Category Archives: Japanese Culture

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Preparing to go abroad

When I received my packet of information about studying abroad, there was a list of things I have to do before I can go abroad. One major thing is that I have to get a Visa for my long-term stay in Japan, which is more than 90 days, since I’ll be there for a whole semester. Another thing I have to do is pay for housing, otherwise I’ll be homeless in Japan, which wouldn’t be good. I have a whole list of things I have to do that were included in my mail. Some things have to be completed before I go abroad and some things were just giving me advance notice of what I’ll have to do when I get there.

Lately, I’ve been working on that list of things I have to do, so that when it is time for me to leave, I’ll be prepared or at least more prepared than the average person going abroad…I’m not sure about other international students so I won’t compare myself to them, since they’re probably more organized and prepared than I am. In addition to the advice and to-do list given to me from my college in Japan, I’ve been doing my own research using YouTube and reading other blogs about Japan that I hope will better prepare me for whatever situations I find myself in when I go to Japan.

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JLR: The Japanese Page

I haven’t written about a website JLR in a while, so here’s another one: The Japanese Page. I haven’t used this website, but I discovered it in the past and wanted to write about a JLR website instead of an app for a change.

What I like:

  • It’s free.
  • Beginner lessons
  • Intermediate and some Advance lessons
  • Free ebooks
  • Free downloads
  • Kanji practice (stroke order, multiple kanji lists such as JLPT N4 [I think the website goes by the old JLPT levels])
  • Listening practice and audio for ebooks
  • Seems like there are ways to connect with native speakers for language exchanges (you teach English and they teach you Japanese according to the Japanese advertisement on the right side of their website)
  • Teaches kana (hiragana and katakana)

What I don’t like:

  • I don’t actually use this website so I can’t really say I dislike anything, but I would like for them to update their JLPT level lists in accordance with the new levels (N5-N1)

Conclusion:

This seems like a good, free resource. If you have used this website, please comment below and tell me about your experience with it.

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Jumping on the Bandwagon

A lot of my friends and classmates have been telling me that I need to start watching Japanese dramas, saying it was a good way to get better at Japanese. Since I’m off from school for about three months and I’ll be going to study in Japan, I’ve decided to take some of their advice.

I grew up watching anime, so it’s a habit that’s followed me into adulthood; although, I watch anime less since I’m more focused on school. But, when I do watch anime, I try to see if I can catch any words I know in Japanese. Of course, that only works when I watch subbed anime, which is what I primarily watch now.

Recently, I’ve been watching a series called “Mainichi Kaasan,” which I’ve probably mentioned before in another post. Since I’ve been studying Japanese more seriously recently, I’ve noticed I understand a lot more. That and the series doesn’t use a lot of complicated grammar or advance vocabulary. As for Japanese drama, I’m slowly starting to watch it. I’ve started out with the series “Nihonjin no Shiranai Nihongo” or “The Japanese the Japanese (people) don’t know”.

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JLR: アカン日本語

アカン日本語 is an iPod/iPhone application that teaches slang words in Japanese.

What I like:

  • Teaches slang
  • Has English translation to accompany Japanese slang word
  • Explanations are in Japanese
  • Free

What I dislike:

  • I would be nice if there was an English translation for the Japanese explanations

Conclusion:

I recommend it.

Resources:

http://www.dico4u.com/en/

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JLR: Anime as Japanese Listening Practice

You may have heard of Crunchyroll, if you are an anime fan. It is a website where you can watch anime and other shows online, for free or with a subscription. I discovered an anime called 毎日母さん or as it is translated, kaasan’s mom life. This anime is about different aspects of a Japanese mother’s life. While the anime is not made to be Japanese learning material, I think it is a good tool to practice Japanese listening and reading skills.

Why?

  • Sometimes Japanese writing (kana and kanji) appears throughout the anime
  • You can learn new words
  • It is funny
  • The Japanese is not that difficult to understand if you have Elementary or Intermediate Japanese knowledge
  • The show has multiple short stories each episode
  • It is a cartoon
  • The children repeat words a lot
  • You can learn about Japanese culture from the show

Resources:

http://www.crunchyroll.com/

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JLR: My Japanese Coach

I have not played My Japanese Coach in a while, but it was one of the Japanese learning products I used before I could take classes. My Japanese Coach is a Nintendo DS game that starts teaching you Japanese through lessons and mini-games. The game is also available for iPod/iPhone users.

