Learning the Japanese Language

Zuko

Hey all! I'm working on learning how to speak, and write, Japanese! So if there are any fluent Japanese speakers out there who may be able to answer questions now and then, please let me know.

Berenene

The only Japanese I learned when I went there in April this year was how to ask for a beer and then another beer once that one was finished.  I figured everything else I would need could be acted out with that weird game of charades that people do to other people who speak another language.  I recommend trying that.

Daklore

You went and drank beer instead of sake? For shame, for shame.

Berenene

Daklore said:

You went and drank beer instead of sake? For shame, for shame.

No, we drank beer AS WELL as sake...and umeshu...and 12 year old whiskey...and some other alcohol...the trip kinda gets hazy after the first week,

Jozlyn

Hey! If you ever need someone to practice with I'd be happy to chat. My language skills are becoming rusty and it's disappointing.

Zuko

Thanks Jozlyn! Ill let you know!

Direv

I haven't spent much time with Japanese but I have quite a bit of experience with learning other languages, some of them rather obscure (in the way of not being languages people typically want to learn) and without many speakers and so I've had to make do with little in the way of practice and resources. So I'm taking it upon myself to give you some advice because this is an area that I have more experience than any sane human being should. I get that this is totally unsolicited and uncalled for, but know that this is also coming from a place of feeling nostalgic, as I don't have as much time to learn languages as I used to and I rather miss it, so if you weren't looking for my advice and you find this all rather pedantic and condescending don't take it too personally.  Keep in mind also that this is how I do things and how it works for me -- everybody learns differently, yada yada, and blablabla. 

Find a textbook, a grammar reference, and a two way dictionary, and some original writing in that language. It's ideal if you can get actual physical books for all of these so that you can work anywhere, even without a computer in front of you, but if you can't (because they're not available or money is tight) then online resources will work well too. My recommendations for specific texts are at the bottom of this post.

A textbook is any sort of guide book that claims it will teach you the language. It contains lessons, lots of examples of the language being used, and exercises (judge a textbook by how many practice exercise it contains -- the more the better). It's distinct from a grammar reference, which is for looking things up like how to form the past perfect, or how to use possessive pronouns, et cetera. It's helpful to read through the grammar book, but not necessary. 

A dictionary should be two-way (meaning, half of it should be from your native language into the language you're learning, and the other half should be from the language into your native language). Most are, but some aren't, and believe me, it sucks to get home only to realize the book you've just bought or checked out of the library was one way, and not the way you were looking for. Select a dictionary based on the number of words it contains: a good dictionary will contain at least 80,000 entries (total). Any fewer than that and you'll be disappointed. Over 100k is optimal.  

Work through the textbook chapter by chapter, making sure you understand *everything* before moving on. Do *every* exercise, no matter how basic. If a section is really boring you, or you're not getting it, skip it and go back to it later. Try to do the exercises without flipping back and forth or referring to your grammar reference. Do this every single day. Don't spend an hour or two a couple times a week, or even a few times a week - spend as much time as you can every day. There is no other way to internalize the material. 

Reward yourself at the end of each session by spending some time with whatever original material you have. Children's books and young adult fiction are ideal for this. It's also very helpful to choose material that you are already interested in, that has to do with your hobbies, work, or field of study. Reread every sentence to death until you understand every single word and what each does and why they are in the form they are in. Highlight words you don't know (will be pretty much everything at first), write words and phrases down and translate them. Keep them on index cards in your back pocket and study them during down time during the day -- when you're waiting for someone, or on the bus, or whenever you have a spare moment.

If you're lucky enough to meet a native speaker of the language you're learning, or better yet to have one who is willing to help you, above all else be considerate of them and their space and time. Treat them like human beings before you treat them like a learning opportunity (or worse, an opportunity to impress). I'm a native Spanish speaker, and I can promise you that little is more frustrating than to have someone come into your work and insist on interacting with you in broken Spanish when you are tired and have a lot to do. That said, if you have someone willing to help you and spend serious time with you, then you are definitely very lucky.

Text recommendations

The Colloquial series, by Routledge, is pretty consistently the best quality mass market text available for any language. They are generally up to date and do live up to their promise of teaching colloquial language. Teach yourself, by Hodder Education, is also a quality series though less consistently so, however their Japanese texts are definitely among their best. Their main shortcoming is that they tend to be geared towards tourists, and so the thematic vocabulary tends to be quite focused on getting you able to reserve hotel rooms and find your way to the nearest consulate. The practice problems are lacking, however. Lastly, the text Japanese For Busy People is quite thorough, concise, and gives lots of practice.problems. 

As far as grammars go, any will do, definitely don't spend a lot of money here. The Essential grammar series by Tuttle (Essential Japanese Grammar) has served me well for other langages and it's pretty inexpensive. Buy a used older edition -- they've been using the same exact text for the last 30 years, so spending $12 for their newer edition when you can get their older ones for around $4 is hardly worth it. 

And like I mentioned earlier -- it's entirely possible and realistic to do this without spending much money, relying wholely on online resources. I don't know of any offhand for Japanese though I'm sure there are a lot of options there. 

Finally, it's useful to join a community of learners to find support (and so that you're not constantly badgering any native speakers you do happen to meet with questions, although many are very patient and happy to help). Unilang.org is one such community that I am fond of, and they have language specific forums. Their Japanese forum is pretty active. They also have a massive database of free online resources for just about any language imaginable. 

Okay, that's all. I hope this was at least somewhat helpful and not a total bore. Good luck, and if you have any questions on anything related to language learning feel free to get in touch with me.

Boosteya

Been working on learning Japanese for longer than I care to admit.

My own fault that I'm so easily distracted.

Synbios

You know, there's also an addendum for @Direv's advice:

Watch subtitled anime as additional reference.

[spoiler]

I've known a few human acquaintances in college who became well-versed in Japanese language by playing ero-games and watching hentai. 

[/spoiler]

Skye

I like making an attempt to read manga raws and later read them again once they've been translated to see how much I actually got right. I still have my old textbooks and such, but I haven't really made use of it since graduation and my oral skills are shot.

Synbios

Skye said:

I like making an attempt to read manga raws and later read them again once they've been translated to see how much I actually got right. I still have my old textbooks and such, but I haven't really made use of it since graduation and my oral skills are shot.

My main gripe about the Japanese Language, besides having to evolve a new set of speaking lips - a veritable lack of humans to practice conversation with.

Aepas

I've lived in japan for 3 years now.

Flashcards, flashcards, flashcards. Memorizing kanji is a pain in the ass but it's a necessity. I'll look up a decent learning list, but you should know around 5k-10k by heart to be decently proficient.

speaking it? well just get used to the grammar rules, then memorize what you can.

Wysteria

Can still read and write Japanese from what I learnt in high school so when I went to Japan, I just had to pretend I was a really quiet person as I roamed around. Speaking and listening? Nuhp. It's actually the same with French now for me too.

Jozlyn

I miss umeshu and getting wasted with my host dad.

Mannimar

studied in high school and a bit in college... comprehension is great. I can only speak a few things now though

Halos

I have only a passing familiarity with Japanese but when I was learning mandarin I got interested in Jay Chou and this helped a lot because the melody of the songs got stuck in my head which would help with vocabulary memorization and pronunciaton.

I recommend finding music in the language that you want to learn. Learn the lyrics (google search for original and translated lyrics) and sing along. Start with children's tunes then move up to more advanced stuff.