If you want to learn Japanese, start with the “hardest” part first, and then divide and conquer. No one wants to learn how to read and write Japanese because ‘It’s too hard!’
Rubbish. It’s really quite easy if you go about it the smart way. Here are a number of resources to help you with this and other aspects of the language. Call this a level one list. As I improve and find other resources helpful to me, I’ll make sure I share them with you.
Heisig -RTK – Is among the books included on this list. Any edition will work, though I’ve heard that the 3rd edition books fall apart. Word on the street is that anyone getting their hands on one of these defective copies can get a new one from the publisher for free.
Heisig’s guide to Remembering the Kanji is by far the most useful Japanese book I’ve ever encountered. No you don’t learn vocab, grammar, or readings, but what you do learn is phenomenal. Imagine being able to recognize, differentiate, and write all 1945 or so Joyo Kanji from the old list, plus many general use and name kanji, in just 3-4 months. Of lazy study. INVALUABLE. Can’t say enough. And I will, in fact, be saying more. But not now.
Kanji.Koohii.com – No mention of Heisig should come without mention of the Koohii site. A free, fan-based site to be used in conjunction with Heisig’s books. Electronic flashcards, stories for study from other members, and fun forums. If you get the book above, check out this site. You won’t regret it.
Anki -SRS – If you do happen to check of kanji.koohii, you won’t be there long before someone mentions Anki or SRS. SRS is spaced-repetition-software. Anki is one of many, and by far one of the most versatile. It’s free, available for a variety of platforms, and the ‘decks’ that you study from are shareable. Why waste someone else’s hard work when you can download and put it to good use. I don’t really use it for Kanji, but it’s invaluable for vocab.
Polarcloud-Rikaichan – No Mozilla-Firefox user should be without Rikaichan if they are studying Japanese. It’s an incredibly useful addon, even when you become advanced. Use it to learn new words, or check your interpretation of those you already know.
Flashcards: Kanji – Everyone has their own study style. A lot of people I know are absolutely disgusted by and refuse to use paper flashcards. I couldn’t live without mine. I use these for study and review on the go, and I’m delighted by the fact that I don’t have to contend with my own handwriting.
Though the having to cut them out and chop them up by hand is a bitch. Worth it as far as cost goes though. The official Heisig cards (and these are in Heisig RTK order) cost well over $100. These cost me $5 in card stock, and about $20 in ink. I’m not good with math, but even I see that one.
Flashcards: Kana – I haven’t actually printed these out, but if you need help learning the Kana, there’s no reason not to. Take them with you, practice them on the bus, during coffee breaks, while stuck on hold. Whatever you need to pick up the syllabaries.
A note of those flashcards, now that I’ve finally finished chopping mine up. It helps if you keep some sticky-grip or lotion available as you collate the cards into stacks. Otherwise they stick together too much.
Take a deep breath and let it out. Let’s pretend you’ve mastered the kana and the basics 2000 or so kanji you need to be more or less as literate as a Japanese high-schooler. On to other things.
Or you can do them at the same time like I do.
Livemocha.com – Livemocha is a pretty neat site. You go on, follow a ‘study program’ or what ever they want to call it, submit writing (typing) and speaking exercises. Which are then checked by native speakers who give you feedback. All this for free. It’s fun to do, challenging, and best of all, you get to help your teachers in return. By teaching them. Equal exchange is the best kind!
Lang-8 – Is somewhat similar to Livemocha, but it has a very different style. Instead of set lesson plans, you simply have a journal. No prompts, no rules, no hints. You can write about anything you want. Long posts, short posts, anything in between on any topic under the sun. Native speakers come by, correct and comment on your posts line-by-line and then tell you what they thought of the post as a whole. Finally! A blog that people actually read!
Skype – If you haven’t heard of Skype, you’ve been living under a rock somewhere for a while. But hey, free audio-video chat with anyone? I’ll take two please. If you do happen to run across a native speaker, you’ll find that many are amenable to chatting on Skype. Seize these opportunities and treat them as manna from Heaven. Rejoice, give thanks, and dig in.
I’ll end this Level One segment of the page with a link that any language learner should visit a few times.
AJATT – All Japanese All The Time. Yes, it says Japanese. Yes, I said all language learners. Let me break it down for you, in pseudo-psycholinguistic terminology.
When a culturally immersive environment is not available, the dedicated language learner can still benefit from a self-immersive environment.
It makes sense. They say the best way to learn a language is to live it. Wanna learn Italian? Go to Italy. Wanna learn Spanish? Try Costa Rica or Spain itself.
Can’t afford to? Put some Punkreas on the stereo (kick-ass Italian punk-ska band) or watch some telenovelas (Spanish language soap operas).
I’m typing this while listening to Shomuni 3 (hilarious J-drama) running in the background. I’m picking up accents, pronunciation, and giggling like a maniac everytime I can both make out and understand a bit of the dialogue.
Ajatt, is, quite simply, the best way to go.
That’s it for now my duckies. Dig in, dig deep, and don’t give up.
