The Best Way to Learn?

[SaginumaEki]

Originally Posted by Aiyuuji

Im from the uk
I dont use my ds much either im not really into it now XD

I actually miss those random DS battles on the trains.

[zenit]

Originally Posted by SaginumaEki

I guess you could buy an English one. However, learning a foreign language in another foreign language is HELLA HARD.

I think so too, and if its easier to learn it from portuguese it would be bad to learn it from english, i will try harder to find one, thanks

[akaringo444]

You can't just assume every website that teaches Japanese is going to be extremely vague and not be helpful at all with learning the language. Some of the websites with Japanese are very detailed in the information they give, and they give you examples with how to use whatever aspect of the language they're talking to you about in a sentence that is in actual Japanese.

[SaginumaEki]

Please show me this website.

[koneko2]

Originally Posted by SaginumaEki

1) Don't make anime your primary source of learning. Anime is bad for learning Japanese because it teaches you rude language.

2) Do not use online sites. As helpful as they may seem, they're not explained at all. I'm sorry, but the basics of Japanese are harder to understand than what a webpage may tell you.

3) What I mean by that is that new language learners want things to be direct translations. Remember, there are never direct translations, especially with Japanese which is a language isolate and Eastern.

4) BEFORE YOU GO TO JAPAN, make sure you know as much grammar as you.

A very interesting post indeed. I am a Chinese living in Hong Kong. I started learning the language when I was 12 and have been working as a Japanese tutor / translator for quite a while now.

I agree with point 1 to a certain extent. I did read a little bit of manga when I was already 2 or 3 years into learning the language and I picked up some of the stuffs there, thinking that they would sound more like spoken Japanese. But boy, did I get told off by my then Japanese fiance?!

I think if you have a few years of studies behind you, you can filter out the rude stuffs and adjust it accordingly. But it takes a lot of confidence and a very, Very, VERY solid foundation in grammatical knowledge.

As for point 2, I have not looked at other online sites, so really cannot say. But when I teach Japanese either in a class or as a private tutor specialising in teaching English-speakers Japanese, I find a shortage of really good books. The problem is that a lot of Westerners (NOT all) want to learn to speak it without going through the grammar, so books are structured as such. The grammatical instructions usually are a bit messed up in terms of sequence, making it difficult to rely on it to teach the students. I often find myself having to write supplementary notes and exercises for my students.

For point 3, isn't that true for all foreign languages though?

Point 4, I strongly agree with this. I have had a few English speaking students coming to me saying that they want to skip kanji, skip grammar and just learning the conversational language. Ermmmm, but sentences used in conversation must conform to some grammatical rules. So, I usually have to talk them into learning the grammar as well. The kanji, I usually let them skip it.

[baronchar]

I have a little experience with Japanese: 1 year of study in school and I visited for a week this spring. So I'm not an expert but I feel like i am qualified to make some comments.

I'll definitely agree that anime should not be your "primary" tool for learning the language, because of the informal grammar and word forms used. -But- I think that it's an extremely valuable resource nevertheless. Personally, I have learned an incredible amount of vocabulary from it - I often knew words that classmates of mine (with much more experience in japanese study but much less experience watching anime) did not. Furthermore I think it's a great tool for gaining listening experience. Japanese words and sentences sound pretty different than english and getting practice hearing it spoken is essential.

Plus, it makes learning the language more fun and not as dry as just reading out of a text book, even if some of what you see and hear shouldn't be emulated in normal conversation.

and to add my own two cents on the topic, Akihabara was super cool, and even if it doesn't represent average Japan you should definitely go if you're into that sort of thing!

[SaginumaEki]

There mostly aren't direct translations. What sounds well in English might sound odd in Japanese. Even in languages so closly related like English and Swedish, there are differnt phrasings for things.

As for books, if you look at any major university and look at their text book, it's probably good. Teachers almost always come up with supplements. BUt this is just my opinion.

[SaginumaEki]

You're certainly entitled to your opinion, Baronchar. Usually vocabulary is the easiest thing to pick up in a language. Most students have trouble understanding different sentece structure and grammar rules. If you go to Japan, you can easily increase it without having to watch anime. As for hearing it, there are plenty of movies and TV shows that you can watch, that use actual real japanese. Plus, that's the stuff most people watch anyways, so you can talk about popular culture and stuff.

But like I said before, I don't like any of that otaku stuff.

[baronchar]

Sure, I definitely agree that there are many tools to use when studying Japanese, and that even other popular media may be better than anime for that purpose. And nothing is a substitute for going to Japan and immersing yourself in the language and culture.

I just wanted to provide a different opinion and suggest to thread-browsers that anime and otaku culture don't need to be avoided, and can, in fact, be fun and helpful additions to your study. In my experience at least, anime (and manga) are more readily available to foreigners than other Japanese media, and since they are geared a little more towards children or young adults they may use simpler vocabulry and grammatical patterns that will be easier to understand and build upon. (though, as a non-minor myself, I will be happy to point out that anime and manga can be enjoyed by all ages!)

[xxsakuraxx]

I'm sorry I couldn't help hearing zenit wants to look for some books on learning Japanese, why not try amazon? I got a book on Learning Hiragana from there, $13.00 for the book.

It's not a bad site and they have a few stuff on there for learning languages, just give a try, zenit. Oh by the way don't go for ebay, that's a pain in the backside because you'll be wasting time by bidding all the time...amazon is better than ebay.

Just offering my help