Having spent no more than a few weeks in Japan in my lifetime, I usually hesitate to speak too much about Japanese culture because I have so much to learn and so little to teach. However, the topic I have selected this time – 挨拶 – is something I feel I have enough experience with… Read More »
When creating my language learning website Language on Track, I wanted to add some other features in addition to goal tracking to really make it a nice set of tools to help study foreign languages. The one part of LOT that I likely spent the most time on and am the most proud of is… Read More »
One of the great things about studying a foreign language is there are so many different ways to study it apart from boring textbook work. Whether it’s striking up a conversation with your waiter in a foreign language, making a penpal from a country of interest, or attempting to read a magazine in a foreign… Read More »
With a busy schedule and very limited time, listening to a Japanese podcast in the car on the way to and from work is one of the few things I can do consistently to keep up my Japanese ability and learn new words. Ecclemon was nice enough to recommend the podcast 夢夢 engine (http://www.tbsradio.jp/yumeyume/) and… Read More »
One thing that is certain about foreign language study is you have to learn about many different types of things: reading, writing, grammar, conversation, culture, etc. If you are taking a formal language class at a college or similar place, the teacher will guide you to to a proper balance between all these topics through lectures, choice… Read More »
The Japanese are known for their video games, with a long line of classics like Street Fighter, Mario Bros., Final Fantasy, Devil May Cry, or even Dance Dance Revolution. While in the last decade or so the number of non-Japanese game companies has increased, the Japanese have continued to put out great quality games at a great pace, and… Read More »
I think it’s commonly accepted that the younger you start learning a new language, the easier it is to become fluent. The human brain just seems to have more plasticity at an early age, and many studies seem to give credence to that idea. But it’s not to say that taking on a new foreign language… Read More »
One topic I’ve written several posts on is how pronunciation is so important when learning Japanese, and I had given a link to an online accent dictionary that I see a few people had checked out. I also noted that I owned a physical accent dictionary, but had never really used it much. I decided… Read More »
Not sure if anyone has noticed, but I’ve stopped posting for quite some time, having been busy with work and just life in general. I tend to get focus most of my free time and effort on one or two things at a time, and that energy has been sucked up by other tasks lately.… Read More »
I decided to take a break from my usual lineup of Japanese podcasts and download a few episodes of a podcast I’d heard once or twice before, “青春あるでひど”. The title is made up the word 青春 (seishun), which means roughly means “youth” and あるでひど which is probably a reference to アルデヒド (aldehyde) which is a common… Read More »