How to Learn Japanese (2 page)

Where to start
Start by learning the most common and most useful phrases that you will hear in daily conversation in Japan.
I have provided a list on my website
here
. Note that you must familiarise yourself with the rules of Japanese
pronunciation as soon as possible if you have no source of spoken Japanese to relate these phrases to. If
you do not, you are likely to pick up bad habits that will take time to unlearn.
Pronunciation
is dealt with in the next chapter.

Next, read about Japanese grammar. A lightweight book like
Japanese Grammar
is ideal at this stage. You
don’t have to take everything in right away but hopefully you will start to relate some of the grammar to the phrases you have learned. Simply parroting phrases with no real understanding of how they are put together will not get you very far.

Once you have some basics you should go on to studying dialogues and short passages in textbooks like
Japanese for Busy People
. If possible, you should attend classes somewhere. I discuss possible options
here
.

If you are going to learn Japanese. the sooner you start the better. This definitely applies to learning to read and write. You should begin with
katakana
(characters used for foreign loan words), then go on to
hiragana
(the basic Japanese script –
hiragana
and
katakana
are together known as
kana)
and finally
kanji
(Chinese characters)
.
I discuss methods of attaining literacy in Japanese
here
.

Once you have good grasp of basic grammar and vocabulary, you will need to start reading books aimed at Japanese learners. I recommend several
here
. Watching Japanese TV programs and films regularly will aid
your progress. Gain as much speaking practice as possible. Taking exams in Japanese like the JLPT may provide you with motivation.

If you stick with a logical and disciplined approach to your
kanji
studies, you may reach the point at which you can start reading Japanese articles, stories and novels. This is a real accomplishment and further than many will ever get. It is possible to reach this point within a year with an efficient study plan and hard work.

Should I learn to read and write Japanese?
This depends on you and your goals. Becoming literate in Japanese is a formidable task. Many foreigners decide that they only want to speak Japanese. Someone who plans to stay a couple of months in Japan may have different goals to someone who marries a Japanese person and intends to live in Japan for a long time.

It is perfectly possible to write Japanese in roman letters (
romaji
) and you could, for example, communicate with Japanese people by email using this method. Obviously, you will not be able to read real Japanese but you would be able to ask nearby Japanese people to read things for you if necessary (assuming you were reasonably fluent).

Another option is to learn the
kana
. There are about 50
hiragana
and 50
katakana
. This can be done fairly quickly and will definitely be of use to you if you go to Japan. This would allow you to read some signs and shop names (useful for knowing where to get off on the train or finding all-you-can-eat restaurants!).

I recommend learning
katakana
first as they are a little easier to write and are generally used for English loan words (although some loan words are from other languages). Thus an English native speaker would be able to start understanding real Japanese immediately upon mastering
katakana
(though only to a very limited extent). Learning
hiragana
is worthwhile but there is less “instant gratification” as without a vocabulary you will have to look unknown words up in the dictionary. You will not be able to read notices or newspaper articles without a thorough knowledge of
kanji.

Finally, and this is the course I recommend, you could learn
kana
and
kanji
. As stated, there are about 100
kana.
These should be learnt first and shouldn't pose too much difficulty. The main hurdle is the
kanji
. There are 1945
jouyou
(everyday use)
kanji
and about another 100 name
kanji
(names are notoriously difficult to read). Each
kanji
may contain up to 30 strokes (although the majority contain much less than this) and can have several pronunciations.

Learning
kanji
is difficult but not impossible and the skill is sure to impress most people you meet. There are several other reasons for learning
kanji
, the chief one being that they are essential to read real Japanese and distinguish between the many homonyms inherent in Japanese. In addition, many consider they are aesthetically pleasing. The topic of learning
kanji
is covered in more detail
below
.

Approaches to learning
Now that you have decided to learn Japanese let’s look at some effective ways to study. Previous experience studying other languages will help you a little as you will know what kind of methods work for you and you will have some kind of idea of the time and effort involved.

Japanese is very different to English and thus harder for English speakers to learn than a relatively similar language like, say, French. Koreans tend to pick up Japanese quite quickly as Korean and Japanese grammar share some similarities. Likewise, Chinese people have a tremendous advantage with the writing system as they learn
kanji
at school. A background in either of these two languages would definitely be beneficial; however, it is perfectly possible to learn from scratch. Indeed, English speakers actually have one advantage over Chinese speakers as Japanese borrows many words from English.

Finding a teacher
Once you have read a couple of books and articles and memorised the most common phrases, it's worth finding yourself a teacher. Most people will not become fluent in Japanese without some kind of teacher. Sadly, it has been my experience that good Japanese teachers are hard to find.

A good teacher should want you to improve, make learning interesting (up to a point), speak at a level you can understand or almost understand and correct your mistakes and give you feedback. They should adapt their teaching methods to suit your learning style. They should not leave you behind to concentrate on more advanced students nor hold you back at the pace of lower level students.

A good teacher is not necessarily a professional; by having an understanding of what you need as a student you can turn friends or language partners into effective teachers. A good teacher does not necessarily have to speak English well; certainly, the less English they use in class, the better.

