While he focuses on Japanese and Chinese learning, most of the techniques he recommends can be applied to any language.
Spaced Repetition Software
This moves things from your short term memory into your long term memory through reviewing flashcards using algorithms. There are different options for this software.
If you are like me and tend to get sucked into aimless web browsing this addon for the Firefox browser can help.
Here are some other tips:
1) Read stuff in your target language, from blogs, the paper, to books (young adult level can be a good starting place, but avoid kids books they are not interesting and not that useful).
2) Watch stuff in your target language. Movies that you are already familiar with the plot of but dubbed over in your target language, TV shows and movies that only exist in your target language, etc.
3) Make some friends who speak primarily your target language (this is easier when you live in a country where they speak that language, but if not there are great resources on the web). It’s a great way to inspire yourself because you have the drive to communicate.
I haven’t posted in a long time about my study regime or what resources I have been using lately. This post is going to focus on the audio resources I use, which are mostly podcasts (I’ll post about video resources later).
I spend about 30 minutes to 1.5 hours listening to Japanese. Usually I listen when I am getting ready for work in the morning, driving to the Metro and sometimes on the Metro.
For a long time I have used the free audio from Japanesepod101.com. This is a great resource to supplement other listening because they explain the grammar and new vocabulary and the conversations are realistic. The audio blogs are an especially good resource because there is no English but the level is not extremely advanced.
I subscribe to the premium level service because I wanted to try it out for a year, but honestly if you want to subscribe I recommend subscribing to the Basic subscription. I don’t use most of the extra resources you get with Premium, but the PDFs you get with both Basic and Premium are very useful. I will renew my subscription for Basic when my current subscription expires.
This free podcast and blog/learning center has listening for beginner and more advanced learners. Be careful, some of the audio has non-Japanese people speaking Japanese, which is not great for learning correct pronunciation.
I really like this podcast, but they haven’t put up new lessons in a long time. It is two guys who present dialogues and then discuss them and define the new vocab in Japanese. This podcast is almost entirely in Japanese.
This is an all Japanese podcast which has 2 guys and a girl discussing current fashion trends. This is natural Japanese, but uses Japanese which is a little more formal than some podcasts you find.
I think you can guess what this one is about. It’s sponsored by Proactiv so there is some talk of beauty and a little advertising, but it’s enjoyable listening.
The Japan Times will begin publishing thousands of pages of letters written by a young American woman living in Japan during the US occupation. Her letters detail the state of many cities after the war, the first appearance of Emperor Hirohito as a man (and not as a deity), and the well-off situations of the Americans living in Japan while most Japanese were scrounging for food.
The man who found the letters, Ken Alley, is hoping to publish them into a book entitled “Love, Betts — Letters Home from Occupied Japan” and he is currently searching for a publisher.
Read the full article here: http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20080905f1.html
The Jouyou Kanji is the government issued list of kanji that everyone should know. However, the kanji placed on the list are not the most commonly used kanji encountered in everyday life, making the list not as useful as it could be.
I recently read Tae Kim’s post about the proposed revisions to the list and the “usefulness” of the list in the first place. Check it out for a great look at the Jouyou Kanji and how studying from the list might not be the most effective way to learn Japanese.
I don’t like many Japanese comedians because I think they are kind of stupid (slapstick humor is very popular) but I think Edo Harumi is hilarious! She mocks the middle aged Japanese women who are still trying to be cutesy and they have very specific mannerisms which she imitates well. She has traveled a lot and while her catchphrase is “guu” (Japanese appropriating the English word “good” which then morphs into “guu”) I think she has a lot more awareness of foreign cultures than most Japanese people. It’s nice to see a female comedian in Japan, too; with a few exceptions, most Japanese comedians are men.
Recently I have tried to up the amount of Japanese study that I do every day and I have been seeing an improvement in the rate of my language learning. I feel that I am retaining a lot more new words and grammar with my new study regimen.
The main part of my study is using Spaced Repetition Software (SRS) to review vocabulary every day. Depending on how well you know or understand the word or phrase, it brings up the words at different intervals to increase your brains retention. I first learned about SRS from All Japanese All the Time and after reading about his method, I also read a few reviews of the different types of SRS on Nihongo Pera Pera.
Since I have a Mac, I use Anki for my reviewing. With the function to sync to the internet, I can review from my PC at work and my computer at home without losing anything. I try to review every day, and whenever possible I add new vocabulary and sentences. Khaz on AJATT recommends using sentences as much as possible, as it teaches both grammar and vocabulary. When using sentences in my SRS I use only recognition, not production. When I use vocabulary I use both production and recognition.
As my vocabulary increases, I am trying to use more Japanese within the the answer portion of the SRS. For example, I will look up a word in the Sanseido Dictionary and use the Japanese definition as the question, and for the answer I need to guess the word. This is useful, but is slow going both to look up the word, and to be able to understand the definition. As my my vocab improves I will use this more and more.
Next Japanese language post I will talk more about my listening practice.
Some of my frequently used links are below. If you have any good links or books for Japanese practice, please comment below and tell me about them.
Enkai are a vital part of Japanese culture. The definition of “enkai” is merely “party; banquet” but it is also what greases the wheels of social communication in Japanese culture. The enkai is usually a work party celebrating something such as the start of the new fiscal year or transfer of the office workers.
At these parties there is usually a flat fee which covers the cost of food and drinks, often all you can drink for about 2 hours. Most people drink alcohol, usually beer or 日本酒 (nihonshu, what we Americans call “sake”), sometimes large amounts of it, though others stick with oolong tea or cola.
Enkai ease the formal work environment found in most Japanese offices. It is an opportunity to get to know your co-workers; sometimes the only opportunity to get to know them in a social situation. There is a saying that what happens at an enkai stays at an enkai. Some enkai are known to get a little wild.
The approximate equivalent in the States is the Christmas Party. Both usually involve large amounts of alcohol, but one does not bring a date to the enkai; it is exclusive to the members of the company.
After the main enkai, there is often what is called the “nijikai” (二次会）, which means “second party”. After a big enkai many people go to the second party. At smaller enkai few people go, perhaps only the men. In my experience, the second party is usually karaoke or going to a snack bar (スナックバー) so called because they serve snacks with the drinks, but which also involve ladies pouring the drinks for you and chatting with you, and the seating charge is higher than usual. The snack bars usually also have karaoke, though not the karaoke box. The “sanjikai” (三次会) or third party is often only the men, and I couldn’t tell you what they do because I have never been to one. I believe the tamer ones involve eating ramen, and the wilder ones involve going to places where you wouldn’t take children.
As an English speaker at an enkai you will often be surprised. It is a good chance to practice your Japanese, but every now and again, you will be talking with someone and they will suddenly come out with some really excellent English.
At my last enkai, I was talking with one of my coworkers and he suddenly asked me, “So, what do you think about the current presidential candidates? Who do you like better, Clinton or Obama?” I was floored, because I didn’t even know he spoke English at all! We chatted about politics for bit, when he glanced over and saw that an English teacher was sitting next to us. At that point, he became very embarrassed, clammed up and reverted back to Japanese.
Whenever possible, go to your work parties. The positive interactions you have an enkai will spill over into your work life and it’s a great oppotunity to bring up things that you otherwise don’t have time to discuss during the work day.
