Learning How to Pronounce New Words

   If you want to be able to have conversations in Japanese as soon as possible, you'll need to have perfect or near perfect pronunciation; I have two great resources to help you accomplish this:

  1. RhinoSpike:  RhinoSpike is pretty straightforward; you submit text that you want a native speaker to read, you get a recording of it that you can put on your iPod. It can take awhile to get someone to record something for you, but you can speed up this process by recording something in your native language for someone else. Every time you record something for someone else, your own request will move higher up on the list, letting you get what you want faster. When you have large blocks of text you want a recording of, RhinoSpike is the best place to go. 

 2.  Forvo: Forvo is a like RhinoSpike but its focus is on providing recordings of individual words instead of blocks of text. The thing I like best about Forvo is their search options. (RhinoSpike doesn't have a search function) You can use their search bar to look for specific words or you can use their category filters to find a group of words (the "common words" category is very useful). Like RhinoSpike, you can make requests and download mp3 files of the recordings.

So basically, if you need a large amount of text or an uncommon word recorded for you, use RhinoSpike. If you only need individual common words, use Forvo.

Have any questions or suggestions? - Let me know in the comments section :)

Links: 

1. http://rhinospike.com/
2. http://www.forvo.com/

Another Site to Watch Anime in Japanese

 I found an alternative site you can use to find and watch anime in it's original Japanese. Here's the link: http://tvanimedouga.blog93.fc2.com/. This site is in full Japanese, so beginners will have a little trouble, but it's not all that hard once you mess around with the site for a bit. On the left hand side of tvanimedouga will be a list of all of the available anime titles. From there, just follow links and you will be led to a different site that has the episode that you want to watch. Great way to find and watch anime that hasn't seen a release outside of Japan yet!

Link: http://tvanimedouga.blog93.fc2.com/

Insanely Cheap Imported Manga

  I spent 2 weeks in San Diego, CA and got the chance to visit the best book store in the world: Book Off. Book Off is a large chain of used bookstores in Japan and they have a handful of locations here in the States. Chances are, most of you don't live near a Book Off store, but if you ever travel, check if there is a Book Off anywhere nearby.

 I love manga, and since I've started learning Japanese, I've been searching for affordable Japanese imports that I can use to practice reading. It seemed entirely impossible; anywhere I went online, the shipping and tax would make a single imported manga volume cost 20 dollars!

 Typically, B&M ( Brick & Mortar ) stores don't carry imported books, only their translated versions at best, but this is how Book Off is different. Book Off actually specializes in selling imported books at insanely discounted prices and their selection is excellent. I ended up buying 11 Japanese language books and each book only cost 1 dollar! I spent so much time in their manga section, that I didn't really have time to browse other sections, but just by walking through the aisles, I saw that they also sold imported video games, movies, and CDs. Book Off is absolute paradise for someone who is looking for affordable imported products.

 Check Book Off's website for locations near you but be aware that some of their stores don't carry imported books ( these are typically mall locations )

Link: http://www.bookoffusa.com/

Japanese in Anime and Manga

 I stumbled across an interesting site awhile ago and I think you should check it out. Anime-manga.jp was created specifically for Japanese language learners who are into manga and anime. Using this site will help you become more familiar with Japanese expressions that are common in anime and manga. ( these won't really be expressions you can use in real life situations with out sounding ridiculous half the time, but you'll still learn plenty of useful words ) 

 Upon visiting the site, you'll see 4 different categories: character expressions, expressions by scene, word quiz, and kanji game. Character expressions and expressions by scene are where you'll be learning new expressions/words and word quiz and kanji game is where you will be tested on it. I think any level of Japanese language learner can get some use out of anime-manga.jp, but this website will focus on teaching you to read for the most part. Use this site in combination with reading manga and watching anime.

Link: http://anime-manga.jp/index.html

How I Acquire New Vocab

  Everyone has their own way of learning new vocab words so I'd like to share with you the way I do things. ( you need to know hiragana first for this to be effective )

Step 1: Watch anime on crunchyroll.com and turn the subtitles off by right clicking on the video (some videos don't have this option) 

Step 2: When you hear a word repeated often during the show, pause the video, try to type out the word and look it up online using Jisho. 

