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[takotchi]

In iTunes, go to the Podcast Directory, go to Power Search (upper-right) and select Japanese for language, leave the rest blank, and tada... tons of Japanese podcasts.

 

[RevenantKioku]

Japanesepod101 is allegedly decent for actually learning something, but the host's voice makes me want to cut things.

 

[clav]

There is a program called Wakan that I hear is pretty cool. If you are interested in a good way to practice Kanji you should check it out.

http://wakan.manga.cz/

I went to Chinese school in my younger days (and I hated it so much), so looking at some Kanji isn't difficult for me. It's just the pronunciation screws me over.

 

[OnWarmerMusic]

RK, thanks for starting this thread, it's already a good resource.

My kanji self-study (it's not a formal part of my class) has so far yielded really slow progress, so I'm always looking for suggestions. I've been working through the RtK sample, and though I'm only on Lesson 5, I've been really impressed at how easy it is to retain things. I went ahead and ordered the first volume from Amazon, and I'm going to give it a go.

Japanesepod101 is allegedly decent for actually learning something, but the host's voice makes me want to cut things.

I hear they've added a new female Australian host on the Monday installments, in lieu of the usual guy, which sounds like it might be a nice change of pace.

 

[brocke]

In iTunes, go to the Podcast Directory, go to Power Search (upper-right) and select Japanese for language, leave the rest blank, and tada... tons of Japanese podcasts.

Any specific ones you would recommend?

And as far as yomiuri online, i can't take it anymore. It's driving me crazy since they have that same music clip multiple times throughout the podcast. Plus, I have listened to it for 10 hours a day for the last 2 days.

 

[RevenantKioku]

Yeah, but the woman who does sports (usually?) makes me wanna UNF.

 

[Mr. Spinnington]

I just want to let you guys know how useful this thread has been in introducing me to the language. I really appreciate the effort and combined resources put into everything.


Now if only there was one of these for French ; /

 

[Vaux]

Here's a program that streams Japanese TV in real time. It might help some people.
You can get the program here: http://www.v2p.jp/video/Viewer/
It's really easy to use.

= Fuji TV

= NTV

= TBS

= TV Asahi

= TV Tokyo

= Tokyo MX

= TV Kanagawa (tvk)

 

[Blackace]

Funny, I'm actually making a conscious effort to do the opposite. :lol

I remember the first couple months of being a CIR, I couldn't wait until the weekend when i could hang out with some non-Japanese people and speak English.

Japan and Japanese were important to me, and I did everything that you mentioned too, but Japan isn't really my goal, just something i wanted to do for awhile.

My life has far too much 'J' in it. OMG can anyone on GAf understand that?!?!?!?!?!

I can really understand that. My English is quite a bit worse than it was when I came here, and it show when I went back to Seattle. (my mannerisms as well, I was giving people "teh chop" when I said excuse me!)

This is why I don't play my games in Japanese (I will buy new releases here in Japanese of course) but I just want to have some time when I don't need to use Japanese in my life, and gaming is perfect it. Even my other hobbies like basketball have been converted into Japanese...

 

[zigg]

I've been rolling the methodology in this thread over in my mind quite a bit--it sounds like a good match for the way I think and learn.

But I really don't have any appreciable background in the language yet. Is it appropriate to jump in with RTK? Not so much "is it going to ruin me", but will I get into RTK and find I'm missing some grounding?

 

[Link1110]

I've been rolling the methodology in this thread over in my mind quite a bit--it sounds like a good match for the way I think and learn.

But I really don't have any appreciable background in the language yet. Is it appropriate to jump in with RTK? Not so much "is it going to ruin me", but will I get into RTK and find I'm missing some grounding?

Well, the thing I'm seeing with RTK is that it's a good way to learn one part of the language. It doesn't claim to do anything more than get you to recognize one vague meaning of each kanji, along with being able to recognize and write it. You learn the more specific meanings (most of which involve compounds) after, but you have an advantage. It's almost like how Chinese people are quicker to pick up Japanese because they have the grounding in the kanji. You're just getting a similar advantage.

