Japanese Articles

You are capable of more than you think, and get out there and speak the language!

By Stephanie M. | 3/5/2013 3:34 PM CST |

Japanese

The Summer of 2012 I embarked on a study abroad journey to Hikone, Japan. Hikone is home to the historic Hikone castle and known for it's close proximity to the largest lake in Japan, Lake Biwa. The Japanese language school I attended is called JCMU (Japan Center for Michigan Universities). It is right on the edge of the lake and provides many beaches and opportunities for chatting with the locals. Most of us stayed in the dorms connected to the main building. We woke up 5 days a week at 8 am and by 9am were in our classrooms learning Japanese straight until 3 pm. On Fridays we got to stop at...

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Partagez la Parole!

By Taron W. | 6/16/2012 6:30 PM CST |

French,
Language,
Japanese,
Korean,
Russian,
11 more...

Are you looking for a great way to practice your speaking skills in French? Go to www.sharedtalk.com! There you will find native speakers of French (among many other languages) with whom you can practice your speaking skills. This is a great way to improve your listening comprehension, too! Try it out! It's free and all you have to do is sign up!

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Revolutionize your language learning experience

By Tamara A. | 10/24/2011 11:43 AM CST |

I've been re-reading an old copy of Barry Farber's book How to Learn Any Language. The copy I have is more than a little out-of-date, as the author talks about the "innovation" of portable audio-cassette players as a language-learning tool. The internet has opened up countless new tools for learners of foreign languages. If I were to update Farber's book myself, here are the online tools I would add to his list of advice. If you would like the details of any language-specific sites or need help navigating the overwhelming amount of available online resources, feel free to contact me through...

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How difficult to learn Japanese?

By Emi Y. | 8/16/2011 9:38 AM CST |

Japanese

You are interested in learning Japanese? Why?

If you have something to get into, such as Manga, J-pop or anything! You can do it!!!

When I started to learn English, that was difficult to do. At the beginning, I had terrible spelling and didn't know enough words... I didn't even know how to spell "Bye."

But... I started to watch kids programs like a Sesame Street or movies where I switched original English sounds and wrote down words that I didn't understand.

The important point is to KEEP STUDYING!!!!! If you keep studying, you can learn more and more :)

Good luck in anything you are studying...

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Japanese-to-Spanish Resource

By Tamara A. | 2/9/2011 10:16 AM CST |

Spanish,
Japanese

I just discovered this book, which is an interesting resource for Japanese speakers learning Spanish. The title is Hajimete no Supeingo (Beginning Spanish). The lesson introductions and explanations are all in Japanese, and the Spanish phrases that are being taught are presented in Spanish with the pronunciation rendered in katakana below each phrase. The book comes with a cd. The audio reads portions from the book aloud, and it is unclear whether the Spanish is read by Japanese or Spanish speakers.

I am using this book with my conversation exchange partner. We speak Japanese for one hour...

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Creating Confidence When Speaking a Foreign Language

By Jessica S. | 11/9/2010 4:11 PM CST |

Spanish,
French,
Italian,
Japanese,
Korean,
5 more...

Creating Confidence When Speaking a Foreign Language

Studying a foreign language? Feeling tongue-tied, unable to spit out what you're trying to say? You aren't alone. One of the biggest challenges in learning a foreign language is training our tongues (literally) to speak in a way that is rather unnatural. Ever tried to roll an "r" in Spanish? Or (for me) speak a lick of French? It is exhausting, at best.

One way to ease your fear of speaking a foreign language is - you guessed it - to SPEAK the language! And I don't mean go out in public and ramble at any random person you meet (although...

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TV dramas for Japanese language learners

By Izumi C. | 9/30/2010 1:15 PM CST |

Japanese

For Japanese learners, I want to recommend TV dramas and movies from Japan; however, it's very hard to select a program for lessons. AIBO or Partners is recommended for advanced adult students. Q.E.D. is cute and good for middle and high school students. Both protagonists speak beautiful standard Japanese. Their Japanese sounds great and intelligent. Mr. Ukyo Sugishita, an unusually sensitive and talented detective, has superb vocabulary which is also good for Japanese learners. There is nothing wrong with local accents and slang but they are distracting for foreigners. In my opinion,...

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My lessons are fun

By Izumi C. | 9/22/2010 3:29 PM CST |

Japanese

My lessons are fun. I use Japanese TV dramas, anime, and magazines to design lessons. If you want to see sample lessons, please contact me. I will send a sample lesson in Power Point format to you. Lessons must be fun. When you are motivated, you can learn anything quickly.

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