Top Ten Tips

Looking for the best tips for learning Japanese? Let us help you on your way with these ten helpful pointers.

Our top tips for learning Japanese

1. Flash cards are the first step to understanding Japanese.

Flash cards are designed to help you remember the initially strange Japanese character system by burning images in to your long term memory. Getting a good flash card system should be one of the first steps you take before settling down to learn the intricacies of the language. It’ll also help to break down the barriers of Asian literature. Most people take a little time to adapt to a character system that’s not of the orthodox European origin.

2. Make learning Japanese a shared experience.

Time and time again, we hear the benefits of learning a language with a friend. And why? Because it’s absolutely true! Sometimes you’ll wake up and find it hard to focus on learning a second language, and understandably our priorities get lost in the chore of everyday life. A study friend will help to keep you on track and in tune with your goals.

3. Test yourself with native Japanese speakers.

Have you ever signed in to Skype and had a conversation pop up with a random Asian? It sounds slightly shady, but the reality is that many Japanese people contact Europeans and Americans for direct conversation to help test out their language skills. You can easily run a search by location to find Japanese people on Skype (they’ll only appear if they’ve agreed to be available to contact). Why not drop somebody a message in Japanese and see how long the conversation lasts. Best of all, there’s a block button if it goes too badly wrong!

4. Study Japanese media on YouTube.

If there’s one website that perfectly demonstrates the learning opportunities of the twenty first century, YouTube is it. Using the power of social media, it’s possible to tune in to user submitted videos from around the world - and it’s almost certain that if you look closely enough, you’ll find something of use. In our case, we have several million videos uploaded where the language is in Japanese. Get out there and subscribe to a few channels, the exposure to Japanese will immediately fast-track your studies. 

As if that wasn’t enough, you can even find entire YouTube channels dedicated to people looking to learn Japanese. Not bad for a free service!

5. Mix and match the katakana alphabet.

At first sight, yes, the 46 symbols of the katakana alphabet can be enough to convince even the most enthusiastic of pupils that a European language would be a lot easier to grasp. But if you’re serious about your studies, you can learn katakana in the space of an afternoon. It’s true! Find yourself a set of cards and draw on each of the katakana symbols. Now create an audio tape with 46 mini tracks featuring the pronunciation for each katakana symbol. Set the tape to randomize, and match the cards to the audio tracks. Repeat until you remember them! 

Rocket Japanese is filled with brilliant memory games and is well worth the investment if this kind of learning works for you.

6. You always have time to learn Japanese.

Oh yes you do! We’ve lost count of the number of times we’ve heard people explaining 1001 reasons why they don’t have time to educate themselves. The fact of the matter is, if you look closely enough, you’ll always find opportunities to learn. Cramming is a bad learning method when it comes to languages.

Short 15 minute bursts of revision have been scientifically proven to have more long term effect. So why not grab a few audio tapes and learn on the train? Or while you drive to work? The dog has to be walked at some point and the household chores have to be done. So throw on some headphones and study Japanese as you go. You’ll soon notice those testing words become that much easier to remember when your brain has been subconsciously responding to them.

7. Surround yourself in Japanese.

Get some sticky notes and unleash your studies upon the world. Here’s a quick idea. Set a couple of hours aside and go around your house sticking post-it notes to various items with their Japanese translations. This works best if you live alone…as opposed to learning the wrong terms after a cheeky room mate swaps the notes around! Really though, it makes a great difference to be constantly reminded of the words that you’re learning.

8. Record your daily progress in Japanese.

We all need to see some kind of progress to keep the faith when learning a new language. Don’t assume that memorizing whole novels of Japanese text is going to be enough to speak the language freely.

Instead make it a daily habit before bedtime to sit down and write a small entry to a journal in Japanese citing what you’ve done in the last 24 hours. During the early days, it only has to be 2 or 3 sentences. But make sure that you brush up with the dictionary and ensure that it’s correct.

Develop your journal over time and then go back and read through it. You’ll begin to associate the Japanese with the things that you’ve done - thus improving the memory process. It’s all about word association. Storyboard learning is widely used by those who are renowned for having phenomenal memorizing capabilities. See how it works for yourself.

9. Everybody needs a good problem solver.

It’s a myth that you need a teacher to learn Japanese. We can grasp a language by leveraging the resources and the influence of the people around us. Learning Japanese is no different. But one thing we certainly do need is someone to correct us when we’re wrong and guide us when we’re confused. Just like a parent raises a child, you’ll need a problem solver to ease you through any troubles as you get to grips with Japanese.

Don’t be a lone learner. Sign up to one of the many Japanese learning communities. You’ll find forums and groups all over the Internet and these can be priceless for seeking out help when you come unstuck. You’ve started on the right track by coming to this website!

10. Get a good professional Japanese course under your belt.

We believe that if you have the time, money and perseverance to take up a Japanese class in your local area, you should absolutely push the boat out and sign up for it. While they may be pricey and hard to get to, Japanese classes with other students are a fantastic environment for producing quick results in a sociable setting. You’ll bounce off other students and have plenty of opportunities to test your new found skills in a relaxed class. 

For many people, however, taking up a weekly class simply isn’t practical. Thankfully, there’s an alternative and its rapidly becoming even more popular than the traditional language class. Millions of people are learning online, and in Rocket Japanese, we have one of the most comprehensive learning programs for Japanese to date.

This spectacular software encompasses traditional text book tutoring with audio tracks, video media and a whole dedicated community. We have more about Rocket Japanese in our Rocket Japanese review, check it out and make up your own mind.

Follow these ten tips and you’ll soon be speaking, writing and understanding native Japanese!