Where to start??

[williamt2214]

Just paid for the 24 month premium yay!

I'm confused on where to start. I wish the site was more organized and guided your through the correct path for getting started. Been browsing around for a bit and see different recommendations but I still don't have much of a clue on where to start.

In the Absolute Beginner level there is Absolute Beginner 1-2, Newbie Season 1-4 and the Survival phrases.
Do I start at Absolute Beginner level 1 and go through everything until the end of the survival phrases?

After that in the Beginner level there is Beginner Season 1-6 and upper beginner season 1.
When I'm done with Absolute Beginner do I start at Beginner Season 1 and go till the end?

A little guidance on what lessons I should add to my dash board would be most appreciated.

As a comment to JapanesePod101 reworking the site so it was easier for new people to get started would be most helpful and save people a little frustration. Seems confusing/overwhelming to have to try and guess where to start with so much content. If a site rework/adjustment isn't possible perhaps a sticky at the top of the forums providing some guidance to newcomers would be the next best thing.

ありがとうございます
William

[mwbeale6642]

When I started, I started with Beginner series 1. I think however that it might be better to start with either the Newbie or the Absolute beginner series.

Once you have done the Newbie / Absolute beginner lessons, you want to move to beginner series 4,5,6 as they are an extension of the newbie / absolute beginner lessons (as far as I am aware). After that I think you want to be looking at Upper Beginner 1 or Lower Intermediate 6 (strange, but true!).

My general view is that the newer lessons are better than the older ones, so if there is a recommendation that you start with a higher numbered series, then that is probably no bad thing.

Somewhere on these forums, there is a recommended sequences of lessons (I think it might be called "nihongo dojo").

マーティン

[mwbeale6642]

There was a post on 17 Nov 2012 about the lesson sequence. I think you want to be searching for "nihongo doujou" in the forums or on the site. This is probably the information you would be most interested in:

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Alternatively, you could follow the Nihongo Doujou sequence, which is the one that is most frequently recommended for beginners because it follows a planned and structured curriculum:-

　　　Newbie S2 --> Newbie S3 --> Beginner S4 --> Beginner S5 --> Beginner S6 --> Lower Intermediate S6

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[williamt2214]

Thanks for the information.

Any tips on a good learning/study approach?
Looking at the first lesson, I see audio/video to listen/watch, Lesson Notes, Kanji Close up, plus all the other content
for me since I am a premium member.

Whats a good plan of attack for getting the most out of each lesson?


Thanks,
William

[community.japanese]

Hello there!
First of all, welcome and thank you very much for subscription, williamt2214-san!!
And thank you for helps, マーティンsan!!

I'll talk to my team about your feedback on the site; I'm very sorry for your frustration

It's always difficult to say what the best way is because it's up to learners' targets, but if you use Lesson Note,
you can defintely understand better about each lesson. Basic set might be video/audio + Lesson Note.
Other materials are for better understandings, practice, etc. With Kanji close-up sheets, you can cover writing
lessons other than conversation and grammar.
Hope this helps!

Natsuko (奈津子),
Team JapanesePod101.com

[mwbeale6642]

I'd concentrate on the audio lessons and the Lesson Notes Lite (assuming you have a Mac: otherwise the Lesson Notes might also work). It's nice to have the other premium material if you need it.

As a beginner, I wouldn't be too worried about kanji. You do need to learn hiragana and katakana though (I think romaji is a dead end). I think the best way to learn hiragana and katakana is to get an app for your iPhone (or iTouch). I used Kana LS (search on the iTunes app store) and that seemed fine. At some stage, you will need to start learning kanji (maybe not just now though).

The biggest benefit I get is from listening to the audio podcasts. I guess I do a lot of my reading and other study from textbooks, so I don't use the written material on Jpod101 that much. Maybe it would be better if I did make more use of the written material....

[jason6843]

williamt2214, thank you for posting this question. I feel the same way and don't really know what I should be studying. If you want to help each other with the commitment to study regularly let me know. It sounds like we're making the commitment at about the same time.

mwbeale6642 - thank you SO MUCH for posting that sequence! I don't see the nihongo dojo thread that you're talking about but I am going to give the sequence that you outlined a try.

