Japanese for Dummies: It's actually pretty good, but don't plan on being fluent!

     So, a note about this post. I am writing this post for people who want to start learning Japanese. I am in no way fluent at Japanese. In fact, I am still a beginner! Probably much like you if you are reading this post looking for information about learning Japanese! Please take this as advice of a person who has been trying to get to a language class for about a year now and is finally getting the classes I need to become more fluent in Japanese. Every person learns differently and so this advice might not work for you! Be flexible, but most importantly, work hard, and you can learn any language! I became semi fluent in Spanish in high school, but Japanese is a lot more work for me because of the writing. Be prepared to work hard, however, and I'm sure it is possible for everyone to learn Japanese! Now, back to the post...

     Have to say I was really surprised by the quality of the book Japanese for Dummies. It's not half bad for an intro-level text! The "for dummies" series is often hailed as an excellent group of books, but I'm not always blown away by their quality. Most of the time they sort of introduce you to a concept but don't necessarily make you all that proficient at it. I was particularly impressed with Japanese for Dummies as an entry-level text, however, because it does not pretend to make you an expert and informs you straight away that you are learning introductory-level, conversational Japanese. If you're going to vacation in Japan for a length of time, or wish to pick up enough Japanese to watch more anime with less subtitles, then this seems like it's not a bad title to add to your collection.

     Now, don't get me wrong, I think taking a real class, with a real professor, and doing real practice conversations and tests and the like is the best way to learn a language, and ESPECIALLY Japanese. The character memorization alone can take a long time if you don't have a good system worked out to help you practice and remember. I honestly have a really hard time memorizing characters. It's a lot of work! The other problem many people have trying to learn Japanese out of a textbook is that they can't test themselves enough and therefore have a hard time retaining the information they are reading/taking notes on.

 So far I have found that a good way to start learning Japanese and make yourself a sort of lesson plan when no course is available (or you can't get to Japan for immersion), or if you can't afford a course, is as follows: (Please add to this and make recommendations to!)

 1. A good dictionary that can translate from Japanese romanji (English Characters that spell out the pronunciation of Japanese words) to English and vice versa. I have four of them that I got donated over the years (a few people heard I was studying Japanese one year and my holiday presents became language-related. lol), and my two favorite language mini-books to tote around on a daily basis are the Lonely Planet Japanese Phrasebook (excellent to carry around in one's purse or pocket) and the Websters Compact Japanese Dictionary is great for a beginners level dictionary.

 Note: If you are trying to learn kanji, the following is hailed as quite excellent: Kanji Learner's Dictionary

Don't be scared by the sheer amount of characters in this text. It's probably the most useful dictionary I've ever bought in that it lists ALL the kanji I could ever need. However, it is quite difficult to find things in this dictionary because I'm not good with writing and reading in Japanese yet.

 2. A text book. There are sooooo many Japanese textbooks that it is downright overwhelming to pick one if you have no idea where to begin looking. My suggestion is to pick ones that are being used in a University Syllabus (some university classes have their books listed online and you can search them through google) or ones that have excellent reviews on sites like Amazon.com
  
     My recommended book for absolute beginners who only want a vacationer's grasp or very basic conversational grasp on Japanese is Japanese for Dummies. It really helped me to start picking up the basics.

 3. A program, website, or hand held video game to practice, practice, practice.

     Many, many people are praising My Japanese Coach on the Nintendo DS but I have to say it didn't really do much for me. I think it's great for people who don't have to take notes while studying, but I'm one of those people that relies on studying and taking notes into a notebook at the same time. If I write it down I'm more likely to remember it. My husband, however, thought it was the best program for little practice sessions on the bus or the like because it allows you to easily practice characters, etc. on the go. This is all dependent on your learning style, of course.

     Websites: there are so many websites that claim you can learn Japanese and I want to say that you should probably be careful and not pay for something unless you know it's going to help you. Please, do research BEFORE you sign up for a website. Don't just jump on because one person or the site themselves claim it's good. Many bloggers about Japan get paid to tell you an instruction site is good (Seriously, they're paid "per impression" when you click over to the site they have linked on their page, and this can be big bucks for them so they might not actually believe in the site they support. Tread lightly. If they have some of their own feedback about the site and it's got some decent sounding criticism alongside a decent review then it's probably alright. Just use your best judgement.). Just something to remember that when you're making your decision. Personally, I don't use any websites. I just haven't really needed them since I've been signing up for classes (and tests! yikes! lol), but I can definitely see how they'd be another great way to provide practice and repetition.

     Rosetta Stone or other Japanese Language instructional software: I think Rosetta Stone is great for practice as you are using a book and other materials to go with it. I tried it out and I'm not quite sure how I feel about it honestly. As a beginner I think it's alright, but I definitely wouldn't use it by itself. The US Government and many other organizations back Rosetta Stone, but I just want to stress that it's good to use many different materials to learn Japanese. It really does help to become well-rounded in a language, and get cultural context alongside your language lessons. Using all these options together will really increase your abilities, as well as improve your sense of Japanese culture alongside the language itself. This was my experience with learning Spanish as a second language, and the same techniques are definitely so far working very well to help me learn Japanese alongside culture and context.

Might I suggest "The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya" to help you learn Japanese and watch a fun anime at the same time?

4. Consume Japanese Media! Watch Anime! Watch Live Action Films! Read Manga! Listen to Japanese Music! Anything that can expose you to more Japanese as spoken or sung by a Japanese person will help you to hear and comprehend the language much more. I love learning Japanese alongside anime, because I feel as though I really begin to understand more of the show then by just reading subtitles (which are often watered down from the exact translation).

     Most importantly: Practice! Writing, speaking, and reading in Japanese all take lots of practice and the more time you spend away from your practice and lessons, the less you will become really integrated into your "syllabus" and of course the less it will "stick."

 Good luck! and remember, learning Japanese is NOT EASY. There is no "easy solution" for learning an entirely new language, and especially one that uses four separate writing systems and a whole bunch of very different rules from Western-style languages. Trust me though, it's worth it. You'll be happy you did! I am already quite happy that I picked up basic language skills before going to Japan. I have a feeling it is going to help me a lot in class and in general.
 Signing out,
     Lady Jones