/jp/ - Otaku Culture

This isn't Touhou.

Why not just take some courses at your college?

>>3777218
Somehow my college doesn't have japanese language... Maybe because its only spoken by one country and my campus is tiny as hell.

Classes don't actually provide much more information or material than you'd get from buying two or three text books, but if (like most people) you lack the willpower to study regularly, they're totally worth it. I couldn't progress significantly until I started taking classes.
Of course learning in Japan would be ideal and apparently would help with your other studies, but I'd definitely get started before then. It would be awkward going to Japan with little to no knowledge of the language. You can learn the basics in your country and immerse yourself once that's done.
If you can get by with text books and don't particularly need to experience Japanese culture personally, it'd probably be a waste of money, yeah.

>>3777280
Yea my problem is no matter how much I learn from teaching myself I consitantly forget what I learn due to lack of practice. I figured maybe it would be easyer in classroom format. Plus Id love to visit japan.

>>3777234

Probably the latter because it's a staple of most language school due to the boom in the 80s and a shit ton of people were learning it thinking that it's going to be a major business language.

I'm curious to what blog you were using.

Also fyi classes are worthless without practice and the pace is really slow, you'll take them for 2 years and still be covering grammer points. No one gets anywhere without independent work.

>>3777427
Tae kims japanese language blog.

Also I did practice every day during the summer but since semester has started I have been lax and forgot most of the stuff... I also lacked any kind of verbal learning...

>>3777234
What kind of shitty college are you going to? There must be some kind of Japanese related program there, right? I would suggesting asking them instead of asking us.

Find a better blog to learn from :)
Also, If you go to Japan without learning any japanese first, you will just be frustrated at how little you're getting out of it. I'd recommend getting to about JLPT4 or 3 level reading, and being able to pick up what people are saying (but not necessarily understand it) first. Neither of those goals are particularly difficult, but if you can at least pick out words and look them up when you hear them, being in japan will be much more effective for your studying than if it just blurs together to your ears.

Try coscom. If you're just getting into kanji, they're pretty useful. http://www.coscom.co.jp/ebook/2001kanji/diskdata/index.html (You can get kanji odyssey 2001 via thepiratebay).

http://www.guidetojapanese.org/completeguide.html<--- Tae Kim can be your vocab guide.

http://www.hellodamage.com/kanjidicks/main.htm <-- If you're new to kanji and want to learn them in pieces like puzzles, then this guy is pretty awesome with humor.

>>3777463

Hello damage is great for the humor because schultz is an awesome writer, however his method is just mnemonics; pick up a heisig book if you wanna do that.

>>3777463
I don't get the first one. (not OP btw)
What makes it better than a normal kanji dictionary, other than the very slow sample sounds?
What makes it a big enough improvement that anyone would PAY for it?

Is a text book worth it? I progressed through basic grammer on tae kim but always find myself forgetting what some particles do. I also fail at vocabulary.... for some reason the only words I remember are like Fish, School, student, and person.

Any tips for verbal practice also?

>>3777483
Includes writing method, voiced sample sentences (ruby types I and II), huge list of related kanji vocab, and also, teaches kanjis in order of importance. Also includes a kanji search.

Again, it'll only be useful if you're new to kanji for the most part. However, I think it's possible to get to at least intermediate to standard fluency with this. I've yet to go at it, but I got like about 400 kanji's down; however, I got lazy and stopped.

>>3777487

Vocab you can only build through real practice and I hate books that dump a whole load on your lap and expect you to learn it through brute force.

Some particles can have obscure as fuck meanings and it's best to just learn how they're used on a situational basis imo.

Verbal, well the best way is to find a speaker to talk to but I'm an antisocial loser and never adopted that option. My university has programs that help people find japanese friends to practice with and it's full of smug greasy dudes with yellow fever.

>>3777526
Right now I am still at pretty basic level. Only up to basic grammer section on tae kim what would you suggest I do from there? I barely remember any vocab but I remember most of what the particles do and basic sentence structure.

>>3777597
You pretty much have to get through all of the essential grammar and the first half or so of the special expression section (excluding the keigo section, fuck that shit) to be able to dissect the majority of sentences grammatically. Just keep working through it, and whenever you come across japanese make sure you can understand it grammatically (knowing all the words in it isn't nearly as important).

As for vocab, unfortunately the best way to reinforce in is just to have conversations, or just keep bruteforcing your way through it if you absolutely have to. However, you won't really remember it unless you are trying to think of sentences using it, or come across sentences using it.

>>3777597

I don't really know what to suggest because I didn't use the materials you're using and I had my own ways. I play imported console games, some of them aimed at kids so it has minimal kanji and lots of furigana. I used to sit down with a dictionary and practice reading with that. I used the random house dictionary I am not sure how it measures up to others though.

Basically find a way to practice using actual japanese material. Lots of dudes seem to use VNs/eroge but the kanji can be a bit much for beginners imo. Also I cannot speak for shit so I can only offer advice on writing.

Why is this thread so Gaia-like in appearance?

>>3777650
Three more hours until the kiddies are all asleep for the weekend.

>>3777650
>learning languages is ghay everyone should just play porn games

Op here thanks for advice... anyone whom gave me advice have aim? Incase I have trouble? I am ganna be practicing alot starting next week during thanksgiving break... time for me to buy a notebook.

The Middlebury summer language school in Vermont I'm convinced is one of the best in the world.

Op here... I suck dicks...
...

>>3777737
You can return to /b/ now, we hope you enjoyed your stay.

>>3777737
Incase there was any doubt that wasn't me... uggg

Again thank you all.

>>3777715
sage

>>3777781
j/k that was me lol...

>>3777787
ITT polite thread is ruined by fags..

also polite sage.

>>3777799
ITT polite thread is ruined by 12 year old fags..