How to Master Japanese

23 Points for Mastering Japanese Language (eBook)

Publisher : Japan Online School Corporation
Language : English
Author : Mr.Kei Koike
File Format : Adobe Reader(PDF)
Dimensions : A4 paper format (297 x 210mm)
Pages : 31pages
File Size : 932 kilobites

Chapter 1 Learning Japanese
(1) How much time does it take to learn Japanese?
(2) Is Japanese really hard?
(3) Should I learn Hiragana and Katakana first?

Chapter 2 The Proper Method of Studying Japanese
(4) About memorization and recommendations for preparation and review
(5) Tricks to memorization
(6) Effective study methods for increasing one's ability to remember
(7) An overview of the learning process
(8) The trick to selecting a textbook
(9) The trick to marking your textbook
(10) Should an adult attend a school or use a private teacher?
(11) The trick to selecting a school0

Chapter 3 Requirements for Continued Japanese Study
(11 Reasons for Discontinuing Study of Japanese and How to Overcome Them)
(12) Reason 1 : The student's need to study Japanese is low.
(13) Reason 2 : The student can't maintain his or her initial motivation.
(14) Reason 3 : It takes more time to improve than the student expected.
(15) Reason 4 : The student's goals are unreasonable.
(16) Reason 5 : The student's study plan is unreasonable or the student doesn't have a study plan.
(17) Reason 6 : The student does not keep up with his or her daily studies.
(18) Reason 7 : The student engages in activities other than studying despite him or herself.
(19) Reason 8 : The student is not in the habit of studying and has a hard time getting started.
(20) Reason 9 : The student doesn't have enough time.
(21) Reason10 : The student's schedule no longer matches that of his or her teacher so far.
(22) Reason11 : The student doesn't have anyone to give him or her encouragement.

Chapter 4 Creating a Commitment Sheet
(23) Creating a commitment sheet

Conclusion

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I started the Japan Online School in the spring of 2004. Since that time, I have to interview over 200 Japanese language learners. Unfortunately, there were many people who gave up in the middle despite having stated that they wanted to master Japanese.

Why weren't these people able to master Japanese?

Even though many believe that Japanese is difficult to master, there are reasons why these people could not master Japanese. Conversely, if these reasons are understood and measures taken to address them, it is not difficult for learners to continue enjoying their study of the language and become able to speak Japanese.

The following four points are all that is necessary to master Japanese.
・Understand how Japanese is learned
・Master the proper method for studying Japanese
・Master how to continue studying
・Act

Although details will be given in later chapters, lets take a simple look at just the main points.

Chapter 1 Learning Japanese
As with anything, your chance of success differs if you don't have any prior knowledge of the subject. It's risky to attempt learning something new when you don't know anything about it. Chapter 1 is therefore intended to increase your background knowledge about the Japanese language.

Chapter 2 The Proper Method of Studying Japanese
Efficiency is important, not just studying slavishly. Chapter 2 therefore introduces you to an efficient method of studying Japanese.

Chapter 3 Requirements for Continued Japanese Study
(11 Reasons for Discontinuing Study of Japanese and How to Overcome Them)
No matter how efficient the method of study you adopt is, it's meaningless if you don't continue studying. Chapter 3 therefore raises eleven reasons why it is difficult to continue studying and introduces methods of overcoming them.

Chapter 4 Creating a Commitment Sheet
Chapter 4 introduces how to create a Commitment Sheet so that you can turn what you've learned up to that point into real action.

Although I recommend this eBook to all people interested in learning Japanese language, it has been written particularly with the following types of people in mind.

・People who seriously want to master Japanese
・People who have studied Japanese in the past, but have quit in the middle
・People who want to master Japanese amidst a busy life

Just as one can reduce by three hours the amount of work required for a given task to be performed later by spending one hour on planning beforehand, sometimes a shortcut may be available by collecting the right information and making a plan ahead of time. I believe that the information I'm going to give you provides the same type of advantage.

 

Chapter 1 Learning Japanese

(1) How much time does it take to learn Japanese?

This is an extremely difficult question to answer. As far as I know, for every person who can begin from zero, study for one year, and pass the JLPT1 test used to identify experts at the language, there is also someone who still can't speak Japanese at all even after living in Japan for over 20 years.

