It has been said that in studying others, we learn more about ourselves. The same holds true when learning new languages. Taking up the study of a new language is one of the greatest gifts you can offer yourself. Learning in any form is wonderful and if you can do so for free, even better. Check out the many online language learning courses that teach you to speak Russian, Spanish, English, French, Japanese, or any other of many languages to choose from for no cost at all, through the use of free online language courses and books.

Through many online sources you can learn a new language for absolutely no cost at all. Through these programs you will be able to play educational games in order to improve vocabulary and memorize words and phrases in your chosen language as well as set up a foundation for the language’s grammar and spelling rules. Learning a new language and building up your vocabulary in that particular language actually helps you learn more about your own language in the process, so you could say that this is a 2-in-1 treat.

There are so many reasons for a person to expand their horizons and learn a new language, but perhaps the most rewarding reason is for self-fulfillment. Whether or not you ever get to visit the lands of the languages you learn, there is some inherent wonder at the language learning process. When you can enjoy this contentment with free online language learning courses, there really is nothing to stop you from achieving your language learning goals.

If you have friends or family that might also be interested in learning another language or about another culture, you can undergo the learning process together. Plan an evening or event where you enjoy the foods of the land (whether you cook your own or go to a restaurant) converse in the language and watch a film in the language you have studied. It’s a great way to see how much you have learned while having a great evening you would have probably never thought to experience otherwise. Learning a new language with a friend or family member has a huge advantage over learning it solo, namely the fact that it offers you the possibility to converse freely. Most people that learn a language on their own find themselves in a situation where they either have no one to practice their freshly gained skills with, or they are simply to shy to practice them to someone they don’t know because of the fear that they will make mistakes and get laughed at.

Be creative and have fun with all of your learning pursuits. You don’t have to have flashcards and play educational games in order to learn something new, but sometimes the very simple fun steps are the ones from which we gain the most knowledge and understanding. By inviting a friend to share the experience with you, you are opening doors to expand horizons even more while sharing the joy with others.

Michael Gabrikow
http://www.articlesbase.com/education-articles/share-the-joy-of-language-learning-72506.html

How To Impress Your Friends With Spoken Japanese Even If You’re A Total Beginner

Yes, you really can speak Japanese if you have 10 minutes to spare each day.

The idea of course is to have a well planned out learning system that only requires you to set aside 10 minutes each day for learning Japanese.

The key to learning Japanese is really quite simple. If I were to summarize it, it would be….

L.A.R. (Learn, Apply and Repeat)

One of the biggest mistakes most beginner Japanese learners face is to Apply and Repeat what they had studied before.

What’s the point of learning new phrases and vocabularies only to forget about them later? It’s pointless right?

Imagine that you’re learning a list of 20 new Japanese words. Without apply and repeating that list of 20 Japanese words, your chances of retaining them would be around a mere 10 percent.

In other words, that’s only 2 words. Without applying and repeating that word list, you continue to learn more new words. Again, everytime you learn a new list, you’re only able to remember 2 words. But that’s not all…

The more Japanese words you learn, the more confused and harder you will find Japanese is. Indeed, you will start realizing that even if you kinda know what’s the meaning of that Japanese word, you have no idea how to use it.

That’s why the Apply and Repeat part play such a vital role in learning japanese effectively.

Forcing yourself unnaturally and unwillingly to memorize Japanese ords can only do you more harm n the long run. Learning Japanese ithout a proper plan is like shooting an arrow without a target in mind.

If you’re an absolute Japanese beginner who want to impress your friends with spoken Japanese, here are 3 simple Japanese words or phrases that you can use on your friends to impress them.

Konnichiwa (pronounced as Kone niche jee waa). This is something similar to “Hi” and “Hello”. You can say this to your friend whenever you meet him. Just think of it as a form of greeting.

Sumimasen (pronounced as Sue mee maa cent). This is the equivalent of “I’m sorry” or “my apology”. So the next time you’re late on a date or a meeting, just say sumimasen.

Sugoi (pronounced as Sue go it – without the t). Sugoi means cool, excellent or awesome. When you want to give someone a compliment, try saying sugoi!

When you meet someone – say “Konnichiwa!” When you hurt someone – say “Sumimasen!” When someone kiss you – say “Sugoi!”

Can you see the beauty behind the simple but powerful L.A.R. system? Learn, Apply and Repeat!

The more you learn, you more you need to apply and repeat. The more you reinforce what you’ve learned (by applying and repetition), the better your Japanese will be. The secret key to learning Japanese is to have a simple and workable plan that you must consistently stick to it no matter what.

By applying the L.A.R. system, there’s simply no reason why you can’t remember and master those 3 Japanese words, “Konnichiwa”, “Sumimasen”, and “Sugoi” easily, today!
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Rippasama is the author of “The Quick and Easy Formula For Learning & Understanding Normal Japanese Conversation in Less Than A Week”, a free online report available for a limited time at http://www.learn-japanese-guide.com/learn_japanese/learn_japanese.html

Copyright 2006-2007 – Rippasama. You are free to reproduce this article as long as no changes are made, the author’s name is retained and the link to our site URL remains active.
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Rippasama
http://www.articlesbase.com/education-articles/how-to-impress-your-friends-with-spoken-japanese-even-if-youre-a-total-beginner-63447.html

As with any practice that doesn’t necessarily has a “one way” of being done, language learning has a few common mistakes that apply to most, if not all the available learning methods out there. Whether you’re studying using a free online course, through educational games, translated texts, flashcards or any other method, you’re bound to find one of these mistakes if what you’re using is not of good quality.

