Good sources to learn Japanese language?

Hello Attila, The best way to learn Japanese is by taking a class, enrolling in a course or investing in a good textbook. If you can't take classes then the self-study method with the correct resources is a good way.

The key to learning Japanese effectively is to work on your grammar, listening, speaking, reading and writing. Its best to think of these as separate categories and focus on each specific category as these require different methods and techniques.

Start by learning the basics through grammar. These books really helped me.

• Shin Nihongo no Kiso I & II

http://japan-australia.blogspot.com/2011/06/shin-n...

• An Introduction to Modern Japanese by Osamu Mizutani & Nobuko Mizutani

http://japan-australia.blogspot.com/2011/04/introd...

• Japanese Demystified by Eriko Sato a self-teaching guide

http://japan-australia.blogspot.com/2011/05/japane...

These books cover both polite Japanese, which is extremely important to learn in order to speak Japanese effectively and causal Japanese, which is great for everyday conversations.

I also recommend trying to learn a certain amount of vocab or kanji each day as this helps you build up your vocab and kanji ability. I tried to learn 5 kanji per day or about 20 a week and did the same with vocab.

Watching Japanese anime or any Japanese TV program is a good idea for improving your listening skills and also your vocabulary. Keep a notebook and jot down any new words you hear. Then look them up and find out the meaning.

Websites are not always the best way to learn Japanese. Most websites are run by people with no teaching credentials and are not even native speakers of Japanese. Some of them are just interested in making money and not in helping you in what you need to be successful in learning Japanese.

How to Learn Japanese

http://japan-australia.blogspot.com/2010/11/how-to...

This may not be the answer you want to hear but I tried learning Japanese by myelf for almost 2 years until I finally took a class at a community college. I learned more in the few months of that class than I ever did trying to teach myself. Then a couple of years later I took it again and felt 10 times more confident in speaking Japanese. Obviously that didnt make me fluent but if you are commited you will learn a lot in just a few years. Also, I dont know how old you are but if you happen to still be in highschool, some schools will give you credits and reimburse you.

I'd like to recommend this (http://www.infocobuild.com/language/japanese/japan... because it provides a good collection of online resources for learning Japanese, including articles on the Japanese writing system, grammar lessons, and useful expressions.

In my japanese class we use "An elementary course in japanese genki:1". I have the workbook,textbook, and CD. They are really helpful and teach you japanese pretty comprehensibly.

Rosetta Stone:Japanese might also be good. I've never used it, but a lot of people say Rosetta Stone is good for learning foreign languages. However, I know its extremely expensive compared to my class books.

I really wouldn't suggest Rosetta Stone unless it's your last option. It literally just says a phrase, and shows you four pictures. You have to click the picture corresponding to the phrase. This eventually turns into a "click till you get it right" game that you've payed a lot of money for.

What's worse is that the hardest thing to learn about Japanese for a native English speaker is the differences in sentence structure; which Rosetta Stone doesn't address at all. I wouldn't ever suggest Rosetta Stone unless someone else was picking up the tab. Myself, I've been taking Basic Spoken Japanese courses at my college, which offers free access to Rosetta Stone for the language you're studying. I tried it out, and found it to be complete rubbish. It's just a guessing game. At most, you'll learn some basic vocab, but for $500 dollars I'd of expected more...

I'm going to highly suggest two books. The first is the text book we use for my Basic Spoken Japanese course. The second is a work book I''ve bought at Barnes and Noble that is helpful with some basic vocab and structures. They are both very helpful at the spoken language, and neither is very expensive.

"Japanese for Busy People". The romanized (english alphabet) version teaches you how to speak basic Japanese, and if you keep up with it it works very well. Make sure to use the version publicized around 1994 as this was the best version of the book released. (Yes, there were later, "updated" versions released, but my Japanese professor says they are flawed in too many ways). Plus, since it's an older book, you can get it online for under $5! There's also a workbook that is made to complement this textbook, but I haven't tried it (although my Japanese professor suggests it).

http://www.abebooks.com/9784770018823/Japanese-Bus...

The other book I'll suggest in "Japanese in 10 Minutes a Day". I'd really suggest using it as a compliment to the first book I mentioned, since it's less detailed. "Japanese in 10 Minutes a Day" comes with cut-out Japanese flash cards and stickers with Japanese words and their pronunciations on them to stick onto the item they represent around your house (the Japanese word for "light" is on a sticker that you'd stick onto a lamp, for example). It's got great visuals and exercises that are easy to relate to (like a family tree to learn the names of family members). Again, I'd really suggest if as plus to "Japanese for Busy People". It's not too expensive online, but I'd only buy it new to be sure it still has the flash cards and the vocab stickers.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/1931873070/...

Also, here is a website that is really good with helping with the basics. I like it, and it's pretty user-friendly.

http://www.123japanese.com/

Japanese is one of the hardest language to learn for a native English speaker, and it's not something to take lightly. If you're serious about learning it, you have to treat Japanese as a serious class or even a job, and give it a lot of time. I'd suggest at least a solid hour or so a day to really start grasping it. You'd be surprised what a good text book, a pack of flash cards, and a bit of determination can get you!

Try Tae Kim's guide to learning Japanese. It has a website, and you can download it as an app too. It's quite comprehensive, but you could do with learning the hiragana and katakana tables first if you don't know them already.

You might want to take a look at this website where there are some basic Japanese lessons. There are also many Japanese words and vocabulary available.

http://www.learn-japanese-adventure.com/

You should try http://second-language-learning-now.com/speak-japa... and sign up for the free 6-day course. That will give you really good basics, and you can progress further if you like it enough.

Google, " NHK Japanese Lessons"

You may be looking for more than this, but on the other hand it may be useful. No harm in having a look.

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