Clamping Down on Japanese Studies

[OriginalRen]

Hey all,

It's about time I finally learn some Japanese, and I need people's help. Seeing as how I live in the country now, it would be great to get some assistance from members of the community so I can start setting some real goals for myself. In short, I would like to be able to pass the JLPT 3 in 1-2 years time if possible, as I believe that given my background in languages, I can easily accomplish that goal.

First, a little bit about me and languages. I have studied and/or am studying 7 different languages in my lifetime. Aside from English, I am fluent in French and Italian, have studied some German, and also delved in Latin and Ancient Greek. That being said, grammar is not hard for me regardless of the language, so before you try to discourage me by saying that Japanese is hard, understand that I hear it and am exposed to it everyday of my life, so I have plenty of learning resources at my disposal.

Now before you tell me to check out the Japanese help thread here on Fuwanovel, please understand that unlike most users on Fuwanovel, I need to use Japanese in all contexts. Be it reading, writing, listening, or speaking, I need to try and learn it all. That being said, I have no idea where to start as a beginner. I have access to every single Japanese textbook alive, including written stories for all grade levels thanks to the Maruzen bookstore in Tokyo, but I would like to know a good place to start.

I am not a fan of online learning (unless of course it is with other people), and as such I would love a friend or 2 to be my kanji buddy and take a year to learn some with me. I need to be motivated, and like a regular workout routine or diet, I need to have support from a friend. If anyone is willing to be that friend, please let me know. I would also like a speaking buddy who is willing to talk to me every week or so. Let me know.

Overall, I need a place to start. Any help would be greatly appreciated, but again, please keep in my mind that my only goal is not to read the language, but speak it as well.

Thanks again Fuwa.

[SakamotoX]

I have never learned Japanese xD, but you will need to learn the 2000 kanji which is going to be a pain in the ass... 

 

I can't really recommend to you anything but I'm interested to know what kind of advices you will receive.

[Yuuko]

I know some basic Japanese and my plan is to start learning kanji soon so I could be your kanji buddy and learn them together, but I'm not the most social guy and I like doing stuff at my own pace so I'm not the best candinate. I can help you if you don't find better buddy.

[Cyrillej1]

Umm, I have a couple Japanese grammar books: Genki I & II, Nakama 1 & 2, Tobira, and A Dictionary of Intermediate Japanese Grammar.

 

Genki & Nakama were the beginner grammar books I used.

 

If you ever decide to pick any of those up and want to go over them together, I would be happy to help on Skype or something  (Though I can't guarantee I'll be a great teacher, lol... I could probably help explain some easy stuff at least. Like making sure you're pronouncing things right, etc).

 

Just an offer to help if you ever want to~  good luck!

[Amon]

Here are some recommendations from me, a guy who managed to get into advanced Japanese within 1,5 years:

http://pdfsr.com/pdf/cynics-quick-guide-on-how-to-learn-japanese-2

 

Good luck!

[rainsismyfav]

I just finished recently with two of my students. If you want 1-on-1 grammar sessions, you can hit me up. I teach (only) grammar from the scratch up until the end of "basic" grammar (it's about the end of JLPT N3). You can ask either Nosebleed or Keaton how the whole session thing goes. The biggest problem I can see though might be our timezone differences, and it's one of the main reason why I can't teach the others properly.

 

Or if you have any general questions really, you can always hit me up!

[Deep Blue]

I'm intrigued, you are living in Japan and you are currently teaching English to Japanese people how are you doing it exactly?aside from the fact that you are living in Japan too, I thought that your Japanese skills were almost perfect.

[Down]

Tbh considering how immersed you are you probably won't have too much difficulty grinding some kanjis.

 

I'd strongly recommend doing so in the jouyou order.

Basically, if you want to read ye porn novel you'll need easily 2500-3000 kanji to be comfortable (for non-moege), but for everyday life you'll use the 1000 most frequent kanji 95% more than the next 1500. And the same is true for the first 500 kanji which you'll use 90% more than the 500 next. Figures out of my ass but you get my point. So learning them in frequency order is really sensible, because I don't think you'll actually want to grind all of that shit.

 

Learn the grammar at the same time. I have no idea what is good beside Tae Kim, but as soon as you get the basic grammar done you can start absorbing how it all works through immersion.

 

As for learning how to write the kanjis... absolutely no idea, good luck :')

[Getsuya]

http://www.kanjidamage.com/

is what I use. Yeah it's a bit silly but in the end he teaches kanji in a MUCH more logical order than you normally get (IE he teaches them by radical so when you get to a new kanji it's just a combination of radicals you've already learned instead of being some random shape with no frame of reference to stick in your mind). I've memorized about 300 in 2 months of steady practice every day, and due to his silly memorization phrases it's easy for me to dredge up the ones that slip my mind when I'm reading.

[Zalor]

As much as I hate the Genki text books (because personally I'm primarily interested in reading and I find them patronizing), since you want to learn all aspects of the language (speaking, reading, etc.) Genki 1 and 2 is probably the best fit for you. Also, you may want to consider watching this video if you want to learn efficiently: 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IOZbJ7PCPk

 

 

Personally I memorized the 2200 basic use kanji using Heisig's Remembering the Kanji, and it took me around half a year. Heisig's method is highly controversial and many people find great benefit in it, and others hate it. Regardless of whether you use it or not, I recommend at least researching the Heisig method so you can determine for yourself whether it's a method for memorizing kanji you want to use. 

 

Edit: You may also want to watch this video 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfCc00zmPZI