Electronic Dictionaries
After you start studying, you will quickly realize how hard it can be to bring along all your paper dictionaries. That is why I love my electronic dictionary (denshi jisho) from Canon. Now mine is 12-years old but it still had so much in it. I use the Canon Wordtank IDF-4000 and it is 6 huge paper dictionaries condensed down to an electronic dictionary. It has a nice keyboard and looking up kanji and words has never been easier. The Japanese to English Dictionary has 80,000 words that clearly beat my best paper dictionary. There is also an encyclopedia for quickly looking up topics of interest and a Kanji section that has 410,000 compounds. It is light weight and you can adjust the brightness to make it easier on your eyes. I realize my denshi jisho is old and there are some great improvements on new models. I like the Canon Z410 that allows users to write with a stylus pen. It also has an MP3 player, voice memo, a USB connection to quickly translate any unknown kanji or Japanese words online by highlighting the character, a backlit screen, SD card for better storage, a book marker, stroke order animations, easy ability to jump between dictionaries, word memo to save vocabulary and kanji you want to memorize, and the ability to magnify text.
You really should do your own online research and find the electronic dictionary that works the best for you.
Another option if for iPhone and iPod Touch users is the Japanese dictionary app. You can use it to download and listen to your favorite Japanese learning podcasts. I like Japanese Pod 101 because it breaks down Japanese into individual levels so if you are a beginner you can start there. I find the Advanced Audio Blog the most useful for me. I listen to Japanese Pod 101 all the time at work.
For gamers there is lots of quality software for the Nintendo DS such as My Japanese Coach, a Japanese electronic dictionary, and my favorite the kanji calligraphy game. Ohtani Sensei is highly skilled in Shodo (Japanese calligraphy) and as a little joke we gave him the game to play and after using the stylus pen to write a few kanji, he didn’t score as high as he wanted to.
Entertainment
1) Movies. There are so many great Japanese movies out there that will help you develop listening skills. I would avoid the Samurai movies if you are beginning because the Japanese will probably be old fashion and confusing unless the dialogue has been converted to modern. I would pick something like anime for children that shouldn’t be too difficult to start out with. Take any of the great Studio Ghibli anime movies by Miyazaki Hayao and choose the Japanese language audio track and turn off the English subtitles. After three years of study, you should be able to watch children’s anime without too much of a problem. I recommend My Neighbor Totoro, Ponyo, Spirited Away, Nausciaa of the Valley of the Wind, Proco Rosso, Grave of the Fireflies, Princess Mononoke, and Howl’s Moving Castle.
I am a big fan of J-horror so I include those movies in my list like The Ring series, Ju-on, Audition and most everything by Miike Takashi. I wouldn’t recommend Miike to those who dislike gory and violent horror movies.
2.)Dramas. Youtube is a great place for watching Japanese dramas. My favorite one and I like the TV series better than the movie, is Densha Otoko about a nerdy otkau who saves a beautiful young lady from being molested by a drunk on a train. He breaks out of his geeky self and transforms himself into her boyfriend. To help him understand women and dating, he has a team of friends online who come to his aid.
I also like watching the Japanese comedy shows like Mecha Mecha Iketeu starring the comedy team 99 that consists of Takashi Okamura and Hiroyuki Yabe. Yabe is the straightman to the funny, stupid antics of Okamura who plays the stooge. It is sort of like watching Saturday Night Live back when that show was still funny or Mad TV. There are lots of great shows and short clips on Youtube and Niconico the Japanese version of Youtube.
Everything Else
There are many sources that I am discovering everyday that I haven’t had time to take a hard critical look at. In addition to the textbooks I grew up using there is also Nakama and the highly popular Minna no Nihongo series. Situational Functional Japanese is said to be good, although again, I have never used it. Just take a look at thejapanshop.com to look for what interest you. The advantage of the Japan Shop is learning material is divided into beginning, intermediate, and advanced levels. Also, you don’t want to buy something outside of your ability so by clicking on a book you get a handy Difficulty Level rating.
I have not personally used Rosetta Stone but I did met someone who claimed he was fluent after using Rosetta Stone and he was able to hold a conversation in Japanese without resorting to English. I am not sure about his reading and writing ability.
My favorite way to practice speaking Japanese, without stress, is to go to an Izakaya or bar with my Japanese friends and get drunk. After heavy drinking you lose your fear of sounding foolish and your Japanese comes out naturally without sounding forced.
Something else I do is buy Japanese songbooks by my favorite artists like Chara and learning to sing by singing the Japanese on the sheet music while listening to the song. Some Japanese CDs contain karaoke versions so you can use the book and sing along with the recordings, solo.
There are countless sources available online and to if you choose to use the Genki books I highly recommend checking out the Genki supplemental website at genki.japantimes.co.jp.
I have tried to include a variety of sources because mastering a language doesn’t involve one source. You have to figure out what works for you and be able to use it. The key is to be fluent and the journey is long and sometimes painful, however the benefits of being bilingual make it all worth it.
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