Step 3: Use Evernote to add the word to my vocab list. Put in the hiragana AND kanji form of the word and the definition in your native language.

Step 4: Every time you add a new word, you'll see the other words on your list. The repeated exposure to these words will eventually cause them to be etched into your memory.

I recommend that you watch Kaasan - Mom's Life on Crunchyroll since the language used is simple and it should be easy for you to pick out individual words.

Add Evernote to your Japanese language arsenal: evernote.com

Japanese Grammar a Day Email

 An important part of learning something new is repetition and daily exposure. Most people tend to check their email at least once a day, so it makes sense to turn this daily ritual into an opportunity to study Japanese a little every day.

  I currently subscribe to JGram's grammar-a-day mailing list and I highly recommend it! Every day, JGram will send you an email with a randomized mini lesson on Japanese grammar and vocabulary. JGram's grammar-a-day can also be customized according to your current skill level so no matter where you are in your Japanese studies, you'll be able to get use out of it!

 Sign up for your daily grammar-a-day email at this link: http://www.jgram.org/pages/signup.php

エリンが挑戦! にほんごできます

  If you've been studying Japanese for a good amount of time, chances are that you've seen at least one video from the にほんごできます series, but for those of you who aren't aware of it; にほんごできます is essentially a Japanese video series made to teach you Japanese phrases and words. It's mainly targeted at beginners, so if you're in the first few months of learning, consider watching this series.

  

  You can find all of the episodes on YouTube, but there is a much better way to watch にほんごできます. Go to https://www.erin.ne.jp/jp/. This is their official site which has all the episodes for free and it also has some other features. 

   The great thing about using their official site is that all of their videos have a separate text box beneath them which allow you to enable 4 kinds of subtitles: Japanese (with kanji), Japanese (no kanji, only hiragana/katakana), Romaji, and English. That's not all though, you can mix and match subtitles or run them all at the same time! Just don't use the English subtitles! If you stumble upon a word you are unfamiliar with, pause the video and look up the word using an online dictionary. This is a good way to expand your vocabulary.

   *My lang-8 friend Yumi kindly directed me to https://www.erin.ne.jp/jp/ so thank you Yumi!

   *Check out my post on Lang-8 HERE

How to Register on NicoNicoDouga

  Okay, I promised I would explain how to sign up with NicoNicoDouga videos if you can't read Japanese just yet, so here it is:

  First things first, go to their main page at nicovideo.jp. On the home page, you will notice a gold colored button on the left hand side of the page. It should have the word アカウント. Click on this to start the registration.

   On this new page, you will see two buttons; one silver, the other gold. Click on the silver one. This is for a free account.

   

   Now for step 1: メールアドレス this is where you enter your email address. After you have done that, click on the black button at the bottom of the page.

   Step 2: Profile Set Up. The first item is ニックネーム ; enter your desired nickname here. 

• The second item is where you select your gender. You will of course see two options here. The first is for male, the second for female.

• Third item is where you enter your date of birth. This part is very simple to figure out, so I don't really need to explain it. 

• The fourth item is where you choose your location. Again, this is pretty self explanatory. 

• The fifth item is パスワード which is where you enter your password. The box immediately underneath this is where you re-enter your password. 

• The sixth and last item will be your security question. The default question is asking what your favorite food is. I suggest that you go ahead and keep it. The box below this is where you enter your answer. At the bottom of the page will be two black buttons. The largest one will take you to step 3. The smaller one will take you back to step 1. Click on the largest black button.

•   This next step is simple. You will be shown all of the information that you have entered so take the time to look over and make sure it's correct then enter the captcha code that's at the bottom then click on the largest black button on the bottom. Now check your email inbox for an email from NicoNicoDouga. Their email will have a link which will confirm your registration and take you to a new page. On this page, there will be a link, click this link and you will be taken to NicoNicoDouga's home page, logged in, and ready to watch videos. Congratulations!

Japanese Videos: Beyond YouTube

  YouTube is an obvious place to look for Japanese videos and lessons, but I want to introduce you to two other sites that I find useful for learning Japanese. The first I'd like to mention is www.wonderhowto.com. Wonderhowto is a video sharing website that focuses on videos that will teach you how to do.. just about anything! Just type in "Japanese" in Wonderhowto's search bar, and all of your results will be relevant to learning Japanese. 