There is also some information we can referenced if you just want a general estimate. The JLPT (Japanese Language Proficiency Test) is the most well known test in Japanese language learning. One selects the level to be tested from one of four levels. With certain standards expected to be met at each level, this test can be used to arrive at a general estimate. http://www.j-os.com/JLPT.html

According to these resources, it takes about 150 hours to achieve Class 4 proficiency, and 300 hours to achieve Class 3 proficiency. Since many beginners aim at Class 3 or 4 proficiency, it's appropriate to use these times as guidelines.

--Resource 1--

Level 4	The examinee has mastered the basic elements of grammar, knows around 100 Kanji and 800 words, and has the ability to engage in simple conversation and to read and write short, simple sentences. This level is normally reached after studying Japanese for around 150 hours and after completion of the first half of an elementary course.
Level 3	The examinee has mastered grammar to a limited level, knows around 300 Kanji and 1,500 words, and has the ability to take part in everyday conversation and to read and write simple sentences.This level is normally reached after studying Japanese for around 300 hours and after completion of an elementary course.
Level 2	The examinee has mastered grammar to a relatively high level, knows around 1,000 Kanji and 6,000 words, and has the ability to converse, read, and write about matters of general nature.This level is normally reached after studying Japanese for around 600 hours and after completion of intermediate course.
Level 1	The examinee has mastered grammar to high level, knows around 2,000 Kanji and 10,000 words, and as an integrated command of language sufficient for life in Japanese society. This level is normally reached after studying Japanese for around 900 hours .

 

(2) Is Japanese really hard?

The following items can be listed as the main reasons Japanese is considered to be difficult.
・There are three types of written characters: Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji.
・There is honorific language.
(Note: These are expressions used to indicate respect for others such as when speaking with a person older than oneself or a person of accomplishment.)
・There are many words related to numbers and counting objects.
・The basic particles and order of words can change in a conversation.
・Information about a verb can only be created by conjugating the verb.

Conversely, Japanese also has the following characteristics.
・There are only 5 vowel sounds.
・There are no articles.
・There is no distinction between singular and plural nouns.
・Verbs do not inflect based on person.
・There is no distinction in syntax between male and female gender, or between people and objects.

The fact that its difficult to reach the highest level is the same for all languages. However, if you're thinking of establishing a relatively short-term goal such as being able produce phrases rather than just communicate at a vocabulary level, or being able to speak at a phrase level, or being able to read and write, Japanese is said to be an extremely easy language to learn. Furthermore, even if your goal is set even higher and you want to be able to understand 60% of what Japanese people say in daily conversation, achieving your goal is not a difficult as compared to other languages.

(3) Should I learn Hiragana and Katakana first?

There are people attempting to master Japanese without learning Hiragana and Katakana. Although they may become able to speak Japanese to some degree, I recommend that students learn Hiragana and Katakana from an early stage.
Perhaps you know that once you learn touch typing your work efficiency quickly improves afterwards. Learning Hiragana and Katakana has the same benefit. Although it takes a little time in the beginning, when one considers the resulting increase in learning efficiency later, it's best to learn them at an early stage.

 

Chapter 2 The Proper Method of Studying Japanese

Just as there is a large difference in the work performance of someone who knows how to work efficiently and someone who doesn't, the same can be said about one's method of study. I will therefore discuss specific study techniques and useful information to keep in mind as you study Japanese.

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We are that confident of the results you can achieve from benefiting from the unique information found in this eBook because, in our school, there are many Japanese learners who has improved so much by this information.
To read J-OS students' comments, click here.

