While I was at the beach this morning I wrote a post on my personal blog about the importance of getting away from your computer and office to get work done. I figured I would write a bit here on Japanese Words about how important it is to do the same thing when you are studying.

When I was a college student, I spent a lot of my time studying near a computer or studying while I listened to music. While this is something that most of us do, it isn’t actually very effective. The problem is that it is difficult to focus and easy to get distracted. Most of us will look up when we hear an e-mail hitting the inbox. Or start singing our favorite song if it comes on.

Learning Japanese isn’t just about the amount of time you spend studying, it is also about the quality of that time. Find yourself a nice quite spot where you won’t be bothered and can really focus. You will be able to learn much quicker.

Also, remember to take small breaks. If you study for too long without breaks your concentration and ability to learn weakens. Small breaks aren’t a waste of time, but a method to keep you studying strong.

If you are learning Japanese there is a good chance that you are into anime or manga. At least this seemed to be the case when I studied in Japan, and also when I worked as an admissions counselor at a Japanese University. The great thing is that Japanese anime and manga can be used to supplement your Japanese studies. And thanks to the Japan foundation, there is a free source. anime-manga.jp

It looks like the site is still in the works, but already has an expressions module, which includes the expressions, the grammar, and pronunciation.

There is also a word quiz module with a beginner, intermediate, advanced, and phrase section. If each section contains it’s own words then there are a total of 1,700 Japanese words to study altogether, plus a number of Japanese phrases.

It looks like they will also be adding an expressions by scene module and a kanji module in the near future. So as long as they keep ading to the site, this will become a great tool for you to study Japanese.

Check it out and don’t forget to leave a comment here with your impressions of the site.

anime-manga

In the last few years there have been quite a few tools coming out to help students learn Japanese. One of my favorites is Rikaichan. Rikaichan is an add-on for Firefox that will give you the readings and definitions for Japanese characters when you mouse over them. It is a great tool for anyone learning Japanese or for someone who wants to read a Japanese website.

But what about a way to learn Japanese when you are reading websites in English? That’s where Kanjilish comes in. It is another add-on for Firefox that, when active, changes the first letter of English words into the equivalent Japanese Kanji. For example, the word “new” will become “新ew”.

Now to be honest I wasn’t really thrilled with this idea. I felt it is better to learn Japanese by studying Japanese. However, after a recommendation from @zirchi  on twitter, I gave it a try. It turns out it is a great way to review the meanings of Kanji and a great companion to Remember the Kanji.

Kanjilish gives you options of which word meanings you would like to choose based on a few popular systems, Kanji in Context, Remembering the Kanji, KanjiDic, and remembering Traditional Hanzi.

The only bad thing I have to say about it, is that it does require slightly longer for pages to load. Not ridiculously long, but longer.

Give it a try and let me know what you think. Combined with Remembering the Kanji and Rikaichan, I think it’s a pretty good tool for learning Japanese.

Kanjilish

Over the last month I have been pretty busy with a number of things including the holiday season, working as a volunteer diver to remove おにひとで (devil starfish) to protect the coral, and just work in general that have kept me away from my Japanese study. It has also caused me to write less on Japanese Words. Though I hate to admit it, I have barely touched Anki in over 3 weeks (at this point I am almost afraid to look).

On the good side, this is actually a good topic on Japanese study to cover.

I have mentioned before that it is best  if you can study at least a little bit every day. However, no matter how diligent I am, there are times when I tend to miss my study for one reason or another. So what should you do when you get off track?

The first step is to realize that you will get off track. Once you realize this you will be able to plan for it. Basically, create a back up plan. If you miss a day you will study an additional 10 minutes each day for a week. Or if you like, and can find the time, you could do a longer intensive session. Study an additional hour tomorrow. Just be careful not to burn yourself out.

If you are unable to study for a longer period of time, then try to substitute your regular study with something you can do. Watch movies in Japanese, read Japanese on the internet during your break, download some Japanese podcasts to play in your mp3 player or listen to them while you drive to work.

In my case, I am living in Japan and use Japanese on a daily basis. And while I prefer to study each day, I do get a lot of “Japanese time” even if I am not studying. By volunteering for the diving I have exchanged some study time for some speaking practice.

One last piece of advice is to continue to put Japanese words in Anki (or whatever you are using to learn new words) even if you don’t have the time to study. This will help make sure that you don’t forget and keep growing your list.

