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Hey whats up people!
Alright so here is my deal right now. I’ve finally accumulated the resources I feel I could use effectively to practice Japanese on a daily basis. I have enough time to commit to them but am having trouble organizing them properly and making goals for myself to focus with. Here is a small list of what I am using :
Rosetta Stone – Full Year Ciriculum
Pimsleur – 90 lessons in all
Kana Flash Cards
Kana Dictionary
Textfugu membership!I could probably use a keyboard in the future too.
What would be a good per-day kind of way to go about using these and learning with them in the most efficient way possible? I just work better when I see someone else assigning me tasks.
Tell me about some of yours too, what did you use and how often to develop your understanding? Maybe I can adapt those practices for myself and I’m certain others would be interested to know as well. Thank you!
You don’t really need a keyboard. Romaji-based IME works well enough.
If “Kana flash cards” means “flash cards for learning kana”, I reckon focus on those first – you can probably get kana learnt inside of a week, after which everything else gets a bit easier. =)
Now I know you want to “feel” like you’re learning Japanese by actively matching pictures to words or saying things out loud but starting out, I’d skip the Rosetta Stone Curriculum and keep the Pimsleur, evem though I actually don’t recommend either. I think at least with Pimsleur, you can try and mimic the pronunciations.
EDIT: Seems like you can speak spanish already. People who speak spanish or attempt to learn spanish may have acquire good pronunciation faster than others (vowels in spanish and japanese are pronounced exactly the same)
What would you recommend in place of Rosetta? I am using it as supplimental material and I feel like its reading exercises help but if there is better software available that still incorporates that “game” feel I’d be more than open to using it.
The flash cards are for Kana and the keyboard would simply be for convenience if anything. Also any good podcasts to follow?
On an unrelated note: I’ve been trying to work out, is “regiment” supposed to be a pun, or is it just a misspelling? =P
I was going to comment on his “regiment” too :P
First off, bin Rosetta Stone. If you actually paid for it, see if you can get a refund; otherwise, just stop using it. From what I’ve used of it (I tried it with Spanish), it’s little more than a flash card program what comes with pictures and sounds to make you feel like you’re learning super duper effectively. Basically your time and money is much better spent elsewhere. The only reason Rosetta Stone is so popular is because they have a GIGANTIC marketing budget.
As for podcasts, give Japanesepod101.com a try. Can’t say *much* for their beginner/novices series, but I’ve been listening to a bunch of their lower intermediate podcasts and they’ve been pretty good. TextFugu members get a discount too, as far as I’m aware.
I agree. I heard a lot about Rosetta Stone and was shocked to see how useless it was when I finally tired it. It doesn’t even have a nice UI.
As for JapanaesePod101.com, they are a great source of free audio lessons. The only complaint I have about them is the long intro into each lesson and the torrent of emails they send. It’s true that Textfugu members get a discount,but all the good stuff is free anyway. The bonus material you get for a paid membership is, in my opinion, not that useful.
There is really no reason to buy a “Japanese” keyboard. The only difference I noticed when typing in Japan was there was a key that made switching between modes (katakana/hiragana) slightly easier than it is on a standard keyboard you would find in the West. Use your normal keyboard with Google IME.
Anyway, if you are still flipping through kana flashcards, your choices of ways to study are a little limited since you won’t be able to read. I’d say, put 10 minutes to kana study per day, listen to a podcast or two and start looking for resources you will want to use down the road. There are a lot of useful books, apps and websites; start searching around and building an idea of what tools will be good for you in the future.
They have lots of free lessons? After my free trial was over (which was a long time ago), I couldn’t seem to access *any* of the audio for some reason; I assumed that’s how it was, that the vast majority of everything on the site required payment. I must have been doing something wrong, it seems… One thing I have found useful about the bonus material though is the dialogue transcripts, they help quite a lot.
Hmm…maybe I’m mistaken. I’ll check on this later.
You can download japanesepod101′s freed podcasts through itunes. They usually put out a new one each week. You can also check out バイリンガルニュス (bilingual news), a podcast done by 2 hosts who talk about interesting news from around the globe in both english and japanese. They have a free podcast that they put out twice a week, each for a little over an hour. Interesting to listen to, and will help with listening.
AnonymousTaeKim’s Guide to Learning Japanese — +1point(s)
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