Is it possible to learn Japanese 100 % online ?
Is it possible to learn Japanese 100 % online ? Definitely no.. You need to go there and speak at some point.
But learning on line is easy and fun. So it’s a good start.
I started Japanese one year ago. I can have very simple conversations after one year. But I work in a Japanese company and this helps a lot. First I take lessons once a week, and of course I can learn new words with my colleagues.
There are many sites for learning japanese. Here is the list of websites that I personally find very useful for Japanese. I elected them because they make learning fun for me. I spent a lot of time evaluating websites, but these are the ones I really like and use most.
1/ Learn to read !
First you have to be able to read Japanese. If you are serious about learning, you can’t just rely on Romaji. It is easy, at least for Hiragana and Katakana.
To drill down the Hiragana and Katakana in one week, use this :
Hiragana Drill / Katakana Drill
My technique was to start with the right column, then learn them 5 by 5, adding a column after the other.
It works. You will know them in a few days.
Kanji is a bit more of a challenge.
Among all the sites, the one that works for me is speedanki, by Riego
It’s a flashcard system in Flash that makes Kanji learning easy, level by level. The nice thing about speedanki is that it gives you the main reading of a Kanji, so you don’t get stuck with rare readings, although they may be useful later. Very soon, you will be able to understand the examples because they use the kanji that you learn in each level.
I use “Voice of Japan” software to read aloud the examples and check pronunciation.
2/ Learn vocab :
Just realise that with about 3000 words you can understand 80 % of any text.
ALBIS offers you to memorize the main 1500 words of any language.
Choose your native language and the language you are learning and start memorizing words 20 in a row. This gives you a 75 level memory game where you have 3 lives for each levels. It really drills it down.
You can also use Ajalt (Japanese for Busy People) website, loaded with Flash animations to grab the basic vocabulary, for free.
Kantango (Simple Language) : this is a really nice web site, and it’s free like everything here.
You can create lists of words, or use other members lists, then Kantango allows you to create and customize flashcards from your lists. It has a lot of advanced features, the best is that you can copy and paste any japanese text and it will extract all the words and save them into a list. Now you only have to study it…
3/ Feed your iPod :
I really love my iPod now that I can download some Japanese shows.
Among all the crowd of good shows for beginners, I really enjoy Alex Brooke’s “learn Japanese”.
Alex and his friends Beb and Rob are hilarious. “How do you say please give me 9 coconuts ? kokonatsu o kokonotsu Kudasai ….” Every show teaches expressions that belong to real Japanese. They have videos once in a while, and they also make great music : “Dozo Yuroshiku Onegai Shimasu, please don’t try to hurt me or I’ll have to kick your ass” is a must hear. I am a huge fan.
For more advanced (Japanese only conversation), check Beb and Alex’s other podcast.
4/ Learn while dancing !
Go and grab DJ Destructo’s “Japanese Vocabulary over beats” : a good laid-back-chill-out-zone mix for you to dance while a delicious yet slightly monochord voice recites a litany of verbs or adjectives. Great way to memorize words ! thank you Destructo.
5/ Write in Japanese.
This is actually one point where windows does a good job. Once you understand the way it works of course, and it’s highly unintuitive. Take the language bar and select Japanese. You write on your keyboard and it enters the matching hiragana/katakana. Hit the space bar and it will offer you a selection of kanji.
Or if you are in a hurry, use this hiragana keyboard
5/ Read Japanese texts
For a great way to hear/read good Japanese, check Nippon Voice Blog
You can combine it with Rikai of Popjisyo . Both propose a instant translation service with small pop ups for every word of the text. Quite convenient.
Firefox is your friend :
Don’t forget to download Rikaichan a fantastic Firefox extension that gives you instant translation : just hover the mouse on top of any Japanese word.
6/ Listen to the radio :
Form the many ways to find Japanese Radio, my preferred is it to stream NHK international service directly from my browser (beware, sometimes it’s in Hindi). Good way to familiarize with standard Japanese.
7/ Get free lessons for Japanese radio :
Great for beginners, the NHK lessons are now available with 15 lessons archives.
Choose your languages and take your online class. Download all english/japanese archives here.
8 / Find talking partners online :
Finally, if you don’t have the opportunity to go there yourself, you can still find someone to talk to over the internet with Skype and The Mixxer. I only managed to talk French with a Shanghai girl so far but the idea is great.
9 / Use an online Dictionnary :
Finally, I recommend Denshi Jisho, a superb online Dictionnary loaded with Ajax, and great for quick work look up and example sentences.
I’ll be in Tokyo next week. Let’s see if I have a chance to turn the theory into practice !
Gambarimasu !