What I like:

  • Structured lessons at the beginning of the game
  • Cultural Facts
  • Builds vocabulary
  • Audio
  • Japanese writing practice
  • Mini-games that help you with listening, writing and reading practice
  • Dictionary and Phrasebook

What I dislike:

  • Structured lessons stop after a while, which means this game is only good for Elementary level grammar
  • This game is mostly for building vocabulary (I think it is suppose to teach about 1,000 words or so)

Conclusion:

It is okay when you are starting out learning Japanese, but should not be used as your primary language learning resource. I do really like the writing practice…somehow the interactive writing mini-games help me a lot with remembering characters and stroke order. However, this game becomes repetitive really fast, so you have to motivate yourself (especially when the structured lessons disappear and you are just given the ‘open lessons’ full of random vocabulary words).

Resources:

My memory (no joke)

My Japanese Coach (Nintendo DS version)

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JLR: Yes Japan

I found this website through Youtube, when I was doing some research about the college I will be studying at in Japan. Yes Japan is a partially free and mostly paid Japanese learning website.

What I like:

  • You can try it for free
  • Reasonably priced subscription
  • Grammar lessons
  • Video lessons
  • Real Japanese taught (YJ teaches distinctions between words and explains how Japanese people really talk)
  • Updated frequently
  • Textbook
  • Forum
  • Romaji/Kana/Kanji+ settings to view written Japanese
  • Written Japanese settings can be changed whenever you want
  • Learn kana (hiragana and katakana) and kanji
  • Audio
  • Quizzes
  • Manageable lessons

What I dislike:

  • I noticed a few times when I used the pop-up feature to see the reading of some vocabulary words in the Kanji+ mode that it wrote the romaji instead of kana. Although it was easier and faster to read, I was expecting kanji to appear.
  • Nothing to complain about since I have a free account.

Conclusion:

You should try it out. If you like it and do not have a set study plan or formal Japanese classes, this seems like a great program. My favorite aspect of this website is the video lessons. Just by watching a few of them, I learned new things, even though a lot of it was review material for me and a lot of my misconceptions and beginner mistakes were addressed in those introductory videos and lessons.

Resource:

http://www.yesjapan.com

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JLR: NHK Easy Japanese Lessons

If you are not familiar with NHK, you should check it out. NHK is an international broadcasting network that includes radio, television and its Internet website.

NHK Japanese Lessons are available online in multiple languages. Their lessons are available on the Internet for free (and for download) or if you have an iPhone (I do not know about Android) you can download the free app (available in multiple languages). There are other free Japanese learning material available on NHK’s website. These lessons only cover basic Japanese and is great for beginners.

NHK’s website also includes a lot of other great information. If you are going to Japan, you can watch some of their t.v. broadcast for free online (on their live stream). NHK has different t.v. programs to teach you Japanese or about Japanese culture as well as a program called Newsline, which covers news in Asia. There are a lot of great resources on their website.

Conclusion:

NHK is a great, free resource available in multiple languages. I recommend it.

Resources:

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/

(You can change the language of the website at the top right of the web page)

iTunes App store

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JLR: Hiragana Times and Glomaji

Hiragana Times:

This is a paid bilingual newspaper subscription website. What I like about this website is that each article is written in English, Japanese (with furigana above kanji, kana and romaji). There is audio if you pay for it. I think that this is a great resource if you want to pay for it. I do not use this website.

Glomaji:

This is a new website created by Hiragana Times. It’s an international community, where you can practice your Japanese with both native and non-native speakers/students of Japanese. This website uses romaji. I do not use this website, because romaji can become a handicap when you want to learn Japanese, but I like the concept.

Resources:

Hiragana Times | ひらがなタイムズ “The best Japanese learning magazine”

http://www.glomaji.com/index.html