Classes have helped me more than anything. While it is possible to pick up some phrases and words from watching drama/anime, a teacher (a good one) is the best cuz they'll teach you how to use Japanese in the right context and you can ask them anything, from cultural info to living in Japan as well. That said, dramas and music are great to practice listening! And if possible, try advertise in your school/uni for a language exchange partner =3

self study can be crazy ... hehe .... tho watching visuals with good subs like doramas and animes are really good help.

nevertheless, classes are a must!

btw ... do you also learn how to write kanas and kanji?
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i just start learning Japanese too
but i start with writing and reading
so... the alphabets are the most hardest part to remember for me ^^;
but i just keep writing the same alphabet until
i can remember then go to next one

it kinda slow but SURE !

Abban79 wrote:

m new here and wanna to learn japanese

Welcome to JDorama!! have fun on the website!

I recommend you frist to learn how to speak Japanese words then learn Hiragana and Katakana.Thats what i did

brad12 wrote:

How many years does it take to learn Japanese?

If you are me, around 6 to 8 years. I have a 1,5h session with my private tutor every week. I rarely study or have the time to prepare a lot of homework.

brad12 wrote:

How many years does it take to learn Japanese?

Depends how much time & effort you put to studying.

Learn by the Japanese songs' lyrics, it really helps

Self-Study is hard, and you must have anough "self-control" to succeed...so better to have classsss.
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Happy to report that I finally finished the first Genki book (and most of Minna no nihongo)!

Took me only two years!!!!

Next week my tutor and me will kick off with Genki 2.

Not being able to take any Japanese lessons (only 16 years-old) I'm learning Japanese through self-study. It's a combination of study methods/resources that I picked up on over the internets. I've been at it for nearly a year now. :]

I started learning the language full-time last year, on my birthday. I already knew all the hiragana and katakana at this point so that wasn't of concern to me. The first thing I did was learn the sole meaning of 1006 kanji, since this would make me able to read 95% of the kanji in written work, or so I was told. I'm going to start learning the remaining 1000 or so on my birthday next week. During this learning I read a lot of manga in Japanese, watched dorama without subtitles and listened Japanese music a lot.

When I knew the 1006 kanji I started using a SRS (flashcard) system. Everyday I add 25 Japanese sentences to this program. One side of the flashcard being full sentences with kanji and all, the other side being the same sentences stripped down with only the pronunciation in hiragana. Due to learning the kanji prior to starting SRS, it's not necessary for me to add the English translation to the flashcard, because I can derive the meaning of the Japanese from the kanji.

Still got a long way to go, but after a year of doing this I can now comfortably watch most dorama's without subtitles and read Japanese books quite well. :]

Ichisutairu wrote:

Not being able to take any Japanese lessons (only 16 years-old) I'm learning Japanese through self-study. It's a combination of study methods/resources that I picked up on over the internets. I've been at it for nearly a year now. :] I started learning the language full-time last year, on my birthday. I already knew all the hiragana and katakana at this point so that wasn't of concern to me. The first thing I did was learn the sole meaning of 1006 kanji, since this would make me able to read 95% of the kanji in written work, or so I was told. I'm going to start learning the remaining 1000 or so on my birthday next week. During this learning I read a lot of manga in Japanese, watched dorama without subtitles and listened Japanese music a lot. When I knew the 1006 kanji I started using a SRS (flashcard) system. Everyday I add 25 Japanese sentences to this program. One side of the flashcard being full sentences with kanji and all, the other side being the same sentences stripped down with only the pronunciation in hiragana. Due to learning the kanji prior to starting SRS, it's not necessary for me to add the English translation to the flashcard, because I can derive the meaning of the Japanese from the kanji. Still got a long way to go, but after a year of doing this I can now comfortably watch most dorama's without subtitles and read Japanese books quite well. :]

Congratulations!!! I applaud your commitment and effort at only 16 yrs old to study Japanese and learn kanji which is so difficult. As a child, back in the day, I was forced to go to daily Japanese school in SoCal which we affectionately called J-school from about 6 ys thru 13 yrs. I'm much, much older now and have forgotten so much but I can still speak and understand basic conversational Japanese and write katakana, hiragana and some kanji. Wish I had stuck to it now and gone all the way and finished high school.

Keep up the good work..... it will definitely payoff.

Thanks! I've never heard of that before. Is it usual for children in Southern California to learn Japanese? Or was it a decision made by your parents?

I'll definitely keep at it, learning Japanese has been a very rewarding experience up till now.

Ichisutairu wrote:

Thanks! I've never heard of that before. Is it usual for children in Southern California to learn Japanese? Or was it a decision made by your parents? I'll definitely keep at it, learning Japanese has been a very rewarding experience up till now.

There is a Japanese language school in SoCal that had schools in L. A., East Los Angeles, Hollywood, San Fernando Valley and Pasadena (may have been more). These areas were populated by quite a few Japanese-Americans. Many parents were 1st or 2nd generation so they wanted their children to be able to speak the language. In my day, most kids were forced to go to J-school. There were also Buddhist temples that also offered Japanese language but were not as in-depth as the Kyodo schools. Junior and high school curriculum included Japanese, composition, flower arranging (the guys hated this), music, and calligraphy. Here's a link to the school system since it still exists: http://kyodosystem.org/index.php