Need to learn Japanese.

[Khazidhea]

I don't have much to add, but if you're looking to order any books online to Australia, I highly recommend you use booko.com.au. It compares many online stores and gives prices plus delivery cost to Australia. I use it all the time, and a lot of the time prices are about half what you'd pay normally.

 

[Omey]

Listen to the pop songs from the language you want to learn. My sister says it always works

 

[dimensional]

My advice is this, you need to be immersed in the culture and language. That's how you learn a language. My native language is Greek and I have studied French and English (obviously lol) beyond Japanese so this has been my life's experience. You need to be really really really into the stuff, you need to derive high levels of enjoyment out of learning it. The moment it becomes anything close to "work" you've stopped learning and you've started subconsciously trying to escape as much work as possible, which is a horrible way to retain esoteric linguistic intricacies.




My advice is this: Find something Japanese you like, learn all about it, live and breath it for a week, once you feel you've maximized your knowledge of it jump to another such thing, keep doing that and you'll be fine.

Excellent advise while japanese tends to be a fairly logical language unlike say english it is not something that you will just pick up it takes a lot of time, effort and dedication so first of all I would ask yourself do you really want to learn it? or do you just think it would be nice to learn it?

If you just want to say a few phrases and get by just pick up almost any guide book and memorise a few key phrases like asking where/how (much)/what/when etc if you have no idea on pronounciation though you will find it very difficult and possibly a bit to much too soon.

If you want to start learning more I would begin with learning hiragana and katakana and see how you get on just print off a list and memorise them and keep using them (and dont revert to romaji when you have learnt them) Anki is also very handy for this sort of testing providing you use it properly and regularly.

Site wise the best one I have found is www.textfugu.com it has quite a bit in the free section so its worth checking out even if you decide it is not for you.

The most important bit is to really want to learn it and keep it enjoyable because as Dreiko mentioned once it stops being fun and becomes work you will stop learning.

 

[mikeysnakes]

No matter how you end up learning, the basic is still the same. This year,spend your time developing a good base in the language, and with a base, your first few months will be rocky but fulfilling. You wont reach a native level by any means, but you can hold conversations, have friendships, unless you get on philosophy, most of what you'll need to speak is rather simple. I wont lie to you, it's been 10 months here, but I only had a year of Japanese in college. The first night, I thought, "oh fuck me, I'm way in over my head" but those first months I learned so much.

Anyway, if there's nothing local, I know some distance teaching things pop up on gaijinpot.com which can also help you get a job because you can get a working holiday visa. Though there are tons of australians in Japn, they must be learning Japanese from somewhere.

Whatever any neasayer says, learn Japanese, the way you're treated in Japan will be immensely better even if you're just trying. Not that you'll be treated badly. I guess since I would be one of those "language people" but honestly the biggest thing is keeping at it, and not getting caught up in shit you don't need, because when you speak enough, you'll understand. I should stress NOT to skip on kanji, many foreigners do, but in english, with homynymns we use different spelling, different Kanji are used in Japanese and in Japanese there are many a homynymn. But do realize, not all Kanji are equal in importance, and if you really want to cut corners, just memorize how they look and not how to write them since you'll probably be texting them or just looking at them more often than writing by hand.

And when you come, try to throw yourself in situations where you'll be speaking to people in Japanese. Do you know what area you want to stay in? I can give you the rundown. Well if I actually know it.

Also, if you want to mention what about the culture you like, I could try to give advice for studying what you're interested about, which is important. I

 

[OtherSideofSky]

You're never going to learn enough to really function fully before you get here (I'm actually studying abroad in Japan right now myself), so focus on the basics. If you take classes in Japan and go out of your way to talk with people, you should get up to speed reasonably fast. I personally used Genki when I studied Japanese at university before coming, and it seems to have done a pretty good job, so maybe give that a try.

Also, Renshuu.org is great for practicing and drilling yourself on things. You definitely want to make sure you're doing something to practice your language skills for at least an hour a day if you want to see results.

When you get good enough to read, Japanese comics and children's books are a good place to start. The material can be a bit juvenile, naturally, but the important thing is that they'll help you build a practical vocabulary and learn to read faster. Avoid things with a lot of made up words in them at first.

 

[lobster1077]

Most universities have a japanese course or two, no reason you couldn't sneak into a lecture and learn a little.

 

[Macgyvercas]

Don't use Rosetta Stone

Why not? What is wrong with it? I don't know anything about it but I have heard good things about it and I was wondering what your opinion was.

