“How far can you get with Japanese alone?”
Ken Cannon here, I recently saw a question on a forum like this that caught my attention.
Basically, is it possible to study without a teacher for whatever reason that may be.
And the answer in my opinion is … yes and no.
On the one side, there are tons of other resources out there that can be used to learn Japanese besides a live teacher. So the answer is yes.
But on the other side, you can’t expect to learn a language with no guide what so ever. In my case I did happen to take classes in college with a teacher. But that was 4 years after I had learned in the first place. (and to be honest it was a easy A)
So as you may know I used self study programs. (Pimsluers, LLJB, rosetta stone, ect.) And I did learn the language! But I had a guide.
And in my opinion, a book, even the great “Genki”, really isn’t a “complete” guide. A book can’t teach you to speak a language, simply because… a book can’ speak. However they are indispensible as a study resource.
So to sum it up, Yeah! Japanese self study is possible! But without a guide of some type the Japanese forest is ten times as big (corny metaphors ftw..)
Ken Cannon
Ken Cannon
7 comments
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteHey, I was just wondering whether it's possible, too :) ... well, I don't realy have to learn it, but I watched some anime with subtitles recently and learned some words this way without any effort... I think in combination with some structured lessons, which can be found on YouTube e.g., one can learn it.
ReplyDeleteI learned English in a similar way... I mean, I had lessons at school, but they were mostly boring and not very helpfull (I wonder who chose the topics). I rather learned it by reading some books and watching movies with subtitles :)
I found it very helpfull at first to choose books that weren't yet translated (Harry Potter e.g.). This way I had to read the english version unless I wanted to wait :P . Of course that might be a bit more difficult with japanese works...
Oh... a friend that knows both languages might help, too (Skype helped me a lot with that :) ).
I agree... i learnt japanese by myself (the basics). the basic japanese is ok when you study on it alone.. but when you go to high level, then you'll need a teacher because the japanese sentences become more complex..
ReplyDelete(this is what i tot ^_^)
i doing self hearing and so far i've been memorizing and learning hiragana alphabet. i'm not sure if i'm going about it the wrong way but, i feel i can understand a little when i watch some animes. i read something you mentioned about learning casual japanese first then formal but it's kind of hard to find casual verbs online. thanks for your guides. i enjoy your work.
ReplyDeleteOhkay, I want to learn Japanese. And well i'm starting from your Lessons. Is that a good thing? I'm not learning it to understand Anime. I'm learning so i can understand Japanese in general and be able to use it when i go to Japan. So... Should i keep learning from you or use a program. Btw, my school doesn't offer Japanese. I live in the heart of Texas and well.... the people round' here don't really be needin' to use that Japanese language. (Typing with Texas Accent ^^^) So.... What do i do!?
ReplyDeleteThere are series of books called japanese for busy people, is it helpful to learn Japanese
ReplyDeleteI found this post reliable and easily understandable, language learners are always keen to get knowledge from new resources to build vocabulary with Japanese . It is always better to choose an online japanese course rather than a private tutor.
ReplyDelete