I want to become good at Japanese. Many people would agree with me. It is challenging to study Japanese, and it is difficult to speak and write Japanese correctly. How can I improve my Japanese?
The Best Way to Learn Japanese: 9 Proven Study Methods That Work :
1. Manage your learning process yourself
2. Choose the learning styles that suit you
3. Practice Listening and Reading
4. Practice speaking and writing.
5. Keep motivated
6. immerse yourself
7. Increase knowledge of words and grammar
8. Find a Good Textbook or Program
Japanese is undoubtedly a complex language to master, isn’t it?
The difficulty of learning Japanese can be attributed to at least two factors.
Japanese and English have a lot of differences. Language distance is technically referred to as “distance between languages,” but Japanese and English are very different.
Furthermore, Japanese is rarely used outside the classroom in Your country, and the Japanese language is hard to learn outside of school.
The Best Way to Learn Japanese: 9 Proven Study Methods That Work
1. Manage your learning process yourself
Set learning goals and develop a plan to achieve them. For instance, if you set a goal of passing JLPT N1 this year, analyze your Japanese ability, determine what is lacking, and create a learning plan to overcome it. As we evaluate the plan’s effectiveness, we will revise it. This way, you build your learning while considering what you’re doing for what. “
You will feel more autonomous when you manage your learning rather than being forced to do it. Then, education will become more motivating. “
It is essential to clarify your goals. For example, if you vaguely say,” I want to be fluent in Japanese ”, you don’t know what to do. So,” N5 It can be “/ N4 pass” or “I will be able to explain what happened today in Japanese,” but anyway, set a clear goal, and what should I do to achieve it? It becomes more straightforward to take action.
2. Choose the learning styles that suit you
So, is there anything you should be aware of when planning and learning for yourself?
“There are many. The important thing is to choose a method that suits the mechanism of learning a foreign language.” From now on, “learn words,” “practice reading/listening,” and “practice writing/speaking.” Let’s take a look at some of the learning tips. “
“When you try to memorize a word, the most common way is to make a vocabulary and remember it, but there is a way to be more efficient than trying to remember each word and its meaning endlessly.
The first is to use images and pictures. For example, when studying history, the names of people who learned not only letters but also photographs and portraits will always be remembered. This is Japanese. This is because the human brain relies on a vision for most of its information processing and has an “image superiority effect” in memory. Therefore, when learning Japanese, it is better to use letters and visual information. The efficiency of memory goes up. “
The next thing is to organize. The human brain is better at remembering things related to each other than placing items that aren’t related. For example, these pictures are A and B. However, when I try to remember the elements in this picture, I find that B is much easier to remember than A. In A’s image, the details appear apart without any relation, but B. In the image, there is one story that associates everything. In this way, organized information is easier to remember. Word learning is the same and can be summarized by meaning, theme, part of words, or source. Recognizing the words that appear in one story for each story will improve your memory efficiency. “
The third is to repeat. When you encounter certain information repeatedly, the brain considers that information meaningful. Therefore, the review is essential for word learning. However, be careful about the timing of the study. Mostly. It is inefficient to review after forgetting, and it is ineffective to repeat the review immediately after remembering it, so when reviewing a word, check how many you remembered. , Find the best review timing. “
The last is to do deep processing. For example, rather than writing the same word repeatedly in a notebook, trying to use it in an example sentence causes the brain to do a deeper “deeper” process. And various experiments have shown that deep processing is more memorable. Therefore, it is practical to use example sentences, use multiple visual senses, and associate them with things familiar to you. “
3. Practice Listening and Reading
The first thing to keep in mind is to remove the extra load. When you try to read a Japanese sentence aloud, isn’t the content entirely in your head?
This is the information processing of reading aloud. This is because most of the brain’s working memory capacity has been used up, and there is no room to understand and memorize sentences. In other words, if the working memory is overloaded. It means that I don’t even remember what I input. “
“For example, if you lack vocabulary, processing the meaning of a word will put a lot of strain on your working memory, which will weaken your understanding and memory. So, first of all, check if there are any problems with basic skills such as vocabulary and grammar. If there are problems, you can take measures to remove the extra load from the working memory and process the input more efficiently. Is.”
That’s right. And that’s related to the second point. I need a lot of input, so I have to listen and read, but it’s a little more complicated than my current level. It is essential to choose the teaching materials. You must know your current level and then challenge the more difficult. If my current ability is N5, I will use something that is one step more difficult than that. It means studying. And by reading dictionaries, scripts, detailed explanations, etc., and repeating the work of filling in it, your Japanese ability will improve.
4. Practice speaking and writing.
“Now, let’s discuss some tips for practicing speaking and writing. Are you good at speaking and writing Japanese?
“Why is the output difficult? That’s because you have to bring it up to a level where you can use it without being aware of your knowledge. When riding a bicycle, you don’t have to think about where and how to operate it.
In this case, the knowledge about operating the bicycle is “procedural knowledge.” Even in English, the knowledge of the learned words and grammar can be used without awareness. By shifting to expertise, you can speak and write fluently. “
It is exhausting. There are many ways to do this. On the train or in the bath, let’s translate the plans and events of the day into Japanese. Writing a diary is also a good way, and it is essential to continue training to output.
