beginner, since im just prepareing for the lessons. ;) soon you will see me speak fluint, in about 4 years give or take XDDD

Used to be a native speaker lol, went to saturday japanese school for a while, then stopped but i regret it.. now i do japanese as a subject at school but i'm not learning much

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I've found self-study doesn't really work for me. I can quit too easily and need motivation. I kind of had to study it when I was in Osaka though.

Like you, I don't have anyone I can converse with in Japanese since I'm the only one in my group of friends that can be bothered to learn another language.

Which is why I'm going to enroll myself into Japanese class once I can afford it again.

well it was my first language but i stopped learning it for a while so im not so good at it anymore =_=
yeah so now i learn it at school