I'm not a complete beginner - I sort of have a grasp of the grammar structure, pretty much have hiragana down, and I'm starting to work on katakana, and I estimate that I probably know about 300-400 words. I initially started with the beginner series 1 but found it hard to remember things as the lessons didn't reinforce the learned words enough. Then I went to absolute beginner season 1 and found that I knew most of it already. I have now gone back to beginner season 1 but I still have the same issue where I feel a need to repeat the same lessons over and over again.

For a long while I wasn't using the site any more because it wouldn't work on my phone and I didn't have internet access on my computer at work. Also, it is a bit confusing to know where to start. I'm glad I decided to peek into the forums for a little guidance! I've now decided that I need to make the commitment to study every day (or at least try to) instead of only study every now and then so I'm hoping this sequence helps speed up my comprehension.

Newbie S2 --> Newbie S3 --> Beginner S4 --> Beginner S5 --> Beginner S6 --> Lower Intermediate S6

[mwbeale6642]

I think that listening to the lessons over and over again is no bad thing. That's what I do. When you hear something again a few weeks later and realise that you understand it better, then you feel like you are really making progress. I've been doing this for about 18 months now and am now close to finishing the lower intermediate series. If I have any spare time (walking to the station, driving the car, going for a run, doing the washing up), I put Jpod101 on. It is definitely a much better use of my time than watching TV (in fact, it is also much, much, much better value than a TV license).

If you have difficulty with remembering the vocab, you could try using one of the flashcards apps on your smartphone. I use flashcards deluxe on my iphone. If you have a different phone, there might be some other app. I input all the vocab myself (you could take the vocab from the jpod101 lesson notes). I don't mind doing that as I think that typing the Japanese vocab in is part of the learning experience. There's also the flashcards that are native to Jpod101 (I'm not sure whether they work on your phone).

[mmmason8967]

...it is also much, much, much better value than a TV license...

そうですか。　確かに、いぎりす人です。

マイケル

[phileuro]

I have to agree with some other posters here... figuring out to use this site is a challenge in and of itself! I joined a couple years ago then gave up but now I'm back again to give it another try.
My problem is now I actually know some Japanese. Finding a starting place here is even more difficult if you are not a complete beginner.

What would be cool is a test to take to judge your level then a more guided study plan.

Oh well.

I recommend just downloading a series and seeing if it is too easy or too hard and try to judge a starting place.

[Jessi]

Hi phileuro,
Yes, I think that listening to the first few lessons of a series to see what it's like is a good way to find a place to start.
If you know some Japanese already, you might want to try something like Newbie Series 2 or 3. Some of it might be review for you, but that's always helpful too

[jpatte595650]

Wow, thanks for posting this!! I was having the same issue. I'm just starting out, but I am interested in grammar and what things really mean. I've bought a book and I have access to rosetta stone and this was just for a supplement, but like you, I found myself terribly lost.

Thanks again!


JoVon

[community.japanese]

jpatte595650-san,
glad to know you found it helpful!
Hope you'll enjoy our lessons and find them usuful!
Whenever you have questions, please let us know

Natsuko(奈津子),
Team JapanesePod101.com

[jason6843]

I just want to give an update that may be useful for other people finding this thread. I'm going to finish Newbie Series 2 today and while I knew a lot of what was covered already I did find myself learning a decent amount of new things. Sometimes I already knew an entire lesson but usually I at least learned one new word or phrase. It's not bad to get the review AND the new stuff was really good. Plus, I've been able to pickup a handful of new kanji without really trying which is always nice.

I definitely am liking this nihongo dojo series. I think making a "beginner's guide" which lays out a path to start with would be great for when people don't know where to go. This series is definitely better then when I tried to just go with absolute beginner season 1 or beginner season 1, etc. It's great that the lessons build upon each other and it makes me more motivated to keep going.

[mmmason8967]

I think making a "beginner's guide" which lays out a path to start with would be great for when people don't know where to go.

I've put together a "beginner's guide" and I'll post it separately in a few minutes. Ultimately it would be nice to have a "sticky" message at the top of the forum that would help new members find their way around. I'm posting it separately so you can see exactly what it would like without opening and closing remarks.

It's just a first pass, though. I don't know if it's too long, too short, or missing necessary details.Hopefully others can join in with suggestions and corrections.

マイケル

Edit: we've reached the bottom of this page so the message is at the top of the next page.