What's the best way to start learning Japanese?

[Planet 0500]

Hello

 

Are there any Taoist ways of enhancing your ability to learn a new foreign language like the Japanese language, which is very different than the European languages I speak?

 

Each language is a system of thinking and I believe that mastering a radically different one would be a very significant personal improvement.

 

Thanks!

Edited September 19, 2010 by Planet 0500

[That Guy]

Go to a Japanese language course, and ask people who get high grades on them how they study, try it and see if it works for you.

[adept]

This guy learned Japanese without taking classes.

[goonis38]

Hi there,

I always learn the best by being thrown into a swimming pool, and not knowing how to swim...

So move to Japan, and you will learn...

take care Melanie

Edited September 19, 2010 by goonis38

[ZhengLi]

Forget classes at school, that is for sure. The classroom is just not ideal for quickly learning a language since the pace is not individual and the material is rarely conversational. Vocabulary lists out of context and the majority of work being written lends to decent written comprehension, but as many of us remember from highschool, the method doesn't lend itself to spoken fluency. I suggest doing 1 month of the Pimsleur Japanese course, just for the sake of pronunciation and basic grammar, as Pimsleur will give you these things quite easily and at a slower pace. After which point, I would explore your options. Assimil programs I hear are amazing. FSI does not have Japanese as I understand, but if you can find something similar they are extremely thorough.

 

This is the forum/site to go to: How to learn any language.

[de_paradise]

Yes indeed Pimsleur or Assimil are good.

 

First start with a course that uses Romanji, that leaves the characters and script for much later (6 months-1 year.) This way you can make progress in coversation fast and your focus is not so broad and boggy. Plus you may never need to write or read, but speaking opportunities will always come up.

 

To answer your question directly: MEMORIZATION IS LOCKING YOUR MIND ON ONE THING, IT IS A FORM OF MEDITATION.

I memorize things in my spare time, but only recently did I realize it had this spiritual effect, it is similar in qi effects as doing a mantra. Plus you get the bonus of having some information at ready.

 

The path of learning a language is akin to spiritual cultivation, the process is spiritual.

 

Here is how to make the most time efficient progress while also gaining spiritual benefits: Take around 12 words per day to memorize, and run through them as much as possible in free time. Also at night before and after sleep, as the near hypnogogic and hypnopompic states favour subconscious impressioning.

[goldisheavy]

Hi there,

I always learn the best by being thrown into a swimming pool, and not knowing how to swim...

So move to Japan, and you will learn...

take care Melanie

 

That's how I learned English. Worked for me. It helps if there is a fun activity that can only be enjoyed in the language of your choice. I learned English so much faster than I otherwise would because I liked watching various TV shows and playing many text-heavy, and therefore English-heavy games.

 

Understanding, reading and writing are the easiest, but speaking in a new language is the hardest to learn, in my experience. For the longest time when I was learning to speak English I would have to say each sentence in my mind in Russian, and then painfully translate into English, even long after I could understand, read and even write English. What a pain in the arse that was.

 

My timeline was like this: to understand English more or less perfectly it took me 6 months. It took about 2 years to learn to write. And it took about 4 years to learn to speak. There is no way to learn to speak a language well without actually speaking it at all times for a long period of time, imo.

 

And to add insult to injury, before I even had a decent command of the English language, I already half-forgotten Russian as well.

Edited September 20, 2010 by goldisheavy

[Martial Development]

This is the best way to start turning Japanese. HTH.

[Planet 0500]

Oh thanks! Good points!

[Planet 0500]

Hi there,

I always learn the best by being thrown into a swimming pool, and not knowing how to swim...

So move to Japan, and you will learn...

take care Melanie

 

Hi. Yes sure... Moving to the country where they speak the language you're interested in is obviously the ultimate solution. Once you're able to get there and you do get there there's no reason to pay any effort or to worry about anything related to the language. But how can one sustain himself in a such faraway place... Do you mean westerners can find jobs there relatively easy and even without speaking Japanese fluently ?

[LaoTzu21]

go to japan

[Planet 0500]

This guy learned Japanese without taking classes.

 

Thanks a lot adept ! Your suggestion is really helpful.

[mYTHmAKER]

Get a Japanese girlfriend