So, I knew most of what Koichi said about the “alphabets’. What he did say that interests me is that his method of learning Kanji (the chinese based characters) is easier than any other. I have some experience to judge his claim and I hope that he is correct:-)
I have some applications for my Macbook and some apps for my iPod Touch that I use for studying Japanese. In this post, I’ll tell you about the apps that I use on my Touch.
The first that pops to mind is called Kanji Fuda. It has sixteen tiles and when you touch a tile it flips to reveal a kanji (chinese based characters) or the meaning in English and Kana. If two match, they stay up. Otherwise, they turn back over and you have to search. It’s a great game. Helping me to refresh my memory and learn some new kanji. Right now the number of kanji is limited but the creator is going to post more.
Next is sticky study. A flashcard app for studying hiragana and katakana. The two phonetic alphabets used in conjunction with the kanji. My hiragana is pretty good, but, my katakana has a ways to go.
For a more full on study, I use an app called Japanese Flip. It is a flash card program with the Kanji arranged in four levels. You can have the kanji show by itself or with kana below it. I have it set for both. You then tap to show the answer. You tap to indicate if you were correct in your answer. It keeps track of your answers to present you with the ones that you missed more often.
I have discovered an online Japanese “textbook” called Textfugu. The guy who created it does these great videos on YouTube about learning Japanese. He is very funny and sincere. People were always asking him to recommend a textbook and he was always recommending texts that he felt were “ok”. He got laid off from his job and decided to write a textbook himself. What evolved is an online textbook with all of the advantages of video and such. I am beginning with the free lessons. In the first lesson he has you write down why you want to study Japanese. Then, he goes through the excuses. I am now beginning my language learning log.
I began this voyage a long time ago. I am above survival level, and, have floated there for a long time. I want to get to where I can easily converse with native speakers in Japanese. Next!
Got this little guy a week ago and I’m totally wrapped! It does so much and weighs nothing and is small enough to fit in my shirt pocket. I’m even reading books on it. When I’m travelling, I’ll be able to leave my macbook with a friend and just use this and internet cafes.
The Jim Experience of Life 