  The second site I recommend, you might be familiar with already; ニコニコ動画 (NicoNicoDouga). Nico is based in Japan and you can think of it as being Japan's version of YouTube. NicoNicoDouga is free to use for the most part, but there are a few videos that require you to purchase a premium membership in order to view them. I try to watch at least one video a day on Nico as part of my listening practice and I suggest that you do the same. In fact, stop using YouTube and replace it with NicoNicoDouga altogether if you want to take your Japanese studies to a new level. The total immersion of Japanese goodness will help you to learn faster! 

  *If you're not aware of it already, NicoNicoDouga requires that you sign up to their website before you can watch any of their videos. Since the sign up process is in full on Japanese, some of you may have trouble with it, but all is not lost, I plan on making a separate post about how to sign up with NicoNicoDouga soon, so check back often!*

*ニコニコ動画: http://www.nicovideo.jp/

*wonderhowto: http://www.wonderhowto.com/

Trying Out the New Smart.fm (iKnow)

  I'm sure by now that most of you have heard the news of Smart.fm turning into a pay to use site, well since I had been signed up before the switch, I was offered an extended free trail of their new service which goes by the name iKnow. This free trail lasts until March 31st of this year so I will be using this time to test out iKnow, and determine if it's worth the 1,000 yen a month price tag (which I highly doubt it is). 

  

  Day One: First thing I notice is that the layout is a little confusing (which may just be because I've become so used to Smart.fm's layout), but it does have a "study calendar" on the right hand side which tells you how much time you've spent studying everyday and your overall total for the week and month. That's a pretty nice feature if you want to have a visual of your progress.

  You get an option to take a "diagnostics test" which will attempt to place you in a lesson level that's right for you. The test has 25 questions and depending on how well you do, you will be placed anywhere between Japanese Core 1000 and 6000 (levels are in increments of 1000, so there are 6 different levels). The test has two different question types: multiple choice and spelling. Questions consist of just showing you a random Japanese word and reading it out loud for you (sometimes). There's no confirmation if you got the question right until after the test. 

  

  My results: 6 out of 25 correct (wow) placed in Japanese Core 1000 which covers 100 of the most basic words. Okay, I'll trust you on this iKnow, I'll start on the lesson that has been recommended. I scan the vocab list of this lesson, and I notice that I already know plenty of these words but there are also a few that I'm not too confident with, so this lesson should be a good start I suppose.

  I have some previous lessons I hadn't completed in Smart.fm, and it turns out that I can transfer my progress over to iKnow, however, it didn't transfer over half of my lessons. Okay, no problem, I'll just go to the course list and find those lessons, right? Wrong. iKnow only provides their own lessons, any user created content from Smart.fm is nonexistent here. You're only options are Japanese Core 1000 through 6000 and a hiragana and katakana course. iKnow's lessons are pretty good, but the user created content allowed more freedom in what you wanted to focus your studies on, so this is disappointing to me. 

  It seems like the biggest changes from Smart.fm to iKnow is that they got rid of old user created content and started charging for a stripped down version of Smart.fm.... how is this a good deal exactly? Maybe they'll change a few things later on, so I'll stick with iKnow and I'll be sure to post anything new. Check back tomorrow!

iknow's address: http://iknow.jp/

Learn to Construct Japanese Sentences: From Native Speakers!

  The biggest goal of learning Japanese is to attain a native level grasp on the language, right? Then what better way to reach this goal then to be taught by someone who is actually living in Japan? With an internet connection, it's entirely possible to have the help of hundreds of native speakers, and the best part is that it's free!

   

   The amazing site I have in mind is Lang8. Lang8 allows you to write a journal entry in the language you are learning (your "target" language), upload it for everyone (or just your friends) on Lang8 to read and Lang8 provides tools for native speakers of your target language to correct and comment on your journal. There is also a function on Lang8 that allows you to save these corrections as notes so if someone gave you a really great correction or taught you something new, you can save it to your notes so you can review it and memorize it. 

   I've been using Lang8 for a little over two months now and I highly recommend it! The community is friendly and eager to help you out, so no need to feel shy. I suggest you sign up right away, because if I've learned anything from Smart.fm, it's that great free to use sites like Lang8 have to be taken advantage of while they're still free!

