In order to rectify the situation, we are both writing the Nihongo Shiken this year, even though we may be aspiring too high for our own ability at the outset, it will be worth it for the motivation to study a bit more.
One of my favorite ways to study, or at least to practice what I know, is to go out to local izakaya alone. Go out by yourself, get a beer, and someone will strike up a conversation with you.
Of course, for the test, we've been trying to study in a bit more of a structured fashion, and I've found a lot of useful tools to help get the job done. Outside of all the textbooks we own, some of my favorite study tools include:
Grammar and Dictionaries
- Tae Kim's Guide to Japanese - http://www.guidetojapanese.org/ - a great little grammar guide online.
- Jim Breen's Dictionary - http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/cgi-bin/wwwjdic.cgi?1C - a pioneer in the online Japanese/English dictionary programming, still one of the best dictionaries available.
- PopJisyo - http://www.popjisyo.com/WebHint/Portal_e.aspx - A fabulous little dictionary that also lets you paste in the kanji and get the furigana reading as well as the meaning in English. Great for practicing reading online articles, etc.
- For the iPod Touch, iPhone, I use the dictionary simply titled "Japanese" published by codefromtokyo - http://www.codefromtokyo.com/japanese. It's an excellent dictionary with kanji lookup and sample sentences.
Reading
- I try to practice reading with the Hiragana Times, to which I have a digital subscription http://www.hiraganatimes.com/ - it is a good way to keep up with trends in Japan and to get graded reading practice.
Listening
- Podcasts at Japanese Pod 101.com http://www.japanesepod101.com - Great free resource for listening for beginners through advanced learners.
2 comments:
Gambatte!
Thank you for the links. Who knows maybe I should try to learn because one day I do want to visit there.
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