 

[lastendconductor]

Oh yeah, remembering the kanji. In 1 month, I bested a friend who has been in Japanese classes (traditional learning style) for about 4 years in kanji recognition and writing. It's that awesome.
It's also very nice that it's been translated to many languages, like mine (Spanish, great translation).

But I really don't have any appreciable background in the language yet. Is it appropriate to jump in with RTK? Not so much "is it going to ruin me", but will I get into RTK and find I'm missing some grounding?

Not really! you need 0 previous knowledge of the language. Though I would recommend starting with the (much) lighter and easier remembering the kana first.

Now if only there was one of these for French ; /

There is a french version of RTK, it's named "Les Kanjis dans la tête".

 

[RandomXTX]

WTF no frickin WAY!!
KATS!!
http://www.alljapaneseallthetime.com/blog/about

This guy was my lab partner for ElectroMagnetism, he's a baller. He would spend multiple hours a day studying his Japanese. He's from Kenya and knows a bunch of languages. Last I heard he was working for Sony in Japan.

 

[Heidalloon]

For those of you who didn't use the Heisig method and used the elementary school books, can you give me titles of some of the books?

 

[clav]

Yeah, but the woman who does sports (usually?) makes me wanna UNF.

You want to fuck her?

 

[Shirokun]

I just skimmed through the pages I haven't read in this thread, so I don't know if this has already been addressed but, can anyone recommend any good beginners level manga or books that will help me practice my reading ability(and keep me thoroughly entertained )?

BTW, thanks for putting together this thread, Revenant. I'm just starting to take Japanese courses again after two years, and your advice has been very helpful so far. Incidentally, my sensei also stresses that we buy the Heisig kanji books and actually teaches us to make up stories in order to remember our kanji. So far, it's worked better than I could have imagined, and so I'm eager to get my hands on Heisig's books.

本当にありがとうございます。

 

[Zoe]

Random, but does anybody know any hotkeys or settings to properly switch to Japanese input in Windows? I know alt+shift, but then you have to use the mouse to set the Input Mode after that.

 

[zoku88]

Random, but does anybody know any hotkeys or settings to properly switch to Japanese input in Windows? I know alt+shift, but then you have to use the mouse to set the Input Mode after that.

After alt+shift, trying pushing alt+~. That should switch to hirigana.

 

[Zoe]

Yes! 乙!

 

[BudokaiMR2]

I just skimmed through the pages I haven't read in this thread, so I don't know if this has already been addressed but, can anyone recommend any good beginners level manga or books that will help me practice my reading ability(and keep me thoroughly entertained )?

I just read random Shonen Jump stuff for a couple of years and it helped my reading speed quite a bit. Anything that has furigana over the kanji is alright. Over the last couple of months I read all the recent Full Metal Alchemist manga. It's tougher(and better) than the normal Jump mangas but still has the readings.

 

[Zoe]

If you want a good workout from a Jump series, try Gintama. Talk about wall of text... x_X

 

[Shouta]

GINNNNNNNTAMA. So much text in that manga.

 

[OnWarmerMusic]

After alt+shift, trying pushing alt+~. That should switch to hirigana.

Sweet, I was just wondering about this too. You're a champion.

 

[Oichi]

I just skimmed through the pages I haven't read in this thread, so I don't know if this has already been addressed but, can anyone recommend any good beginners level manga or books that will help me practice my reading ability(and keep me thoroughly entertained )?

A good beginner's manga is Yotsuba To!, which uses furigana, and more importantly, explains things as if they were talking to a little kid, because, well, they are. :lol It's also highly entertaining and very endearing. Right now I can blow through one volume in a good 30 minutes but it's something I always buy because it's just so good.

 

[brocke]

I'm trying to do the japanese all the time by substituting japanese porn for my regular porn. Any suggestions?

 

[Suburban Cowboy]

ok so on Ninja Warrior the announcer is constantly screaming "SUH DOTA! SUH DOTA!" can I get a translation please?

 

[Aruarian Reflection]

I'm trying to do the japanese all the time by substituting japanese porn for my regular porn. Any suggestions?

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=111272

Today the mail delivered the two Japanese grammar dictionaries recommended in this thread. They're awesome!

 

[MadraptorMan]

It's probably already been recommended, but Renshuu.org is a really good resource for Japanese language students. Lots of vocab/kanji quizzes focusing on certain popular textbooks and JLPT.

