Japanese is one of the harder languages to learn (if it is not your native tongue of course). If you are serious about learning Japanese then you must become accustomed to their alphabet and vocabulary which is far different from what you are used to. Most likely, you will feel like you are in over your head in the beginning of your learning process. You may find relief in knowing that the approach you take to learning any language is all the same, so you should not be intimidated by a more difficult language such as Japanese because when you approach it the right way it would be the same as learning French or Spanish. Below are a few of the exact techniques that will take you from overwhelmed to a fluent Japanese speaker in less time than you think. A complete immersion in Japanese is the most effective way to learn it. If you can afford it, take a trip to Japan and let yourself wander without a translator. Whatever you’ve learned up till now may come back to you, and you will quickly increase your knowledge just to get by. Traveling to a country where the new language is spoken is the most effective way for most people to learn the language quickly. When you are in another country, you find yourself picking up the language naturally, in your everyday activities. If you cannot afford to travel to another country, try finding a neighborhood in which Japanese is the primary language. If none of this is possible, you can still give yourself a kind of immersion by buying or renting many Japanese movies and shows; don’t use the subtitles, but only listen to them in Japanese. Doing this will enable you to learn lots of Japanese vocabulary in a short time. Take it easy in the beginning. Don’t over complicate the process; start off with something simple like learning vocabulary. No matter what language you attempt to learn you will find multiple words that all say the same thing. Most of the wost that stand for a particular thing won’t be any use to you because they aren’t used by natives speakers so just concentrate on the few that people to talk with. When you start to recognize when it is appropriate to use one word over another in a given situation is the time that you can start to build a more complicated vocabulary. After you understand the difference in how to use certain words with the same meaning; you can add to your vocabulary whatever you like, without causing confusion or looking like an idiot. Listen to your Japanese language learning CDs and mp3s when you are doing other things. Naturally, there is great benefit to straightforward study, when you pay attention and practice your drills and assignments. The subconscious also absorbs information, however, even when you aren’t aware of it. So you can have your tapes or mp3 programs playing while you do other things, whether it’s cleaning the house, cooking or taking a drive to the store. This is a very easy way to learn, as you don’t have to do any conscious work, but it can really help. Believe it or not, you do remember things whether you are trying to or not! Taking this a step further, you could also try having the programs play while you are asleep! There are a lot of ways that you can learn Japanese. These suggestions are meant to improve your ability to learn Japanese and remember what you’ve heard. Let’s face it, if you are a Westerner who was not raised to understand any of the languages and cultures of the East, learning Japanese is not easy. Hopefully these hints will help you retain some of the language that you want to learn.