5. Keep motivated
I mentioned that learning Japanese requires time and effort, but it is essential to clarify why you invest time and effort in Japanese. You will be in the future and draw a concrete image of what you are doing in Japan.
It is also essential to get in touch with Japanese-speaking people, culture, and society. The greater the interest in Japanese-speaking people, the more motivated they are to learn Japanese. As a first step, getting in touch with Japanese-speaking people, culture, and society is essential. It is good to see Western movies with subtitles instead of transcribing them or making friends with Japanese.
6. immerse yourself
It is essential to become a habit of continuing to learn a language by yourself. I also practice language learning habitually, just as I naturally watch videos on YouTube before bed. For that purpose, it is necessary to identify the time devoted to language learning, including the gap time in life.
Get up 30 minutes early in the morning to make time, use your commute time, 30 minutes before going to bed, and so on, to create your target study time per day. It can be painful at first, but once you get into the habit, it doesn’t hurt.
7. Increase knowledge of words and grammar
Both listening and speaking require knowledge of words, idioms, and syntax.
If you can hear the sound correctly but do not understand the meaning, or if you cannot write what you want to say, it is essential to input knowledge such as words, idioms, and syntax. First, if you don’t know enough to read, you can’t hear it no matter how much you listen.
Therefore, let’s first realize the increased knowledge and the speed of information processing through reading.
Rather than browsing through words to guess the meaning of a sentence or reading back from behind, you can acquire knowledge of “bigger chunks of meaning,” such as idioms and syntax, and process information at once. Increase the amount.
Of course, knowledge of words is required, but even if you only master words, you cannot escape from the level of “browsing + guessing meaning.”
And if you don’t read back and read from the front and don’t understand the meaning of the sentence when you reach the period, you can’t expect to improve your listening. This is because my English voice cannot be read back.
Regarding speaking, it’s a good idea to start with writing to improve your ability to compose sentences.
Instead of memorizing only the words in the vocabulary, if you remember the whole example sentence and make a sentence while imitating the form of the example sentence (after all, it is the form of the syntax),
you can quickly start from the level of “incoherent Japanese English sentence.” You can escape.
Also, if you find good expressions in your reading, collect them, remember them as much as possible, and use them in your writing.
After writing, read aloud enough to memorize it, and if you encounter a word you are not confident in pronouncing, check the voice in the electronic dictionary.
Doing this can practice “tuning” to make Japanese sounds by mouth. You will actively pay attention to Japanese sounds by pronouncing them, so reading aloud will significantly improve your listening skills. In other words, the four skills of reading, listening, writing, and speaking are circulated and enhanced.
8. Find a Good Textbook or Program
Congratulations, you’ve finally arrived at the point where you’ve taught yourself as much as possible! If you’re ready to go further in your Japanese language studies, you must invest in a language learning tool.
Luckily, there are plenty of resources out there to help you. We’ve compiled a list of some of the best Japanese textbooks and programs you can get—check these out if you’re ready to move forward.
- Japanese from Zero! 1. Proven Techniques to Learn Japanese for Students and Professionals
This is a series of books that is going to help you take your Japanese studies to the next level. These workbooks are excellent at bringing the best language learning trends and applying them to Japanese for English learners. Plus, the fun art style will help you remember how Japanese culture is. The writers of this series have taught Japanese all over the world.
- Learning Japanese Hiragana and Katakana: Workbook and Practice Sheets
If you struggle with the writing systems, this workbook will help you with grammar while reinforcing hiragana and katakana. This book was created by an English and Japanese writer to bring you the best learning tools whether you’re studying at home or with other people. The practice sheets will also help you test your knowledge, which will help keep you on track with your goals.
- A Guide: A Japanese Approach to Learning Japanese
This guide is meant to help you learn Japanese as it is spoken in Japan—this will be a bit different than many other guides out there. You’ve heard of slang in your language; it exists in every language, and this guide will teach you how to learn Japanese with slang. This is an excellent resource if you’re looking to sound like a native speaker or are learning Japanese for pop culture purposes.
- Japanese Hiragana & Katakana for Beginners: First Steps to Mastering the Japanese Writing System
This is another excellent resource for anyone looking to reinforce their knowledge of hiragana and katakana while learning Japanese grammar. This guide will ensure you understand correctly with plenty of visuals and mnemonics; if you struggled in the earlier steps, this is a great option.
- Introductory Japanese: Learn to Speak Everyday Japanese in 10 Carefully Structured Lessons
If you’re an auditory learner, this is a great resource. The book includes downloadable audio to help you learn Japanese grammar through listening and responses; it’s one of the most user-friendly guides on the market. With ten lessons, you’ll be able to follow along and keep on track.
- A dictionary of basic Japanese grammar
While we’ve discussed how important it is to have as much vocabulary memorized as possible, it’s a process that will take you months, if not years, to do. Having a dictionary by your side is better than googling every character, and this specific dictionary will have everything you need.