And of course, if you have been putting off your study, then there is no better time to start than now! I guess that goes for me too!

Let me know if you have any special methods that you use to keep yourself on track and how they work out for you.

I have mentioned several times that studying Japanese should be fun. If it’s not fun then it is going to be much harder and take you longer to learn. An ideal method would be one that makes you feel like you aren’t studying at all. Over the last few weeks I have been playing with a Japanese learning tool called NihongoUP. And I say “playing” in the literal form, because NihongoUp turns Japanese study into an addictive game.

NihongoUp is made up of 4 different games (kana, kanji, words, and grammar). In the kana game, little balloons with kana fall from the top of the screen and you have to type them before they hit the bottom of the screen. With the other three games you are given a sentence and must click the falling balloon containing the correct answer before it hits the bottom of the screen. The balloons fall faster and faster with each correct answer and slow down again after you miss one. The advantage to this method is that you will constantly be challenged to read and answer quicker each time.

The game is designed in Adobe air which means it can be played on on any Operating System. The game itself is beautifully designed and runs fast. I didn’t care much for the music, but luckily there is an option to turn it off. Rather than music, I would prefer readings of the sentences or characters. I think that would be much more helpful.

NihongoUp isn’t a full Japanese language suite and the author of the program is the first to mention this. For instance, the kana feature doesn’t tell you how to type the characters you get wrong. Kanji and words that you missed are only shown briefly. And by that time you are already working on the next word or character. Adding a review or a report showing the correct answers would be a very helpful addition.

Having said that, what it is designed to do, and what I think it accomplishes very well, is to help you study material you already know in a fun way. It gets you to focus on getting the next high score and in doing so makes you forget you are studying. Though you will definitely learn some new words and kanji along the way.

The program costs a total of $4.99. I think this is pretty cheap for the amount of study you will get out of it. There is also a trial version available.

You can find NihongoUp at the link below:

NihongoUp

So far we have covered tools for memorizing Japanese words and phrases, learning and reading kana and kanji, and of a great dictionary. Today we are going to talk about a program I used to use quite a bit when I first started working in Tokyo, JapanesePod101.

When I first started using JapanesePod101 is was basically a podcast, and a pretty good one. It had interesting (sometimes odd) conversations in Japanese, with explanations of the meaning and culture in English. It was very helpful for both hearing spoken Japanese and learning a lot of new words. I had a long commute so it worked perfect to help fill the time and keep me learning Japanese.

Since then, JapanesePod101 has expanded into a much more complete Japanese learning suite. There is still a free podcast, but if you choose the premium membership you also get an audio dictionary, a kanji dictionary, a grammar section, video lessons, transcripts for all the lessons, and a scheduler to make sure you stay on track with your goals.

The JapanesePod101 is a great podcast for practicing your Japanese listening skills. It has gotten even better as a full Japanese learning suite. You can check it out at the link below:

JapanesePod101

Yesterday I discussed Anki, a really great flash card program that will help you learn faster. Today we will talk about another very important companion to learning Japanese, a dictionary! This dictionary has more than just the ability to look up words, it can give you examples in sentences and help you find kanji as well.

I have used a lot of dictionaries in my Japanese studies over the years. I originally started out with a cheap one that was fine for the beginner’s class I was taking, but lacked too many words once I started reading more difficult materials. When I was a student in Japan I purchased a Denshi Jisho (electronic dictionary) that had the ability to input kanji by hand. It worked great, but unfortunately most such dictionaries are designed for Japanese people and so it didn’t contain readings for the kanji.  The Japanese dictionary for the DS had the same problem. “Kotoba” is a great free tool for the iphone, but many times the kanji input won’t bring up the right characters.

So now that I have given you a list of some of the disadvantages, let’s discuss what we really want in a good Japanese dictionary.

• Should be easy and quick to find words
• Ability to easily look up kanji (by either hand input or radicals)
• As cheap as possible (free is always good)
• Ability to see words in context
• Ability to switch back and forth from English to Japanese
• Ability to take it with you (not much help if you can’t use it when you need it)

Denshi Jisho is a dictionary that in addition to being free, also meets all of these other requirements. In fact, I have found it can actually find words that some of my other dictionaries (ones I paid for) could not. Since it is an online dictionary you do need to have internet access to use it, but since everyone seems to have cell phones this shouldn’t be a problem. In fact, Denshi Jisho even has pages designed specifically for keitai and iphone use. In addition there is also a forum you can use to ask various questions.