 

[Askia47]

For those of you who didn't use the Heisig method and used the elementary school books, can you give me titles of some of the books?

Try The Genki Japanese books
http://www.amazon.com/Genki-Integrated-Course-Elementary-Japanese/dp/4789009637

 

[sprsk]

I bought a heisig book yesterday and started practicing last night and I have to say, the speed at which I can learn these kanji using this method is crazy. This method is SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO much easier than the brute force method, seriously I suggest everyone go out there and try it.

The thing I have discovered is that the meanings don't always travel over exactly accurate and some of the stories are a little bit of a stretch, but I've learned and can now write around 38 kanji I couldn't write before (without looking) in half a day. I could probably get all of it done in a month or so, lol.

 

[Synless]

I bought a heisig book yesterday and started practicing last night and I have to say, the speed at which I can learn these kanji using this method is crazy. This method is SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO much easier than the brute force method, seriously I suggest everyone go out there and try it.

The thing I have discovered is that the meanings don't always travel over exactly accurate and some of the stories are a little bit of a stretch, but I've learned and can now write around 38 kanji I couldn't write before (without looking) in half a day. I could probably get all of it done in a month or so, lol.

What book is this and where can I find it?

 

[XMonkey]

Heisig is nice, but what if you need the actual japanese readings of the kanji? An english word associated with the image helps, but not if you're an actual student taking Japanese and need to know the readings :\

 

[Askia47]

Heisig is nice, but what if you need the actual japanese readings of the kanji? An english word associated with the image helps, but not if you're an actual student taking Japanese and need to know the readings :\

Its more for the long term, so you should focus using the book for a while and then pick up the readings later.

 

[XMonkey]

Its more for the long term, so you should focus using the book for a while and then pick up the readings later.

As a college student taking Japanese right now (2nd year) this isn't something you want to hear

 

[RevenantKioku]

As a college student taking Japanese right now (2nd year) this isn't something you want to hear

Well, 'later' can be as early as a few months depending on your time. I was able to finish Heisig 1 in 3 months. But I was also not as diligent as I could have been. Now I just do 20 minutes a day of reviews.
I hate to sound like a broken record but two step process. Readings will come with time. There are so many anyway, it's just as well to learn them in context.

 

[sprsk]

Heisig is nice, but what if you need the actual japanese readings of the kanji? An english word associated with the image helps, but not if you're an actual student taking Japanese and need to know the readings :\

Heisig says that his sytem is really only for self study. The preface explicitly states that using it as a study aid will screw you up.

Learning it now kind of makes me angry actually, I could have been so much better at Kanji than I am now, lol.

 

[RevenantKioku]

Are there any decent Japanese forums? I've tried browsing 2ch but it gives me goddamned headaches.

 

[Rahk]

Thanks for the book recommendations.

I picked up the basic grammar dictionary and Remembering the Kanji a few days ago. Since then I've studied for about an hour or two per day and now I can remember over 150 kanji (on top of what I've already learnt).
I'm hoping to finish it in a couple months, as long as I don't get lazy.

 

[brocke]

For all of you studying out of JSL or JWL, I made these flashcards last summer. There are over 5,000 so hope its helpful.

http://www.flashcardexchange.com/user/view/118172

 

[zoku88]

For all of you studying out of JSL or JWL, I made these flashcards last summer. There are over 5,000 so hope its helpful.

http://www.flashcardexchange.com/user/view/118172

I love you. I'm using JSL and I suck sooo much at vocab T_T... We're getting to 7B pretty soon...

 

[Zoe]

Are there any decent Japanese forums? I've tried browsing 2ch but it gives me goddamned headaches.

wwwwww

To be honest, I don't think I've ever seen forums like on English sites... Everybody's still using the cgi keijibans from the 90's. You'll probably have the most luck with just finding fansites of things you like.

 

[RevenantKioku]

wwwwww

To be honest, I don't think I've ever seen forums like on English sites... Everybody's still using the cgi keijibans from the 90's. You'll probably have the most luck with just finding fansites of things you like.

That's what I figured. Someone helped me find an OS X 2ch reader and I'm trying that out. It's something at least.

