apexa1

Lol wtf I thought it was a few months old at most, pretty mind blown that it's 20 years old! Wasn't expecting that

Of course, look at actors! Some of them nail it perfectly to the point where you can't tell what their native language really is. A good example I know of is Hugh Laurie (Dr House from House MD). He's actually British

Lol I can't deny I like some J-pop, dunno what my friends would think if they found out. Who cares though. Ganbatte!

My number 1 tip is to be persistent! What I mean is, have a set amount you should do everyday or whenever, and keep to the schedule. It will seem daunting at first, but persistence is the key to most things. if there's something you can't understand, just come back to it the next day. Good luck!

Katakana for a few reaons. Firstly I learned hiragana first so naturally I'm more at home with it compared to katakana. Also as someone else said, katakana has characters that look similar. I should really practice them more since I still occasionally have to think about a certain character

Yes in high school I wanted to stop taking the Japanese class because of how difficult it was becoming but my teacher convinced me not too. I'm glad I listened because I'd be so angry at myself if I did quit

Assuming you have internet access, there is a Google Translate app for Android. I don't think there is anything that works offline. It would have to contain a complete dictionary and a complete grammar, plus the programming for using both of them, which I'm pretty sure is technologically unfeasible for your average smartphone/tablet.

Unfortunately this is the case. Any program would just be too big for a smartphone to handle. If there is any, I can't imagine them being terribly accurate.

It's helpful but should only be a tool in your toolbox of learning Japanese. It doesn't cover a whole lot so while you might learn some basic things, often you'll find you have no idea what something else means. it's worth a try though to see if you like it.

Japanese is the hardest to me, I've only tried french and Japanese though and it's the harder between the two. So I don't really have much experience to make a better call but yeah.

I find learning a language fun in itself. I don't really need to use a certain method to enjoy it since it's all good to me. With that said, I prefer reading/writing over speaking/listening though

Quite a helpful post. DO you mind if I print this out to use for study? Plurals have always been a weak point to my learning

Thanks!

The thing is, Japanese didn't just import the writing system from China. They also imported tons of words. Words of Chinese origin are called kango 漢語 and words of native Japanese origin are called wago 和語. Most wago are written with a single kanji, and most kango are written with two or more.

Kanji is insanely helpful when remembering new words. For example, I know the wago "hitori" 独り、which means "one person" (with a nuance of loneliness, isolation, or independence, unlike 一人 which has the same meaning and pronunciation, but just means literally numerically one person). I know that when it's used in kango, it's pronounced as "doku." And I know the wago manabu 学ぶ, to learn, whose kango pronunciation is "gaku." So the first time I heard the word "dokugaku" 独学, I instantly knew what it meant without having to look it up in a dictionary - "self study."

Kanji is a pain in the ass, sure, but once you pick up the common ones, you'll find it makes your language study much easier.

This is actually pretty interesting. I had no idea lol. Thanks for sharing 13!

I watch Sasuke quite a lot. You guys might know it as Ninja Warrior. It's a reality tv show. Basically its the hardest obstacle course in the world, it's pretty great to watch for anyone really. Check out out some time!

I've always liked the look of katakana so when I saw it was available as a class in highschool I decided to take the class. One of the best decisions of my life.

A textbook is the best place to start. There are lots out there, some better than others. Textbooks usually cover all the kana in the Hiragana/Katakana alphabets and usually 50-100 Kanji. It can be done at your own pace and they usually include a cd with all the resources.

I recommend Genki to start good luck

On the youtube topic, you can find all sorts of helpful resources on youtube. It's a great place to start to just get a feel for what it sounds like. Good luck!

Yeah either is fine, it depends really on where you're referring to. In australia we use take a bath/shower

As said on the first page, it depends on why I'm reading. If it's not important I'll glance over it quickly but if I'm looking for something than I read much slower and focus more on the text.

Thats a hard question but I'd have to say both. Visual and Auditory are both important to me and I can't really place one above the other in terms of effectiveness.

I think there would be more movies and books in english than most other languages combined. Your students are missing out ^^

I think something a little less common such as norweigan or serbian. Not sure how difficult they are compared to Japanese. Could be a cool experience though

Some words may seem useless but you never know when you might need to use them it's sure better than reaching for a dictionary mid-conversation. Anyway this is a good idea so thanks for sharing

Subbed for me 99% of the time. Secondary voice actors just can't capture the moment like the original. I've never come across a dub thats better than the original audio.

I guess it really depends on future events, but english or chinese may continue to evolve and maybe one day merge together. That would probably be the universal language, though it's really hard to forsee.

I've never really thought of this. I guess it could work if you're also talking to others from the language while you play but I can't imagine you'd learn too much from games alone.