Best ways for learning Japanese

You may have concrete reasons for learning Japanese; it may be finding a job abroad, travelling to Japan, communicating with Japanese friends, or just being interested in the rich and unique culture of mesmerising country. So, like many of us who are eager to start on our goals, you may have started by picking up some words for greetings in Japanese or acquiring some basic vocabulary on a topic that you are interested in. Now, you want to learn Japanese in more depth, with ultimate aim of becoming fluent. But, you question how to organise your learning effectively. Seeing the larger perspective and understanding how to navigate learning Japanese from the start is a fundamental step towards developing fluency. Believe it or not, but the decisions you make at the start, on how you approach learning itself, are actually the most important. 

In this post, I am going to provide you with some tips on what I think are the best ways to learn Japanese. My personal experiences made me think hard about this reoccurring question, importantly both from the perspective of a student and teacher myself. Firstly, I was a learner of Japanese language myself and embarked on education of Japanese language and culture, advancing up to master and doctoral studies, from the stage an absolute non-native beginner. Later on, I trained as a Japanese language teacher and spent many years teaching and researching Japanese language. I have taught Japanese to students at higher education and language institutions throughout the UK. My students range from 10 to 70 years old. Many of them now work and live in Japan. Following on from these experience, I can provide tips on workable strategies for learning Japanese, that have worked both for myself and my students. My students often recall how rewarding it was to go through the journey of acquiring a new language.  And I really hope that one day that will be your reflection too! 

At the heart of my approach to teaching, is that learning should always be enjoyed. 

Memorising words and how to hack vocabulary and common expressions

Memorising Japanese language vocabulary can be difficult because it does not resemble your native language. Words sound odd. But the truth is that the more you exercise recalling them, the longer they will be retained in your memory. Just as the more you listen to a hit song, the easier it becomes for you to recall its lyrics! 

So my advice is to make vocabulary cards, which enforce this habit of repetition. Read those words loudly and repeat it many times. These activities stimulate memory. You will then use the words you learn to make sentences.

Making sentences

If you struggle with making sentences you can use basic sentence patterns as a guide. In this process, what is really important is to focus on verbs and adjectives and their conjugations. There is evident logic behind conjugation of verbs and adjectives. Learn them so you can quickly come up with the correct forms. When you try to memorise those forms or words, do not only limit yourself to saying them aloud. Write them down too!

Writing is a benefit for your memory

When learning how to write in Japanese, use a pencil and write by hand. Follow the stroke order. Repeat this activity whenever you learn hiragana, katakana or kanji. But don’t miss this opportunity to think about each character. Your engagement is important. Enjoy a new way of presenting sound, words, concepts and ideas. You will move from handwriting to writing using a keyboard later on. For now, the sense of handwriting is vital. It works for the benefit of your memory in a far better way than clicking down a keyboard. Handwriting stimulates the brain, it activates visual perception of letters, improves attention and so on. Overall it contributes to reading fluency.

Reading helps in developing fluency in Japanese 

Reading in Japanese is an important part of learning and developing fluency. But you need to think about reading resources. Learners often choose those wrongly. Beginners, for example, have a tendency to choose children’s books as they seem to be easy. But I do not recommend children’s books. They are often ineffective, particularly for adult learners. Also, the writing style of children’s books is not always enough clear; is not that you will use. Meanings can get lost in translation. Additionally, I do not recommend reading materials which are too difficult or challenge learner’s level too ambitiously. Encountering a hard text too early can overwhelm and even de-motivate. My advice for selecting reading materials is the following:

1. Choose reading resources with topics you are personally interested in. 
2. Choose reading resources that are relevant to your proficiency level. 
3. Read magazines on specific themes (e.g., for those who like Japanese movies, Kinejun weekly magazine published by Asahi Shimbun). Magazines are a good source of vocabulary that is commonly used. Their writing style can also be good and clear enough as to complement your practice of daily comprehension. 
4. Look at Japanese newspaper websites. They offer articles on sports, popular culture and access to news, interviews, and the like. 

Reading activities contribute to developing fluency in a language. But importantly, you must know how to read. In case of Japanese language, my advice, is to read a text out loudly, and think of the meaning as you read. Look at a sentence you read and find words with topic markers. They are key words around which a particular sentence or a paragraph develops. Pay particular attention to the last words, verbs or adjectives, and what is noted at the end of the paragraph. After reading, review the vocabulary, and read it loudly again. This process forces the understanding and stimulates the brain to code information.

Complementary activities expand on understanding of Japanese language

Beyond the ways and methods that I have suggested so far, try to also gain additional knowledge, particularly on social and cultural aspects of Japanese language. Watch Japanese movies, shows, television dramas, visit websites of Japan’s museums for art collections, or read manga or websites with cooking recipes. You may not be able to catch words, phrases, or sentences, but all these activities will contribute meaningfully to your knowledge of Japan itself. You will familiarise yourself with its culture and importantly the ways of thinking, feeling, acting and foremost the unique linguistic behaviours in their cultural context. 

Learning a country’s culture is enriching by itself, but it also allows you to connect with its language on a far deeper level. 

Last but not least, you may also reach out to native Japanese speakers. But you need to know that native speakers are not necessarily good language teachers as they are not trained to teach Japanese as a foreign language, and so may find it harder to understand your perspective. Nonetheless, it can be great to share in casual conversations together!

Learning Japanese online to develop proficiency constructively

Our structured courses in Japanese language offered by Japco Education are carefully tailored to help you meet the target of engaging in real communication, at your required level of proficiency. It is an experience which is hard to duplicate otherwise. Our courses save you precious time and offer the easiest way to learn Japanese. Teaching by yourself can be bumpy, but our courses offer everything what you need to become truly proficient in Japanese. You will receive:

• A systematic introduction and learning of scripts, vocabulary, sentence building, grammatical structures
• Interactive activities with authentic audio materials that develop communication strategies in Japanese
• Activities and exercises to enhance your performance
• Cultural information linked to topics covered in lessons
• Tasks that integrate reading and listening so you can develop different skills together and reinforce once another
• Assessment of your abilities and progress
• Assistance and advice on proficiency, sentence mastery, and fluency to develop communicative competence and much more.
  

Enrol into the courses offered by me and rest assured that your knowledge and experience will be built in a constructive way. You will be amazed at yourself and how your goals, when approached effectively, can be attained!

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