Learning to Read Japanese: Subject Particles

  In the hiragana family, there are a few characters that have special functions:

1. は
2. も
3. が

  These are called "particles". Of course these aren't all of the particles out there, but these are the "subject marking" particles. Meaning that they... mark the subject in a sentence.

   

   Learn to use は correctly first. It's like the grandfather of the subject particles and it is by far the most commonly used. 私は学生です= I am a student.

   In my opinion, も is by far the easiest particle to understand and use. 私も学生です = I am also a student.

   And then there was が, the filthy bastard. By far the most confusing particle, there are even entire books dedicated to understanding how to properly use it! Don't feel bad if  が has you confounded, a lot of people have trouble with it!

   If you want to understand how to use these particle, I have an extremely useful link for you that helped me out a lot:  http://www.guidetojapanese.org/learn/grammar/particlesintro

Important News!: Smart.fm Closing!

  Sad news today, one of my favorite sites and language learning tools, Smart.fm, has announced that they are going to be closing the Smart.fm service! Official announcement here.

  Smart.fm will be changing into a paid service under a new name. Anyone who is already registered to Smart.fm will get to use their new language learning service for free until March 31,2011 according to the official post. Also, you can have a free trial until Feburaury 28, 2011 if you were not registered to Smart.fm previously.

   I'll be looking for a new free service to use in Smart.fm's place and I will make a post as soon as I find something good.

Using Your Eyes to Listen

 When you are learning a new language, one of the best ways to get some effective listening practice in is to use your eyes. Yes, it sounds a bit stupid the way I just said it, but allow me to explain; if you're only listening to audio, it will be nearly impossible to understand and pick out words unless you already know a good majority of the words being spoken. However, if there were pictures or animation to go with the audio, you could figure out the meaning of words since they are being used in context. The definitions of these words are actually being shown to you. The more senses you are using at the same time, the more effective your studying will be. Always keep this in mind.

  Now, to follow what I just said, I have two great sites in mind that you should bookmark and use at least a few times a week. The first site I recommend is hellonavi.com. (my link will direct you to the page you need so you don't have to stumble around the Japanese) Hellonavi has various interactive animated lessons that cover everyday situations, so this site is very useful if you're taking a trip to Japan soon and need to know some survival phrases. Another great thing about Hellonavi's lessons is that any text you need to read on this part of Hellonavi will only be in hiragana and katakana, so it's very easy to use. Highly recommended for beginners!

 The second site I recommend is kankomie.or.jp. Unlinke Hellonavi's lessons, Kankomie provides animated storybooks complete with a native Japanese speaker reading the story to you. In contrast to Hellonavi, Kankomie is harder to use since the text will include kanji and the speed at which the text is read to you might leave you in the dust if you're a beginner. People who are more advanced in their studies will get the most use out of this site.

* exact URL of Hellonavi's lessons: http://www.hellonavi.com/foldera/index.html *

* exact URL of Kankomie's storybooks: http://www.kankomie.or.jp/mukashi/# *

Google Translate: A Golden Turd

 Oh google translate, I want to love you, but you just don't cut it. I give you a Japanese sentence to translate for me, but half the time you spit out something in a mangled English that may have been written by a monkey. Sure google can translate simple sentences for you such as: 私は寿司を食べます (I eat sushi), but try and input "I eat sushi" in English to get a Japanese equivalent, and you get: 私は寿司を食べる. The thing google gets wrong here is that 食べる is not the polite way to say eat! The polite form is 食べます! Politeness is a big deal when you're using Japanese, so though this may seem like a small mistake, you could actually end up offending some one if you use the wrong form! So don't rely on google translate to give you accurate results.

 However, google translate still has some use. Google translate can do one useful thing for you, and that is providing you with Japanese audio to go with the Japanese sentences you input. Simply input your Japanese and you will notice a small blue button labeled "listen" which will read the sentence out loud for you (just make sure the "From" tab is set to Japanese first). Let's say that you run into this word while you are reading: 先生. Of course you'll have no idea how to say this word since it's all kanji, but with google translate's audio function, you'll be able to hear how it is pronounced! Glorious.

Nintendo DS: My Japanese Coach

  As some of you may already know, the DS is a great tool for learning Japanese since it has no region lock, enabling you to play any and all imported Japanese language games. However, I'd like to talk about a great DS game that can help you learn Japanese and that you don't have to import! I'm talking about "My Japanese Coach".

