About this blog

A few useful links:

Check out my latest iPhone game here: (a puzzle game influenced by board games ‘Go’ and ‘Othello’)

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/dokusen/id1000275892?mt=8

Check out my website which helps with tracking goals for foreign language studying:

http://www.languageontrack.com/

I’m running a poll about what my readers want more from this blog. See it here:

http://selftaughtjapanese.com/2014/04/17/poll-what-do-you-want-from-this-blog/

If you are into Hearthstone, check out this app which helps compare deck strengths:

http://decksimulatorforhearthstone.wordpress.com

===

I’ve been studying Japanese for around 20 years, mostly self taught, and I felt like maybethose struggling to master this difficult language could use some of the insights I’ve learned along the way.

About me personally – I live in Oregon, happily married to an amazing woman, and we have been blessed with an wonderful son.

If there is some aspect of Japanese you could use some clarification on, feel free to leave me a comment and I’ll try to write an post on it.

Also, I sometimes translate fiction from Japanese to English as a hobby. If you are interested in having me translate something, let me know.

If you want to reach me directly, you can use the below address, but make sure to replace “gmmail” with “gmail” (this is done as an anti-spam measure).

selftaughtjapanese@gmmail.com

If you like this blog, please consider donating (see button below). Thanks!

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21 thoughts on “About this blog

  1. meenas17

    Thanks for the follow.
    The way you learnt Japanese is amazing.
    I would go through your posts as early as I can.
    All the best.

    Reply
    1. locksleyu Post author

      Thanks for the comment. Actually I was using some stats from your blog for a little study I am doing about followers. I’ll probably be publishing that in the next few days, and it will contain link to your blog.

      Reply
  2. mc

    I found your blog when I was trying to re-find this girl’s page. She is also self-taught.

    Reply
  3. Author

    Great blog and congratulations on your achievement with such a difficult language. I’m a language enthusiast and am self-teaching Mandarin, although in an experimental way, which I’m documenting at mandarinexperiment.com. Despite my very specific method, I’m interested in language acquisition more broadly, including many of the methods that you use.

    Reply
    1. locksleyu Post author

      Thanks for reading and I appreciate the compliment, though I don’t consider myself fully fluent yet. I still have a long way to go (:

      I briefly checked out your web page, looks interesting especially the graphs. I have been thinking I want to learn one of the Chinese languages someday, but I want to become completely fluent in Japanese first, and don’t know how long that will be.

      Anyway, good luck with your ‘experiment’!

      Reply
  4. liske95

    Hii 🙂 I’ve nominated you for the Very Inspiring Blogger Award! (I hope you’ll see this if I post it here)

    Reply
  5. Mr X

    I’ve been studying Japanese for a while now, and have only just come upon your blog. I have to say, it is one of the most readable and interesting sites on Japanese grammar. I love your explanations because they are simple, but don’t ignore nuance and real-world usage.

    I was wondering if you could do a post on ので vs. から?

    Reply
    1. locksleyu Post author

      Thanks very much for the comment and compliment, it’s very motivating!

      At your request, I’ve written a detailed article about “node” vs “kara”. See it here:

      http://selftaughtjapanese.com/2015/10/29/a-tale-of-two-japanese-because-words-node-(ので)vs-kara-(から)/

      Or you can use a shorter link in case that one doesn’t work:

      https://t.co/NlEaqTNOVG

      If you have any other grammar questions feel free to ask.

      Also, if you know anyone else studying Japanese feel free to introduce my site to them (:

      Thanks and good luck!

      Reply
  6. Jacob

    I’m wondering if there is a good point/post on this blog for me to start on.

    I want to learn Japanese, but it seems a bit daunting to me. Guess it’s just out of my comfort zone.

    I also have a kanji/katakana “pictographix” book, if that’ll help speed up the learning process.

    Reply
    1. locksleyu Post author

      My blog right now is not a comprehensive study program, but rather meant to help out in various areas. If you are not taking a class, I think it’s important you get a good quality textbook to help focus your studies. Lately, “Genki” has been very popular, but I used “Youkoso” years back and found it a great series. You can see my review of “Youkoso” here. Once you learn the grammar basics using a good textbook it will make your life much easier!

      http://selftaughtjapanese.com/2014/04/01/review-youkoso-invitation-to-contemporary-japanese-textbook/

      Reply
  7. Sierra

    That’s so awesome that you’re helping people learn Japanese! I’ve always wanted to learn myself. Thanks for stopping by my blog!

    Reply
    1. locksleyu Post author

      Sure, if you ever have any questions about Japanese let me know! Thanks for the comment.

      Reply
  8. Marcle

    Hi. I’m from Japan. はじめまして。
    I’ve gotten to your web site seeking how Haruki Murakami has been read in English.
    I’m a Harukist studying English now. I was impressed you. I’m looking forward your Blog.
    頑張ってくださいね。
    Thank you.

    Reply
    1. locksleyu Post author

      Hi, thanks for the comment! Glad you are enjoying my blog. Good luck learning English, let me know if you have any questions.
      (ちなみに、「You really impressed me.」の方が自然な言い回しです)

      Reply
  9. Marcle

    Hi. I’m from Japan. はじめまして。
    I’ve gotten to your web site seeking how Haruki Murakami has been read in English.
    I’m a Harukist studying English now. I was impressed you. I’m looking forward your Blog.
    頑張ってくださいね。
    Thank you.

    Reply
  10. harcoolbabe

    HI,

    is there any of your post that ranking the best Japanese Novel Recommendation but not the gloomy one? Many japanese novels recommended are gloomy and kind of depressing. I want an upbeat and feel good novel. You know like japanese office drama or Takuya Kimura’s drama.

    Reply
    1. locksleyu Post author

      Hello, thanks for the comment!

      Before I give a recommendation, can you tell me if you want to read it in Japanese or English? If in Japanese, what is your level (how many years studying)? Also, what genre do you like (sci-fi, fantasy, romance, etc.)

      Reply
  11. Lefteous

    Thanks for the follow and the encouragement!
    Look forward to looking through the resources you have here and I may have some questions later on 😀

    Reply

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