Category Archives: Reviews

Japanese movie review: Hula Girls (フラガール)

Me and my wife decided to buy this movie’s DVD from Amazon since it had quite good reviews and we were glad we did. This film is partially based on real events, where several girls from a small mining town, Iwaki (Fukushima prefecture) began learning hula dancing after discovering a spa resort (Joban Hawaiian Center) is… Read More »

Japanese magazine review: 「子供の科学」 (Science for kids)

In the age of the internet, anyone studying a foreign language can access nearly limitless content in the language of their choice if they search hard enough (though I have read that know some languages are more represented than others online). Having said that, I feel there is something special about using magazines for foreign language study.… Read More »

Japanese drama review: 素敵な選Taxi (suteki na sen-Taxi)

(I’ve made a single question survey regarding Japanese ability – if you are interested please check it out here. Thanks!) As things have been the last few years, I haven’t spent much time watching Japanese dramas, and finding one that is good enough to keep my attention past the first episode is even rarer. “素敵な選Taxi”… Read More »

Japanese book review: “Humorous short story collection” by Endo Shusaku (遠藤周作:ユーモア小説編

“Humorous short story collection” by Endo Shusaku is one of the books I picked up at an Japanese grocery store in Orlando that just happened to have a rack of used books. At the time I thought it was from a different writer, but after discovering my mistake I decided to try reading it anyway.… Read More »

Japanese podcast review: 子育てカフェ (childcare cafe)

For quite a while I was listening to a science-related Japanese podcast (here), and then after getting a bit tired of that I decided to take a break from podcasts for a few weeks. For my next podcast to use as Japanese listening practice, I went to the NHK podcast site, which generally has episodes… Read More »

More foreign language tracking: vocabulary words

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 »

Of the many ways to enjoy studying a foreign language

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 »

Japanese movie review: 「そして、父になる」 (Like Father, Like Son)

Since I speak to my son in Japanese most of the time, I’m always looking for more ways to increase my vocabulary in the area of natural phrases that I can use when playing or interacting with him. This is one of the reasons I was eager to watch this film, which my wife found… Read More »

Japanese podcast highlight: 夢夢 (Yume yume) Engine

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 »

Language goals help foreign language study

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 »