 In my opinion, the best part of this game is that you can record yourself speaking Japanese and compare it to recordings of native speakers using the built in microphone on the DS. This is really great if you need the extra work on your accent/pronunciation and you don't have a native speaker around to help you out. 

 

 My Japanese Coach works best for people who are just barely learning Japanese. More advanced users will not get as much out of this game as beginners will. However, when you create a new save file, the game will test your knowledge of Japanese and start you off on the appropriate lessons and difficulty according to how much you already know. This way you won't have to waste time learning things you have already mastered.

  *A word of advice: My Japanese Coach can't teach you Japanese on it's own. The best way to use this game is as a study aid for when you wouldn't otherwise be able to study using your online resources.*

Online Japanese Dictionaries

  Japanese Dictionaries are a MUST when you are learning the language. I prefer using online dictionaries since you can save time by copying and pasting instead of flipping through hundreds of pages.

  The first dictionary I recommend is jisho.org. Jisho is simple to use and gives you all the information that you need. The only problem I have with jisho is that since it's an English to Japanese dictionary, it will some times give you results that are not in common use anymore, which is why I also recommend using:

  Space Alc. Space Alc is in full Japanese so if you're a beginner, this site may be too difficult for you to use right now. However, this dictionary will give you the most accurate results. There's one way beginners can still use this site: look up a word on jisho, and copy and paste the Japanese text into space alc's search bar to do a quick cross reference. This way, you'll be 100% sure that you're getting the right word.

  

 

Learning to Read Japanese: Hiragana

 Your first step to learning to read and write Japanese will be to learn hiragana. In order to streamline your hiragana studies, I suggest that you skip the writing practice for now and save it for later on in your studies. I know, this might seem like weird advice, but look at it this way, when's the last time you actually had to write something down that you couldn't just type up on a computer? Exactly. There will only be a handful of times where you'll actually have to write something down in Japanese, so save yourself the time for now and just focus all of your brain power into mastering hiragana.
 
  The absolute best site for drilling hiragana into your mind is Smart.fm! At smart.fm, they use an application that works much like flashcards but it is much more efficient and organized, it has voice samples from native speakers, and best of all it's free! Just take it slow and learn a few hiragana a week using smart.fm as your online flash cards.
  
  I'll save you the time and give you a link to the hiragana goal on smart.fm here.

Saving Money on Japanese Textbooks

 About 3 months ago, I signed up for a Japanese 101 class at my local community college and I finished it early last month. I'll tell you right now, it wasn't worth the money at all. The class itself cost about $150, the textbook cost around $100, and the workbook that goes with the textbook costs $50. So overall, Japanese 101 could cost you $300 or more. Not worth the price tag in my opinion since everything I learned in that class, you can learn for free using online resources. However, if you still want to sign up for Japanese 101 despite my warning, I can help you save some money to make it more worth your money.

  First of all, when you sign up for the class, don't buy the required textbook right away, never pay full price for that sucker! You see, the way the textbook industry works is they keep putting out new editions of their books and every edition is pricier than the last. That may seem logical, but the trick here is that all that is needed to brand a book as a new edition, is a few minor changes. Overall, it changes nothing essential about the book and the price of the previous edition takes a nose dive as they become "obsolete" when in reality, they are still quite usable. Price tag on a new edition text: $80 - $100, price tag on the previous edition text: $5.44 - $10. Epic savings right there.

  *If you need dirt cheap prices on books for class, I would suggest checking out abebooks.com. I haven't had any problems buying from them, but don't be dumb, don't buy from sellers with low bookseller ratings.*

The Best Place to Watch Anime

  Part of my daily Japanese studying routine is to watch at least one video in Japanese (with no subtitles!). If anime is your thing, I highly recommend using the completely legal and free site crunchyroll.com. On *most* of the videos on crunchyroll, if you right click on the video, some options will show up, one of them is to remove subtitles so you can enjoy your anime in it's pure Japanese form. No subtitles crutch for you anymore! As far as I know, this is the only site that offers the option to remove their subtitles, which makes it great for listening practice.

*some of the older anime on crunchyroll have the subtitles in the actual video, meaning they can't be removed at all.*