Part 1 - Introduction

I know many of you would like to learn Japanese, but don't know exactly how to go about it. You don't have a lot of time, but would give it a try if someone would help you. I would like to be that help.

11 great reasons to study Japanese.

Reason #1

Spoken by over 130 million people, Japanese is the among the top 10 languages on Earth.

Reason #2

In the world of console video games/Anime, it rises to 1st place.

Reason #3

Japanese is the language used by all those wonderful import games you wish you could buy (but don't buy because you don't understand the language).

Reason #4

Even today, Japanese voice actors tend to put more soul and realism into their Anime roles than their American counterparts (not to anger any dub fans out there). Wouldn't it be nice to have the best of both worlds? Good (Japanese) voice acting without having to read your Anime. 

Reason #5

There are a LOT of Anime series (and video games) out there in Japanese only. Some good titles too! It would be nice to be able to understand them. 

Reason #6

Many of your family, friends, and co-workers believe Japanese is hard. Show them what you can do! ^_^ They'll think you have special talent or something. Actually, anyone can learn it if they want to.

Reason #7

"Speaks Japanese" looks great on a resume, whatever your line of work. Knowing any second language helps, but Japanese will have a greater effect on an employer, since not many Americans know Japanese! (which can't be said for Spanish, for example). 

Reason #8

Japanese has the reputation for being hard, but is actually just "different".

Reason #9

Japan has the second largest economy in the world, so their language is very relevant.

Reason #10

Japan has an interesting culture, much of which is reflected in the language.

Reason #11

Japan controls both the video game and Anime industries.

This allows you to learn a language while enjoying an Anime or playing a video game! What other language gives you such opportunities?

How will you teach me Japanese?

This is the first in a long line of articles that you will find here on AnimeOnline. In the coming weeks and months, you will see successive articles covering all of the different areas in the study of Japanese.

I will start at the very beginning, assuming that you know nothing about Japanese right now. All you need to have is the desire to learn it, and I'll help you with the rest.

Here are some of the many things I will help you with:

     Getting started

     Getting and staying motivated

     Getting the books you need

     Learning the spoken language

     Learning the written language (when the time comes)

     Learning Japanese on a VERY tight budget

     Finding Japanese language resources on the vast Internet

     Getting free Japanese word processor software

     Getting the best electronic dictionary there is - for free

     Using many different resources, to make learning Japanese fun

     Finding things you can do - easily - to speed up the process

     Finding the best way for YOU as an individual to learn 

4 MYTHS about Japanese which must be broken ASAP: 

1."Japanese is hard"

After much study and talking to several people, I must say that Japanese is not "hard" or "complex", but "different". It's true that it is very different from English or Spanish. However, the grammar, spelling, etc. is very straightforward. Making sentences in the language, conversing, etc. can occur very early on. The pronunciation is very close to Spanish, although the accent is different.

2."You need to learn all those difficult symbols"

     Those "difficult symbols" are the Kanji, borrowed from the Chinese. There are 1900 Kanji in daily use in Japan. While it is true that the Kanji are the most difficult part of Japanese, you can ignore them for quite a while and still enjoy the rest of the language.

To be able to write any word in Japanese, all you need to know are the 2 phonetic alphabets, "Hiragana" and "Katakana". They only have 46 letters each, and can be learned very easily in a matter of weeks. Spelling in Japanese is completely phonetic, which means no weird spellings or silent letters. Don't you wish English was that way!

3."I don't have time to learn it"

     This is a common reason why many people aren't bilingual in Japanese right now. If you don't have a goal in mind, or guidance, you won't notice how much time is spent doing nothing.

If you take a look at your average day from an objective standpoint, you'll find many wasted hours and minutes. Look how much time is spent waiting. Waiting in line, waiting for someone to show up, waiting for the commercials to end, waiting for the movie to start, etc. That wasted time can be used constructively to inch you toward your goal of learning Japanese 

   4."You have to learn Japanese in a formal classroom environment"

     That is pretty easily shot down - I never set foot in a Japanese class. I do make use of other resources, including the Internet, that allow me to practice, learn, and ask questions.

Nevertheless, taking a class works for many people. I recommend taking a class (if one is available) in addition to following this column. You DON'T have to take a class to keep up with this column, however. 

What is a classroom? A place of opportunity where you can learn. There are people who go to class and don't learn, and some that seize the opportunity. There are also people that master whole fields of knowledge without going to a classroom. A classroom is just one of the many ways to learn.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Part 2 - Tips on Learning Japanese

 Your brain is powerful, more than you realize. You can learn new things, and unlearn things that were in error. Unlearning in particular tends to require a lot of repetition. You must beat the corrected information into your head, just as the falsehood was beat into your head over a period of years. Eventually, you'll prevail.

 In Japanese (like in many things) the sooner you can unlearn that "it's hard" the sooner you'll be able to make rapid progress.

At first, Japanese sounds very foreign to you, and your confidence is about zero. As you begin to listen to it and learn more about it, you become more comfortable with it. I speak from experience on this.

I strongly suggest that you "make friends" with the Japanese language. Don't treat it as a monster you wish to tame, but rather approach it like a friend and ally, something you want to do. Try to rekindle the love of learning that children are born with. Some of you still have that love of learning, and that's great. 