 

[n1n9tean]

I heard that learning Japanese is impossible. Is this true?

 

[sasimirobot]

Am I the only one that doesn't buy-
"study japanese for 3 months=fluent"

?

I really don't see how you could know 2,000+ kanzi in less than 5 years, much less know the subtleties of their use.

I'm sure there are genius type people that can learn shit really really fast, and maybe the examples given here are those, but it would be a crime for this thread to turn into "hey, Japanese is easy breazy".

No language can really fully be mastered unless you are a native speaker (or 2nd generation), so we are really talking about layers and layers of fluency here.

I learned the Thai alphabet in 1 week (only 40+ letters) but 6 years later I still struggle with writing and spelling.

I once heard an example:

Even if you had super-photographic memory doesn't mean you can read a book on brain surgery and then save a cancer patient.
It takes real life application and submersion, something all these fancy "learn every kanzi in 20 hours" books seem to brush off.

I want everyone to know that for sure Japanese is a very very difficult language to learn (other than speaking), and there are no magic pills/books/websites.

Just put in the hours and you will be fine, but lets not brush off hard work for "gimmicks".

 

[RevenantKioku]

Am I the only one that doesn't buy-
"study japanese for 3 months=fluent"

?

Considering no one is saying that, I can't imagine they are!

But the crux is more exposure equals faster learning. And languages are 'easy' so to speak. Just time consuming.

 

[Rentahamster]

Are there any decent Japanese forums? I've tried browsing 2ch but it gives me goddamned headaches.

Playing Final fantasy XI Online seemed to do the trick for me.

Thanks (or no thanks) to that game, I can totally relate to this flash: http://kagamik.at.infoseek.co.jp/ff11/uhawwwww.html

 

[sasimirobot]

And languages are 'easy' so to speak. Just time consuming.

but this thread is hinting that "time consuming" is bad. I still feel that formal training, exposure (real world not sticky notes on the toaster), time, and just plain old rote is the way to go with Japanese.

Over, over, over, and over again. A clever way to remember the Kanzi for lemon is not gonna make you fluent...sorry...

 

[RevenantKioku]

but this thread is hinting that "time consuming" is bad. I still feel that formal training, exposure (real world not sticky notes on the toaster), time, and just plain old rote is the way to go with Japanese.

No necessary true! But believe what you want.
Heisig's method still requires work and time. It's not a 'trick' it's just faster for getting one part of kanji done. Only writing. But that's still something that needs to get done!
I will agree with you on the exposure, which is why the fact of listening to Japanese is very important.

Over, over, over, and over again. A clever way to remember the Kanzi for lemon is not gonna make you fluent...sorry...

Never implied it would. But it gives you the time spent over and over again with rote memorization to spend on other things like listening to Japanese and working on reading Japanese.
I can write 2000 kanji after 3 months. And I'm learning new readings and words every day.
Tell me that's bad.

 

[DarkJC]

but this thread is hinting that "time consuming" is bad. I still feel that formal training, exposure (real world not sticky notes on the toaster), time, and just plain old rote is the way to go with Japanese.

Over, over, over, and over again. A clever way to remember the Kanzi for lemon is not gonna make you fluent...sorry...

After reading this whole thread just now, it feels like we've gone through the same conversation twice over with your post getting ready for the 3rd repetition. Languages are time consuming, Japanese is no exception. Anything that eases that time however, is welcomed. He never said knowing the writings first would make him instantly fluent. Perhaps working on reading English would be beneficial for you.

And to the OP, great, informational thread. Nice job to all the people who've contributed their various views, very valuable stuff.

 

[sasimirobot]

Ne.
I can write 2000 kanji after 3 months.

So what you are saying is that if I just randomly said a word in Japanese you could write it in Kanzi?

Or that you could could word for word (a bablefish translation if you will), write out a Japanese newspaper headline in English, after only 3 months?

Sorry...I just can't...believe that...

I have done the whole bar/drunk mess with a Japanese person write the kanzi for "rose" thing. Good way to make money, but just because I can and they can't has nothing to do with language ability.

Fine. Maybe I am completely wrong. If I am that means that with this method, I could be able to write 3,000 kazi in 1 month just because I already have a head start...

very doubtful...