Transcript
Top 5 Tools for Learning Japanese
Do you remember what it was like before the advent of the Internet? If you were trying to study Japanese on your own in the early 1990s, you would have had to find a private Japanese tutor, travel to Japan, or read a book. But with the convenience and accessibility of Internet resources, tools to help you along your Japanese-speaking journey are right at your fingertips! Whether you're practicing your kanji, Japanese conversational skills, or Japanese translation skills, help is just a click away!
This Japanese All About lesson will teach you about the best online resources to use to help you learn Japanese. We'll share links to the best online Japanese dictionaries for translations and for kanji practice, and we'll even tell you about a network where you can find native Japanese speakers to correct your work. Visit us at GengoLanguages.com where you will find many more fantastic Japanese lessons and learning resources! Leave us a message while you are there!
Top Five Tools for Learning Japanese
The focus of this lesson is to suggest the top five useful tools you can use to learn Japanese.
Some great tools to aid you in your Japanese studies include the following:
1. Rikaichan
Rikaichan is a popup dictionary extension for the Firefox Internet browser that translates Japanese into English, German, French, or Russian. With this extension installed, you can easily look up the meaning of Japanese words that show up on webpages by simply hovering the cursor over the word. A box will instantly pop up with the reading and definition of the word. Rikaichan is very easy to use and is a must when navigating Japanese webpages.
Rikaichan website: http://www.polarcloud.com/rikaichan/
2. Rikaichan Kanji Dictionary
Rikaichan not only translates words, but also gives you detailed information on kanji. Hover the cursor over any kanji, whether it is part of a compound or by itself, and press the Shift or Enter key to toggle between the word, kanji, and name dictionaries. The kanji dictionary gives detailed information that include the kanji's meaning, all possible readings, radicals that make up the kanji, number of strokes, and more. This kanji dictionary is a part of the Rikaichan add-on mentioned above, so there's no need for a separate program.
Rikaichan website: http://www.polarcloud.com/rikaichan/
3. Eijiro Dictionary
Eijiro is an English-Japanese/Japanese-English dictionary with an extensive database of translations and sample sentences. A group of professional translators put it together and continue to update it regularly. As a result, Eijiro contains a huge number of difficult and obscure terms, colloquial expressions, and technical terms. You can buy Eijiro online at the ALC Online Shop website in the form of a CD-R or a downloadable dictionary file, and a free online version of Eijiro is available through the SpaceALC Japanese website portal.
ALC Online Shop: http://shop.alc.co.jp/top/
SpaceALC (free onine version of Eijiro): http://www.alc.co.jp/
4. Anki
Anki is a flashcard program that lets you review vocabulary, kanji, or both! This program is based on a theory called spaced repetition, which means it presents the learner with flashcards at certain calculated intervals. This system is based on research that shows that when you repeat new material to learn it, the interval at which you repeat it makes a big difference. The flashcard system in Anki is very flexible and customizable, making it a great tool for learning and retaining vocabulary and kanji.
Anki website: http://ichi2.net/anki/index.html?
5. Lang-8
Lang-8 is a Social Networking Service (SNS) created for the purpose of language exchange and international communication. Once you register, which is free, you can write a journal entry in the language you are studying, and other users who are native speakers of that language can correct your entry. In turn, you can also correct the journal entries of those who are studying your native language. Many people studying Japanese use Lang-8 to have native speakers correct their journal entries written in Japanese. Even if you are just getting started with Japanese, this is a good way to practice reading and writing in Japanese as well as receive valuable feedback!
Lang-8: http://www.lang-8.com/