Take a look at the site and try it out. I think you will find it is a very easy to use Japanese dictionary. You can find the site here:

Denshi Jisho

I hope everyone had a great weekend and got lots of Japanese study in. I had a busy weekend (looking for a new house to rent)  and so wasn’t able to post for the last few days. However, starting tomorrow, I will be writing a number of posts on some very helpful Japanese study tools and sties. We also have some new Japanese lists we are creating so stay tuned.

One of the most popular posts on Japanese words has been the common Japanese Words list containing over 1000 Japanese words and kanji. That page has received quite a few comments asking for pronunciations in romaji (English Alphabet). While having romaji may seem to make studying easier when you first start out, learning using the English alphabet will actually hold you back. This article will cover the main reasons why you should start studying and master the Japanese Kana (hiragana and katakana) as soon as possible. As well as listing a few tools to help you learn more quickly.

Thinking in Japanese

If you want to learn Japanese as quickly as possible, then you need to immerse yourself in it. The more you are seeing and thinking in Japanese the faster you will be able to learn. If you are trying to learn using the English alphabet, then your mind is only half thinking in Japanese. You are seeing Japanese words, but your mind is trying to translate them into English. If you read using the kana (and eventually kanji) it is easier for your brain to make the change.

Once you learn to read the kana, you will realize how difficult reading Japanese in romaji really was!

More Japanese Materials

The more Japanese materials you have available to you the better. It doesn’t mean that you will use them all, but you will have a larger selection from which to choose the best ones. Once you learn the kana, you aren’t limited to only Japanese language study materials (textbooks, Japanese language books, etc). You can start trying to read Japanese magazines, mangas, websites, and subtitles on movies. This will also help you start learning the kanji, which are essential for anyone serious about Japanese.

Pronunciation

Japanese has far fewer sounds than the English language. Furthermore, each kana can only be read a single way. Not like English where vowels can have different sounds depending on the letters next to them. Once you learn the correct sound for each kana, you will be better at pronouncing Japanese words. Of course you will still need a lot of practice to learn the correct pronunciation, but getting away from romaji (which can have several) is a good move in the right direction.

Travelling/Living in Japan

It’s true that you can find a lot of English signs in the main cities in Japan now days. However, there are many places that have no English signs at all. Having the ability to read at least hiragana and kana will really help you get around. Learning the first 100 or so Kanji will be an even bigger help.

Tools for Learning the Japanese Characters

Remembering the Kana- James Heisig, Author of Remembering the Kanji has created a unique and effective method for remembering Japanese characters. Using creative stories to remember each kana and it’s reading, the book teaches you the hiragana and katakana in about 3 hours each. You can read a full review on the book here: Remembering the Kana.

Read The Kanji- Now that you have finished Remembering the Kana, it’s time to get some practice. Read the Kanji is a great site that allows you to practice using Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji in sentences. It highlights the word and you type the reading. Not only is it great reading practice, it’s also great typing practice. The website keeps track of your progress and makes you review characters and words you know less, more often. I highly recommend this site.

Learn the Kana- This site has all the kana, but more importantly they also have the sounds. Very helpful if you are just getting started.

Rikaichan- Rikaichan is an amazing addon for Firefox that will give you the reading, definition, and a ton of other information of any Japanese word or character you mouse over. You can find a more detailed review on Rikaichan here: Reading Japanese Words Like A Pro With Rikaichan.

Anki- Anki is a spaced program that helps you learn quicker by showing you the right items when you need to see them. A great tool for learning Japanese and completely free.

Smart.FM- A website that uses spaced repitition to help you learn faster. There is a downloadable list for hiragana and katakana with sound.

Eri is originally from Tokyo, but completed her college degree in California. After graduating, Eri worked in the US for a short period and then returned to work in the International environment of Tokyo. Here in Miyakojima, Eri teaches English part time at Juku (cram school) and enjoys snorkeling and hula.

Being a native Japanese speaker, as well as fluent in English,  Eri brings a unique point of view for studying Japanese. Having been a study abroad student herself she understands the challenges in learning a new language and in living in a foreign country. She will be writing about Japanese culture, the Japanese language, teaching new Japanese words, as well as blogging about some of various events here in Japan and Miyakojima.

Yoroshiku onegaishimasu!

P.S. Eri and I will be attending a Orion Beer Festival today so pictures and article coming soon!