Japanese Forums, TV and Music links

The Japan Blog ListA list of all of the popular Japan blogs on the net. Includes blogs on Japanese language, culture and many many more.

TV -


*You can watch Japanese TV online through various sites. Just google "free Japanese tv". I'm in the midst of trying to find a good one that is easy to use. If anyone knows of one, please let me know.


*You Tube- probably the easiest and quickest way to get access to tons of Japanese TV, music and anime. You will get a broader choice if you are able to type in Japanese. I reccomend watching children's cartoons such as Anpanman. They have heaps of full episodes available to watch. Just type in アンパンマン (anpanmann) or anpanman in English if you don't have a Japanese language pack. (if you have a smartphone you should be able to add Japanese to your language list.)
You can also scroll down to the bottom of the You Tube page and change the location to Japan to get a wide range of videos to choose from.


Forums -


*Japanese Reference (JREF)   http://www.jref.com/
The Japan Directory helps you to generate reliable search results by mining for hidden data related to almost every aspect of Japan. We are constantly trying to provide you with extensive and useful web resources.
The Japan Forum is one of the liveliest places to discuss all Japan-related things, be it learning Japanese language, serious debates about history and politics, travel questions or just chit-chat about pop culture.
Japan Reference allows its registered members to share their pictures of Japan in the Japan Photo Gallery and Japan Pop Culture Gallery


*Gaijin Pot - http://forum.gaijinpot.com/
This site is aimed more at foreigners already living in Japan but has a large Japan forum section.


*Japanese Language forum -  http://forums.about.com/ab-japanese
About.com Japanese Language forum. It is the ideal place for you to ask questions, discuss the Japanese language, and to meet other people with an interest in Japanese.


*Japan Forum - http://www.japanforum.com/forum/
Doesn't seem to have been updated in a long time but still has a steady flow of visitors.


I will update and add more links shortly. If you know of any good forums or sites, please share them with me. :)

For a free video revealing the #1 secret to Learning Japanese Fast visit http://speedjapaneselearning.com/ftp1/

Best Way to Learn Japanese

As the old (and rather crude) saying goes, there's more than one way to skin a cat. While learning Japanese is no exception, there are good ways and not so good ways to go about it. The old-fashioned way to learn Japanese was to start off with a little intro into the pronunciation, learn a few greetings and phrases, then just when it seemed to be getting fun, you were hit over the head with the grammar hammer and dragged through endless hours of sentence structure, verb structure, use of particles etc, etc. Not only does this suck all the fun out of learning Japanese, (with the exception of those sickos who actually enjoy it;-) it is totally the wrong way to go about it. When you started learning your first language at the age of about one or so, how many of your parents whipped out a text-book and started teaching you the nitty gritty of conjugating verbs? My guess is that you learnt by observation. By watching and listening and eventually repeating what you heard. Learning Japanese should be no different.

Immersing yourself into the language as much as possible gives you the best opportunity to absorb it and resembles a child learning their mother tongue. From that you could infer that the best way to learn Japanese is to go to Japan and surround yourself with the language 24/7. But while it is probably the best and quickest way, moving to another country in order to learn Japanese is simply not a luxury most people can afford. However there are other ways in which to immerse yourself into the language without actually having to go there. They include:

* Taking an online or classroom course.

* Chatting with Japanese friends.

* Reading Japanese books or manga.

* Watching Japanese TV or movies.

* Listening to Japanese music or Radio.

I would say the best way to learn Japanese with minimum cost and maximum speed would be to combine an online course with a couple (or all) of the other methods. This is where individual choice of cat skinning comes into play. I know some people learn Japanese almost solely through listening to Japanese music, and reach a level that they can have a reasonable conversation at. But unless you really enjoy the music and can listen to it over and over again, it is not going to sink in. As is the case with basically everything we do or learn in life, it's much easier when we enjoy ourselves.

Lets take a closer look at the options I've listed as supplements to an online (or classroom) course. The first one was chatting with Japanese friends. When I started learning Japanese in high school, I was also playing tennis at an academy in Australia and was really lucky to have a constant stream of Japanese players at the center. I would practice any words or phrases I had learnt the previous day in class and constantly be asking them how to say such and such in Japanese. They would also benefit from the exchange as they'd be asking similar questions about speaking English. This method of give and take is a great way to learn Japanese and review what you have been studying in your online or classroom course. Even if you don't have any Japanese friends there are plenty of sites dedicated to these type of give and take chats, Japanese forums and places to meet Japanese friends on the net.

The remaining three ways I've listed to learn Japanese are really up to you. Whether you prefer reading, listening to music or watching TV or a combination of all three, there is a huge variety of free material out there for you to choose from. Most Japanese books require you to at least be able to read the hiragnana alphabet but reading books aimed at younger children is a great way to improve your reading skills while picking up new words and sentence structure as you go. Japanese TV and music are obviously going to be similar, children's programs and nursery rhymes may not be the most stimulating material for an adult but they are a great way to start learning Japanese. Alternatively you could battle it out with some more mature TV shows and songs if watching the Japanese version of The Wiggles isn't your cup of Japanese tea. Whatever you choose to do, remember that enjoying yourself while you do it is without a doubt the best way to learn Japanese.