From what I've heard about the Japanese version, the dialect it uses is from only one area of Japan, and that area isn't Tokyo.

 

[Smertnik]

I can heartily recommend <url=www.textfugu.com>Textfugu. It's an online textbook made by basically one guy. He does an exceptional job explaining everything and provides useful motivational and learning advice. He's also constantly updating and expanding it. It's very well suited for beginners, in my opinion.
A few chapters are free, so you can check it out first if you like.

<url=http://www.tofugu.com/japanese-resources/#top>These sites may come in handy for you as well.

 

[FernandoV]

Let's just be real here, you're not going to learn the language, you'll speak to them in a loud voice because the louder you speak the English, the better they understand, they'll pretend to understand you when you speak in your broken 20 word japanese that you learned a few weeks before the trip and when you leave there all you'll know about Japan is video games and noodle bowls.

Your being overly pessimistic. If he's not lazy and actually puts in the work needed to begin learning a language; I see no reason why he couldn't. You really can do most anything with sheer unrelenting persistence, will, and a single-mindedness akin to obsession.

You're being overly optimistic. People don't often stick to their goals.

 

[TheVioletBandit]

Let's just be real here, you're not going to learn the language, you'll speak to them in a loud voice because the louder you speak the English, the better they understand, they'll pretend to understand you when you speak in your broken 20 word japanese that you learned a few weeks before the trip and when you leave there all you'll know about Japan is video games and noodle bowls.

Your being overly pessimistic. If he's not lazy and actually puts in the work needed to begin learning a language; I see no reason why he couldn't. You really can do most anything with sheer unrelenting persistence, will, and a single-mindedness akin to obsession.

You're being overly optimistic. People don't often stick to their goals.

Of all my many many faults being overly optimistic is not one of them. I am very aware that a lot of people won't stick to their goals or even make goals for themselves and so never succeed in anything, but I will. I make a goal, and I see that goal to fruition. It's almost never easy and I am forced to do some serious problem solving along the way, but what I lack in talent, intelligence, etc I make up for in unrelenting persistence. So if I have this kind of determination surely other people do as well, and not giving people the benefit of the doubt is pessimism (most likely based on observation) but pessimism nonetheless.

 

[FernandoV]

Let's just be real here, you're not going to learn the language, you'll speak to them in a loud voice because the louder you speak the English, the better they understand, they'll pretend to understand you when you speak in your broken 20 word japanese that you learned a few weeks before the trip and when you leave there all you'll know about Japan is video games and noodle bowls.

Your being overly pessimistic. If he's not lazy and actually puts in the work needed to begin learning a language; I see no reason why he couldn't. You really can do most anything with sheer unrelenting persistence, will, and a single-mindedness akin to obsession.

You're being overly optimistic. People don't often stick to their goals.

Of all my many many faults being overly optimistic is not one of them. I am very aware that a lot of people won't stick to their goals or even make goals for themselves and so never succeed in anything, but I will. I make a goal, and I see that goal to fruition. It's almost never easy and I am forced to do some serious problem solving along the way, but what I lack in talent, intelligence, etc I make up for in unrelenting persistence. So if I have this kind of determination surely other people do as well, and not giving people the benefit of the doubt is pessimism (most likely based on observation) but pessimism nonetheless.

More power to you if you believe that.

 

[Daniel Peragine]

In addition to all the wonderful help the people in this thread have given, I have one tip for you that might brighten your view of the language:

While Kanji has thousands of different symbols that you need to learn, there's a simpler way to break some of them down.

Here's an example for you: The Kanji symbol &#27833; (pronounced, Ah-boo-rah) is the symbol that translates to oil in English. Now, here's the tip: the three dashes you see on the left indicate that the Kanji is a liquid of some sort. Other examples could be seen here in &#27713; (juice), &#28201;&#28271; (warm water), or here for the adjective wet (&#28287.

I know that doesn't give you much, and I wish I could give some better examples, but that's the best one I can give. This happens in many Kanji, so if this is something you understand, you should be on a good track with it. If I find more, I'll contribute to this thread again! ^_^

Another suggestion I can give you is to get a Japanese pen pal. It works wonders for your grammar and use of Kanji where they become familiar in your everyday speech. If you have any friends who may be willing to learn with you, repetition and use as often as possible will ensure that not only will you build your skill, you can also hone it. Like someone said earlier, those who speak it, and see that you're actually making an effort, will readily help you!

I wish you speed, and luck on your journey into this fantastic language and culture! &#24184;&#36939;(Koh-oon)!