Language schools
There are many private language schools in Japan and these usually charge around 2-3 thousand yen per hour for a group class of anything up to 10 students. Students can be from various countries which can lead to problems as the English speakers struggle to keep up with the Koreans and Chinese. Find a class where you do not struggle at the bottom or become bored at the top. Many schools will operate a level system based on exams.

You will likely have to pay in advance to enter a school like this so I strongly suggest caution before spending a great deal of money. Do other foreigners recommend the place? What difference did it make to their Japanese? I have seen many people drop out of such courses for a number of reasons ranging from a change of employer and schedule to inability to keep up with the homework.
I do not recommend private language schools for those living in Japan due to the cost and abundance of potential free learning material. If you can get your company to pay for your classes, or you have no problem with the cost, then they can work well. If you are on a budget, make sure you check out the other options before spending your hard-earned yen.

Volunteer language schools are quite common in Japan especially in the larger cities. Classes tend to be quite cheap (maybe a couple of thousand yen per term) and again you will find a mix of nationalities. The teachers tend to be retired people or aspiring Japanese teachers (becoming a qualified teacher of Japanese is quite an arduous task). These organisations can usually be found advertising through the local international centre or foreigner magazines. It’s well worth going to classes like these and sometimes you can come to an arrangement for cheap private lessons with one of the teachers. Classes are also a good place to find study partners if you're having trouble finding like-minded students.

You could also try placing a wanted-ad at the local international centre or searching online for a teacher/school. With the advancement of web-cam technology, it is possible to learn Japanese over the net. If you decide to go this route, make sure you are getting value for money.

Language exchange
Language exchange is another common method for learning and it’s extremely easy to find Japanese people who will offer to teach you Japanese in return for some English. Language exchange most often takes place in cafés or through a chat program on the net.

The problem here, especially for beginner learners of Japanese, is that the Japanese person will have the linguistic advantage and end up explaining everything in English, the result being that a lot of time is spent speaking in English and very little spent speaking in Japanese. Remember that even an inexperienced English teacher can earn about 3,000 yen per hour teaching privately. If you are going to try language exchange, be sure to strictly divide the time equally and insist on speaking only in Japanese during the allotted time.

Women should note that meeting strangers for language exchange can be dangerous and should always arrange such meetings in public places. Japan has a reputation as a safe country but police still haven't caught the man who likely killed English teacher Lindsay Hawker.

Self-study
You will have to discipline yourself to do a certain amount of study on your own time whether you attend regular Japanese classes or not. A general guideline for those attending classes is to spend at least an equivalent amount of time on self-study. If you don’t attend classes you should try to set aside a
minimum
of four half hour periods a week for study. Of course, the more you study the better and those who regularly undertake rigorous academic programs will be able to do more.

An English friend of mine astounded people with the speed with which he learnt Japanese. His secret? He was a smart guy who studied every evening for a couple of hours in coffee shops. Another friend of mine was a Chinese man whose aim was to get into university to study medicine. He studied an incredible 13 hours a day! It's always good to meet successful students - hopefully they will provide you with some inspiration.

Self study tips
l
Find a nice, quiet place where you will not be interrupted to study.
l
Use time spent travelling to study; train journeys are a great opportunity to review your
kanji
.
l
Vary your study material.
Kanji
, vocabulary, grammar, listening, reading, writing and speaking should

all be practised.
l
Have a goal. This could be to finish reading a certain book, to learn a certain number of flashcards,
to pass a certain exam or even to speak better Japanese than your annoying friend (this last one is a
joke).
l
Have a study plan. Writing out a detailed ten week study plan is not necessary but you should at
least have an idea what you will be studying over the next month. For example I might decide that
over the next two weeks I'm going to read through a book like
A Dictionary of Basic Japanese
Sentence Patterns
while reviewing the first 500
kanji
.
l
Use your self-study time efficiently. Get what you need to do, done. Don't study half-heartedly.
l
Keep a diary of what and how long you studied. How will you look back and judge your progress if
you do not have a record of what you have done? Progress is very hard to measure at the
intermediate and advanced levels and a diary will help keep you on the right track.
l
Study with people who inspire and motivate you. Try not to study with friends who interrupt your
studies.
l
Study at pace you can consistently achieve - do not study so much that you burn out especially at
first!
l
Have fun! Learning Japanese is very rewarding! You will do much better if you are enjoying yourself
learning Japanese than if you are not.

Building vocabulary
Vocabulary is the bedrock upon which your language skills are built. Building your vocabulary is a cumulative endeavour and you should aim to learn new words consistently whilst reviewing the older vocabulary regularly.

One of my favourite methods to learn vocabulary is to make my own flash cards. All you need is some paper, a pen and some scissors. Cut the paper up into small rectangles and write the Japanese word you want to remember on one side and the English equivalent on the other. Some like to write one word upside down as it will appear the right way up when the card is flipped. Simply shuffle the cards and go through the deck separating the words you know from the words you don’t know. You will need to repeat the process with the words you didn’t know until they are fully ingrained in your memory. You should practice going from Japanese to English and vice versa.