If you treat Japanese like a chore, it will be much harder to learn it. Let's think of Japanese study as something fun you will do alongside your favorite hobby - Anime and/or Video Games! You will get more enjoyment out of either.

There are many "resources" you can use in the study of Japanese, each giving you practice in one or two particular areas. For example, listening to Japanese music helps you in the following areas. 

     Getting rid of the "foreign" feel

     Learning new words (and remembering them well)

     Learning pronunciation

As this column progresses, I will point out the best ways to improve yourself in each area.

Don't worry about what you don't know, but rather focus on what you do know. Take it one step at a time. "Rome wasn't built in a day", as the saying goes. On the other hand, it's very fun to look back at how far you've come in a week, month, or year.

If you're not used to learning things on your own, don't worry. I'll help you out as much as any teacher or professor. Remember that even in a classroom environment, it's still up to you to learn. If you don't apply yourself in a class, you fail to learn anything. Conversely, if you study outside of class, and do your homework, you will end up with an A. Why not just study on your own to begin with? As long as you have the materials and the guidance, you should be able to make impressive progress.

There will be more specific tips as the lessons progress. For instance, when studying word lists, early morning is the best time. That is because your brain, like wet cement, is VERY receptive to new information. Have you ever awakened to a horrible song on your alarm clock radio, and then tried to get it out of your head? It's almost impossible. This works to your advantage when you are trying to memorize something. If you set aside at least 5 or 10 minutes in the morning, you will notice the difference. Studies have found that school kids do better in their 1st hour classes for the same reason.

First steps in learning Japanese

Getting the Right Mindset 

Unless you watch a lot of subtitled Anime, you probably aren't very familiar with Japanese, and it probably sounds foreign to you. When you hear it, your instinct is to ignore it as a "foreign" language. You must try to think of Japanese dialog as simply, "words I don't know yet". In other words, you must believe that "Japanese is Possible". 

Realize How Much Time You Have to Learn 

You may think you have very little time, but you might be surprised how much time you can scrape together. Important parts of learning Japanese, such as "Word Lists" can be done anytime, anywhere. You only need 10 seconds in a row to look at a list and study some words! Other things can be done at the same time as other things. You can listen to Japanese music or Anime while surfing the Web, for example.

Start thinking about how you could manage your time better, to give yourself some time each day to study. Not much time is required - just enough to look at a word list a few times, read part of a "Learn Japanese" book, or watch a subtitled Anime.

(That part won't take too much discipline!)

The idea is to do a little bit every day. We've all heard the fable of "The Tortoise and the Hare". Indeed, when learning a language, "Slow and steady wins the race". 

Here's an interesting analogy I found on the Internet on managing your time:

(by James R. Beach)

The professor walks into the room carrying an empty 10-gallon water jug and dragging an obviously heavy bag. He places them on the teacher's desk. Without a word, he begins placing white rocks, just big enough to fit through the mouth of the jug, into the jug until they reach the very top. "Is it full?" he asks. You nod.

"Maybe not," he says. He then stuffs tiny pebbles into the jug and the pebbles find their way through the cracks in the rock. "Full now?" he asks. The whole class nods. 

He then shovels sand into the jug, occasionally shaking the jug, and the tiny grains sift through the rocks and pebbles. "OK," he says, "now is it full?" The class nods in unison.

He smiles. He then slowly pours water into the jug until a water glass is finally empty. 

"The lesson here," he says, "is that there is always more room in our lives than we think there is. When you think you're out of time, there is still more available if you look for it." 

Here's the time-saving payoff:

The Rocks are the important things we have to accomplish regularly to be successful. They go into our "time jug" first, because they are most important. The Pebbles represent those things we may not like to do, but we must do. They go in next. The SAND represents things that we should do, we may even like to do, but they're not as important. The Water represents the few remaining things that make a difference. If you reverse the order, putting in the water, then the sand, then the pebbles, there will not be enough room for the rocks. So prioritize your activities and make sure the rocks go on your schedule first.

So the moral is, make sure Japanese study is one of the "rocks".

Start buying subtitled Anime.

Whether or not you're into Anime very much, there are probably several series out there that you would love. There are as many kinds of Anime as there are American movies, so it's just a matter of finding out what type you enjoy, and picking titles from that genre. Watching subtitled Anime helps out in many areas of Japanese study.

For instance, you can pause the tape and look up a word you don't know in a Japanese dictionary. You can then write the word on a list so you can learn it! If it was used in an Anime, it's probably a good word to learn. On the other hand, writing down random words from a Japanese dictionary is a horribly inefficient way of building a vocabulary. (Don't laugh...I did precisely that when I first started!) More on vocabulary building in a future lesson. 

If you can't afford to buy an Anime, try renting one from your local video store. You can get Anime at Best Buy, Media Play, and other like stores. Also check small hobby shops. If you happen to live in the vicinity of a Yaohan (Japanese mall-like place) you should definitely stop by and see what they have there! If you don't have a store that sells Anime in your vicinity, you can always turn to the Internet. There are tons of online Anime stores out there... if you're looking for Anime material on the Web, you could start your search at any of these places:

Maktos Anime Links

Anime Web Turnpike

Remember, it's up to you to work on learning Japanese. I can guide you, but I can't force you to learn.

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