In "How to Master Japanese", you will discover:
. How Japanese is learned
. The proper method for studying Japanese
. The secrets to continue studying

After reading "How to Master Japanese", you will be able to;
. set proper goals
. establish a proper action plan
. improve your Japanese
. enjoy studying Japanese
. continue studying

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My name is Jeremiah Leedy. I have been studying Japanese for over 3 years now. My level of Japanese is not as good as most other people who have been studying for as long as I have. I read this book 'How to master Japanese' and I feel more aware of what I am actually doing in my studies. Very quickly while reading this book I started to notice that no matter what level you are at in your Japanese studies this book was made for you. It has many examples and tools to help everyone who commits to studying Japanese. And it will help you to learn and improve your study technique. Also these techniques can be applied to any language you want to study. The book is a little short but the Information in it has the potential to really jump start your mind if you really apply yourself to the techniques described. Thank you J-OS

Ohayo gozaimasu Kei-san. Arigatou gozaimasu! I have recieved your e-book and it is very informative!! Although I've been very busy with work starting June I will be putting your recommendations to use. I`m in the process of setting up a commitment sheet. Once again Arigatou gozaimasu! -Paul-

Kei-San Konnichiwa. Thank you for your emails. It's a nice surprised that you offer support. I have completed my commitment sheet and my main goal is to become a translator in 7 years time. In the medium term I like to pass all four JLPT levels in the next four years. I would also like to come to Japan. I really enjoy the intellectual challenge of studying Japanese and I am deeply interested in your culture. Regards -Peter -

Mr. Koike, Thank you for the email. I've read the ebook twice already was impressed. It is sad to say that I am one of those (probably) rare individuals who have been living in Japan for about 7 years and am still struggling mightily with my Japanese. But I'm confident I can make it work this time with your help. At this stage, if it succeeds in helping me, then I guarantee i will be your number 1 fan. I laughed during Chapter 3 because I've used just about all of the reasons for not continuing my study. I've begun making my commitment sheet and I appreciate your follow up emails. My biggest obstacle is staying positive. The goals I set are purely for cultural reasons. I want to understand and communicate with my shodo teacher more fluently. It is imperative. Thanks again. Steven

Koike-san, arigatou gozaimasu. I've read the book twice and find that there are a lot of goodsuggestions for learning which I will try to implement. I'm learning Japanese because I'm interested in the language and because I'm fascinated with, and admire the Japanese people and their culture. Sometime ago I subscribed to TV Japan through our local cable TV company which provides Japanese programming 24/7. Even though I only understand some words here and there I watch TV Japan almost exclusively when I do have the time to watch TV. I also subscribe to Hiragana Times. My short term goal is to learn Kana and longer term I would like to be able to understand more of what is being said on TV and be able to use my knowledge of kana to help in using the Japanese language learning books that I have (I purposely bought Japanese language learning books that use Kana and Kanji rather than Romaji). I'm starting to use Pimsleur's Japanese I to help me with conversational Japanese and maybe one day I will get up enough courage to go to a Japanese shopping area not too far from where I live called J-Town. I bought a couple of Japanese cooking/recipe books so I have been to J-Town before for some Japanese items but, didn't have the courage to test out any of my acquired Japanese words :) But, one day, I will. I'm a family man with four children so, sadly, it is very unlikely that I will ever have the opportunity to travel to Japan but there is always hope :) Making the time to study consistently everyday will also be a challenge as work and family leave me with very little free time. Thanks again for "How to Master Japanese." I wish you the best of luck with your business. Regards... Colin

Koike-san, Thank you very much for your supportive follow-up emails. I have been traveling as it is summer vacation and I finally just stopped home for a few days and have been able to download the book. I am excited to read it this afternoon! Traveling around Japan these past few weeks gave me more motivation to continue studying Japanese and I want to make the commitment. If I have problems making the commitment sheet I will let you know. Thank you! Kristin

Kei-san, I have read the eBook, it is very useful book. I have started to incorporate some of the techniques mentioned in the book. My learning and retention of Japanese character has improved. Also, my memorization and retention of what I have learned has improved. Thank you, Gary

Kei-san, Konnichiwa. Thank you for your email with the ebook. I have started reading it and it will be very helpful for me. Michael

About the Author

Kei Koike was born in Yokohama in 1978.
In 2000, he graduated from the Meiji Gakuin University, The Faculty of International Studies with a degree in Japanese Culture.
In March 2004, he established the world's first online Japanese language school, "Japan Online School."
In November 2005, he incorporated Japan Online School.
Currently, he works supporting and consulting Japanese language learners, from private individuals to professionals, in over 27 nations around the world.
About Japan Online School, click here.

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