For a free video revealing the #1 secret to Learning Japanese Fast visit http://speedjapaneselearning.com/ftp1/

Learning Japanese - How to Start

The first thing you need  to tackle when starting your journey into learning Japanese is a quick run through pronunciation. But WAIT! Before you tune out and the "boring" lights start blinking, it's much easier than you think. One of the great things about Japanese is that there are only 47 characters with 50 basic sounds. There are also another 55 variations to those sounds, but they only consist of simple changes like a 'ka' becomimg a 'ga', or a 'sa' a 'za'. When you compare that to English, which has over 500 sounds, it's not that bad at all right?
After you get the general gist of the pronunciation (just a few runs through the alphabet is fine to start) you should start adding a few basic words to your vocabulary and practicing your pronunciation at the same time. Most people start with the 'konnichi wa's' and 'arigatou's' but I say go with whatever tickles your fancy. Of course you will have to learn the pleasantries to really start delving into the language, but there's no reason why you can't mix it up by learning some words of particular interest to you. Remember, learning a language is meant to be fun! Plus, you are much more likely to remember a word that you want to learn rather than one that has just been shoved in front of you. I started learning Japanese when I was 15, and being of 'that age', I wanted to know all the rude words. But because that was what I was interested in, I never forgot them!
After you learn the general greetings, phrases and some words of personal interest you are eventually going to run into that disgusting four letter word, grammar. But again, DON'T STRESS! You needn't put anywhere near the emphasis most text books and teachers will have you believe on grammar in order to get to conversational level in Japanese. Think about it, when you started speaking English at the age of about 2, did your Mum whip out the textbook and start teaching you about conjugating your verbs?! Of course a little background on the basic sentence structure will help accelerate your learning a great deal but don't get too bogged down on the technical stuff. Remember, you already learnt a language well enough to have a reasonable conversation before you ever opnened a textbook. You learnt by observation. By watching and listening to your parents and the people around you and by eventually repeating what you heard. So trying to replicate that environment is a great way to learn a second language. The best possible way to do this is to go Japan and study there, surrounding yourself with Japanese 24/7. But I understand that is just not an option for most people. The next best thing you can do is to start an online or classroom course and combine that with a couple of the following:
* Chatting with Japanese friends. (face to face or through online chats or forums.)
* Reading Japanese manga or books. (children's books are very good for building your vocabulary and for learning to read Japanese.)
* Listening to Japanese music / radio. (again, children's songs will be easier to pick up on to begin with.)
* Watching movies or TV shows. (you can watch ten minute episodes of shows like 'Anpanman' on you tube. It's a cartoon aimed at 2-3 year olds but again very good for learning the language.)
GANBATTE! (good luck) and HAVE FUN!

For a free video revealing the #1 secret to Learning Japanese Fast visit http://speedjapaneselearning.com/ftp1/

Learning Japanese Online - The Pros and Cons

If you have been looking into learning Japanese, you may have noticed that a few online courses have started popping up in the last few years. You may have also be wondering whether they're worth the money and how they compare to the more traditional classroom courses. To be honest I was a little sceptical at first due to the lack of feedback you tend to get from a computer screen.=) So originally I would have put them in the same bracket as the 'do it yourself' books, DVDs etc. Ok for a supplement to a proper course or if you just want to learn a few phrases but not if you really want to be able to speak the language. But after checking out a few of the better ones out there recently, I realised they really have a lot to offer. So I decided to put together a list of the pros and cons of learning Japanese online. Here we go.

PROS:

* FREEDOM/ FLEXIBILITY- The most obvious benefit of an online course is that you get to choose when and where to do your lessons. With most courses giving you option of transferring the audio, video and written lessons to your ipod, mp3 player etc. you can even study on the train or in your lunch break.

* PRICE- There a couple of really good online courses going for under a hundred dollars at the moment (with 30-60 day money back guarantees) which is significantly less than you will pay for any decent classroom course or book/DVD/CD deal. And when you think about the fact that unlike a classroom course, you can re-do the lessons as many times as you like, you definitely get more value for your money.

* PACE- With online courses you get to set the pace that you want to work at and can go back and repeat anything you didn't get the first time round or skip over parts you may already know.

CONS:

* FEEDBACK- The main (and possibly only) negative aspect of an online language course is that you don't have a teacher sitting with you as you go, correcting your mistakes and giving you advise and encouragement. Although a couple of online japanese courses have recently added a 'live video lesson' aspect to their packages to counteract this, some people may prefer the guidance of an expert on hand at all times.

PRO or CON?:

* CLASSMATES- The last one really depends on the individual as to whether it falls into the positive or negative side of the table. Some people may prefer the company of other students during the lesson for the purpose of feedback, comparing notes or just simply the social aspect of a group lesson. On the other hand, a lot of people prefer to study by themselves, finding it easier to concentrate and less distracting than being in a class full of people.

CONCLUSION:

The final decision can only be made by you but if I were to have my time again, I'd go with learning Japanese online because of the flexibility and pace issues. Of course, if you really want to get yourself on the fast track to speaking Japanese fluently you could always do both!

For a free video revealing the #1 secret to Learning Japanese Fast visit http://speedjapaneselearning.com/ftp1/