What do i learn after Kana? I'll take any advice.Please Help

[Lakchamps]

How did everyone here learn Nihongo? or how are you learning Nihongo?

I started to learn Nihongo about a year ago and now i have all Hiragana and Katakana memorized, and a LITTLE vocab but i don't know what to do now. I have a friend who is a nihonjin and we meet up everyday, but we often find ourselves sitting there not knowing what to go over or what to do. Are there any essential things that I should learn now? If anyone has any tips on what we should do now it would help alot. Aligatou Gozaimasu

[jkerianjapanesepod5596]

In many ways, this is the hardest part. Deciding how much effort you want to put into learning Japanese. Everyone's answer is different.

At a minimum level, I would get a basic textbook and work through the lessons. Aim for at least getting through one lesson per week, possibly faster. This will give you:

* vocabulary to study
* a set of kanji to study in increasing difficulty level
* new grammar structures on a regular basis
* a conversation topic for working with your Japanese friend (note: they'll find the Japanese in the textbook somewhat "stiff"... don't worry about that so much, just ask that if you said the things in the textbook, would they understand you)

I've had friends who have done well with the Genki textbook series... but just find something that provides all of the above.

Personally, I took a much more time-intensive approach, but I was at a point in my life where I was able to dedicate weeks at a time to Japanese study.

P.S. Given that we're on japanesepod101.com forums, I assume you'd also be going through their basic Japanese lessons.

[Lakchamps]

Ok thanks alot man!

[percent20]

Definitely get a good textbook. I recommend Genki from experience, I did just order a book Elementary Japanese.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0804835047/

A friend of mine uses that and I went through the first couple of chapters and really liked it.

Also you might check out the AJATT method.

http://www.alljapaneseallthetime.com

My biggest problem when I was where you were is I didn't have any structure to my learning or any idea how to get that structure. I finally decided to do some classes at my local community college and while it moves slow has provided me a good base to start off with. Actually next spring I should graduate with an associates in Japanese. (sounds more impressive than it is)

You might also checkout http://smart.fm and thiir core list for vocab. It is a good tool for learning vocabulary. If you don't know anything about SRS do a bit of research on that.

In fact might give this a read too.
http://japangaku.com/how-to-learn-japanese/
http://japangaku.com/10-steps-to-start- ... g-japanese

[Javizy]

Definitely get into SRS. Even if you completely lose direction, as long as you're learning new words every day, your vocabulary will be improving, and that's ultimately the biggest obstacle.

As for what to do, AJATT mentioned above is a good outline, but the guy speaks an abundant amount of intolerable crap. To summarise 700,000 words worth of obnoxious blog entries: use Heisig's Remembering the Kanji to learn kanji, and then start learning vocabulary with SRS (anki is best), including example sentences so you understand the word in context. Be sure to gain as much exposure to the language as you can while doing this.

I'd recommend getting a textbook/workbook to allow you to learn grammar in a structured way as well (an AJATT heresy ). Obviously using the language whenever you can is important too!

Check out this forum for more resources and advice too http://forum.koohii.com/index.php

[percent20]

I'd recommend getting a textbook/workbook to allow you to learn grammar in a structured way as well (an AJATT heresy ). Obviously using the language whenever you can is important too!

While i think there is a lot of merit to the ajatt appraoch, but some of it is just dumb on what he says. A good textbook can take you quite far and is a good reference especially since I wont be srsing sentences 2 hours a day everday to make all those connections and see all the grammatical patterns.

[dark_angel29977]

I would definitely recommend the "Genki" textbook. It's relatively easy to self-study with. They have a (free) website that has quizzes and study material to go along with the book, which is pretty useful.

http://genki.japantimes.co.jp/self/self.en.html

If you can get a hold of the CDs and/or workbook to go along with it, that's definitely helpful. Hearing the corresponding dialogues and reviews spoken by a native helps with the learning.

There are plenty of other textbooks out there that are great, but personally I think "Genki" is easier to use when doing some self-study. Get yourself some flashcard/SRS software to go along with it (Such as "Anki" that was recommended above) and a buddy to practice with, and you can make some serious headway

[Lakchamps]

Thanks for all the help guys! Im taking all your advice to heart and when i get enough money i wll get a textbook and the remembering kanji book that you guys talked about. I will never give up on learning nihongo no matter how hard it gets!

[tanitayou]

i know the genki series and I think it' a very good textbook. But if you want, take a look here
www.nihongo-dekimasu.blogspot.com

you can find a lot of tools and also the very good series "Minna no nihongo".
The set number one is for beginners.
Ganbatte

[sakurakofahl]

Along with the already mentioned textbooks, I would like to recommend Japanese for Busy People as well. It's designed to be used for people working in companies, so the vocabulary and dialogues are at times a bit "companyish", but I like the explanations of grammar and expressions; good structure, short and easy to understand.

It depends on what you prefer of course, but I kind of like the JFPB's structure of their conjugation charts better, which in the Genki series might seem a bit messy at times.

Also, the Genki series is designed more for young people wanting to learn the Japanese young people speak in Japan however, sometimes it might be better to learn what is considered "correct" written language ("dewa arimasen", "-nakutewa") before (or along with) learning more spoken languageish ("ja arimasen", "-nakucha") if you want for example a newly found Japanese friend to be more likely take your letters or e-mails more seriously. Compare with English texts with too many "kinda", "sort of" and "you know". First impression lasts.

In addition the JFBP books are relatively cheap (about $25-30 a book, compared to Genki (textbook) for $45) and include audio CDs. So you get pretty much for your money.

Second, if you want a goal to motivate you, why don't you aim for the Japanese language Proficiency Test (JLPT)? Generally you should pass the 5 kyu level if you finish the first one or two books in Genki, JFBP or Minna no nihongo.