Learn Japanese

Disclaimer

This course will include many resources and guides that will be updated as and when. I'm only one person and don't receive any funding or support so I can't update it every day or week! I'm also very busy. My main reasons for doing this is as a request and a hobby with web programming.

Please, take note that this course won't suit everyone's taste or methods of learning. You'll certainly find many people who argue it is "textbook" learning which is very boring, not efficient and teaches biased, outdated or uncommon uses of Japanese. "DO NOT learn from textbooks, textbook are all USELESS and teach you nothing about the real language. It's all UNNATURAL and you'll NEVER learn Japanese."

I disagree with the majority of negativity about the so-called "textbook method" as it depends on how it's written and whether its up-to-date. Please be aware that speaking/listening is different to reading/writing. If you are learning from textbooks, then make sure you are using the latest publications. Obviously, reading something published from the 1980's is going to include a lot of outdated material unlike ones recently published within the past few years.

However, don't get too fixed on certain textbooks that only focus on artificial knowledge designed to prepare you to pass exams rather than actually acquiring proper language skills that will help you in the real world.

Do not think that this only applies to apps or textbooks alone. Even real teachers, advice from Japanese natives or those who claim to teach "casual" non-textbook Japanese may be presented in the same, artificial or unhelpful way.

Of course, if all you care about is speaking to others "casually" (but end up being too informal and possibly coming across rude or sounding broken) or watching Anime very much sooner (with English subtitles), usually with set phrases and the lack of understanding to actually, grammatically construct real sentences or understand the real meaning behind what is spoken but instead, culturally Americanised, then the textbook method won't help you at all. However, if you're like me and wish to read and write properly, then this method will help much more effectively. You'll still be able to speak the language as you go but don't expect it to happen after a few weeks or months.

Casual Japanese often uses colloquial expressions, slang, informal grammar and commonly ignores rules that are not seen in most textbooks (Just like spoken English!). However, textbooks are not all bad and utterly pointless or useless; they provide a solid foundation for learning Japanese which can then be built upon through practice and exposure to natural Japanese used everyday. Following artificial examples or information given too strictly or religiously will have a very negative impact and you won't actually learn anything. For example:

1. あんたは日本語を話しますか
   (anata wa nihongo o hanashimasu ka)
   "Do you speak Japanese"

2. 日本語話せますか
   (nihongo hanasemasu ka)
   "Can you speak Japanese"

3. 日本語しゃべれますか
   (nihongo shaberemasu ka)
   "Can you speak Japanese"

In sentence (1) while grammatically correct, the Japanese here is unnatural and not something that a native speaker would use. In (2) and (3) the sentence is more natural and casual in Japanese.

So then, why teach the first example if it's unnatural, uncommon or even artificial?

Well, maybe it's because we are learning about basic verb use and the を particle, how it's used and the を particle's relevance to the verb 話す along with understanding the use of the は particle and it's different nuances compared to the が particle; this may seem pointless to some people but if you want to actually understand what's going on and be able to listen, speak and read without needing to constantly having to re-lookup everything every time, this is more helpful.

The fact is, it is very hard if not almost impossible to teach practical grammar with natural and realistic examples; while there are many that may seem suitable candidates, unfortunately, they also include grammatical points the learner has not yet covered, along with colloquial language, slang, cultural references, illiterate grammar, heavily contextual sentences, dialect and so on, that the learner simply does not know or understand even if they have already been exposed to the language. There is no point skipping around all the other topics because that will just cause confusion, discouragement and stress.

It is far more easier for learners with less linguistic skills of the language being taught (someone who knows nothing about the language and is completely new to it) with these unnatural and artificial examples only when certain points cannot be made; not everything can be explained using only English, after all. This is why most methods are taught this way. Otherwise, real life examples that can be used in context should be used when it's possible. It is up to the learner to use what they have learnt as a foundation and building blocks to learn the more natural and casual ways of the language by exploring real Japanese through other content like watching anime, playing videogames, reading books and so on.

The main aim is to show how the different parts of the sentence work; this is easier to learn at the very early stages than sentence (2) and (3) which may be best learnt later when the potential form and Transitive/Intransitive verbs are understood and the ability to think in Japanese rather than viewing everything from a westernised viewpoint, always trying to "convert" between English and Japanese based on English grammar rules and phrasing, otherwise you'll just end up confused, overloaded with too much conflicting information or the feeling like you are not really progressing and everything you learnt goes against what you've just learnt previously; yes, that is discouraging.

This is why it's important to make sure you have many other resources to use. Listen to native speakers and immerse yourself in Japanese content to learn more natural ways of speaking Japanese. Even if you don't know any Japanese people to talk to, there are plenty of video games, TV shows, YouTube videos, blogs and so on to learn from. If you love playing video games, try playing games that have voice acting and Japanese subtitles. If you enjoy watching anime, try finding one where you can turn on Japanese subtitles; find a method that works for you and you will enjoy doing.

Whatever you do, DO NOT learn from English dubs or subtitles as these tend to be inaccurate, purposefully mistranslated and full of woke localisations which will likely contain misandry, western politics, American slang, outdated memes and so on which simply do not exist in the original spoken or written Japanese.

You'll still be able to speak the language as you go but don't expect it to happen after a few weeks or months. Learning a language can actually take many years if not even longer than that.

If you are one of those that hate textbooks for whatever biased reason, then please know that the only one and true way of learning Japanese (or any language in fact) is to learn without using any English (or whatever language(s) you speak) at all and forget about all the rules that you ever learnt about any language, altogether. That's to say: learn Japanese, using only Japanese and nothing else. After all, that's how you learnt English, right? As a child, you knew nothing about language, then eventually, you understood it. The only reason it's hard to learn a new language is simply that you have spent most of your life, especially if you are now an adult, learning your own language, one that does not work the same as other languages and your inability to understand any other without falling back to your primary language for support.

Other than that, the best way to learn another language is to start small and build up your foundation by mastering each step carefully, prioritising depth and understanding instead of simply rushing ahead. This will help you understand how the language works and how to use it correctly. While it is tempting to skip ahead to advanced concepts, rushing can lead to unreliable knowledge, frustration and the feeling of being overwhelmed. If you don't have a strong foundation, you'll have a harder time using the language more fluently. A teacher of mine use to say "Don't run before you can walk", to mean if you try running before even learning how to walk, you'll constantly fail, make mistakes and very likely, still not be able to walk. It's kind of like the type of people who have been learning Japanese for over 10 years and yet, they still cannot understand the language except for basic phrases and patterns.

Learn the basics first, such as the alphabet, pronunciation and basic grammar; Focus on learning the most common words and phrases; Immerse yourself in the language as much as possible. This means listening to music, watching movies and TV shows, playing video games and reading books and articles in the language you're learning.

Don't be afraid to make mistakes. Everyone makes mistakes when learning a new language. The important thing is to keep practicing and learning from your mistakes. Learning a new language can be challenging but it's also incredibly rewarding. Don't get discouraged if you don't understand everything at first. It's important to start with the basics and build up your knowledge. As you learn more, you'll start to see patterns and how the language works. This will make it easier to learn new things and communicate effectively.

Updated: Tuesday, 6 February 2024