1. Learning the new language like a science

The language learning process is by no means comparable to say, learning a particular science or learning a profession. Language learning is a skill and like all skills, sheer, raw information gurgling won’t do the trick. This is a very common mistake that is especially hard to avoid in written language learning methods such as courses, online lessons and the likes. It’s very tempting for the writers of these materials to simply divide the language in big chunks and feed it to you with a large spoon: “here’s the grammar” “here’s the spelling” “here’s the vocabulary”. This will get you nowhere, or if it will indeed have any effect, you will take the longest route to get to it.

2. Taking large breaks

I’m feeling metaphorical today, so let me compare the language learning process to a huge furnace. If you want to light this huge furnace you’ll need to constantly feed it firewood and as you do so, you’ll see the fire growing bigger and bigger. Now, stop the process and the fire will go out and you’ll have to put an almost equally hard effort to get it back on. It’s the same with language learning. Once you get into it and you start getting the hang of it, a large break from studying or practicing could be a killer. Detach yourself completely from the learning and practicing and you’ll find yourself having to bring in a new load of firewood.

3. Learning too fast

There’s a factor that I like to call “learning anxiety” that usually affects persons trying to study a language because of a personal or professional need (your wife’s Japanese, your new business partner is French, your son is Dutch, stuff like that). This phenomenon happens when you’re in a rush to get basic grip on a language and you skip through some of the essential steps too fast. You go in studying grammar without a basic vocabulary, you get into advanced terms before even knowing the basic ones and so forth. This may indeed allow you to understand and make yourself understood in a conversation, but overall, you will take more time correcting your wrongfully learnt concepts than it would have taken you if you had studied them correctly in the first place.

4. Using solely “theoretical” learning methods

This issue could be a problem with 9 out of 10 learning processes, but the language learning one is even more acute. Whether you could pull it off perfectly in say, physics, if you only used theoretical learning all the time and you were suddenly faced with a real, practical problem, with language learning you’re bound to look a fool. Theoretical language learning will hardly form any accurate pronunciation skills and whenever you’ll be faced with an actual conversation in that language, you just won’t be able to express all that theoretical information you stored up.

5. Using the “all work no play” technique

It’s well known that anything you learn while relaxing or having fun, you learn with more ease and the information you store this way is longer lasting and can be used more effectively. You’ll be amazed by the amount of language learning techniques out there that don’t take advantage of this and instead, tend to follow the more rigorous path. Sure, playing vocabulary games, using flashcards, completing quizzes or whatever you could deem as “fun learning” won’t be as fast or intense as the rigid methods, but you get the above mentioned effects and you lose the risk of getting learning fatigue.

6. Learning monotony

Although last in our list, this is by far the most common mistake that you will find with online language courses and even with language center practical lessons and courses. Language learning is a long, arduous process, make no mistake about it. I don’t care what those “Learn Spanish in 2 weeks” course books say, it just can’t be done in such a short time span. Or well, if you consider grasping the complicated inner-workings of phrases like “Hello, how are you today?” in Spanish having “learnt” a language, then so be it. Anyway, the point is that in this long and arduous process, we tend to get bored, we tend to lose the initial enthusiasm when we realize that “hey, this isn’t as fun as I thought, it’s actually hard work”. Lesson monotony does not help this and it’s the main reason most people simply quit a course instead of putting up with it.

To avoid learning monotony, try to mix up your learning methods as much as possible. Use translated texts, use audio tapes, engage in conversations with friends, teachers or other students, watch media in that particular language if available, play educational games, use flashcards, use the dictionary to improve your vocabulary, do ANYTHING you have to do, just don’t let learning boredom overcome you, because trust me when I say this, it’s a foreign language killer in way too many cases.

Michael Gabrikow
http://www.articlesbase.com/education-articles/6-common-mistakes-made-in-language-learning-98184.html

The answer to this question is “Yes”, Japanese is one of the most difficult languages to learn and to master. Regardless of what you’ve heard, regardless of what you’ve read and regardless of how many “Learn Japanese in 10 days” book titles you’ve seen at the library, the Japanese language is extremely hard to handle for most of the Western world using Anglo-Saxon or Latin lexicons. The Japanese alphabet (which is a combination of 4 different alphabets and scripts), the Japanese grammar, high pitched Japanese pronunciation of words and the distinct speaker – listener status that is specific to the Japanese language are all factors that can guarantee you’ll have a harder time learning this language than say, German, French, Spanish or any other language that at least shares some common attributes with English.

But then again, if you’ve set off to learn Japanese, you’re either very ambitious, or you’re forced to learn it because you’re moving to Japan, visiting Japan, your business needs to handle contracts with Japanese firms or any other similar reason, so you can’t let the detail of the language being “hard” to stop you. After all, you’re part of a select group of foreigners learning Japanese. Why I’m calling you “select” is that studies show that only around 2.5 million people learn Japanese in institutions (1.5 million being South Korean and Chinese, with only 300,000 Australians, 150,000 Americans and 200,000 Europeans) and another million studying it on their own. Although we’re talking about millions of people, the numbers are still low compared to other languages such as English, French, Spanish or German, which are being studied by hundreds of millions at a time.

Depending on your language learning skills, on the quality of your teachers, courses, books and the amount of time you spend on learning japanese, it could take you between 2 and 4 years to say that you’ve mastered it. Visiting Japan or staying there for a longer period of times obviously helps a lot and makes your task easier, as is with most languages. Also, if you’re studying Japanese for a business purpose, you’ll have to handle specific terms which most general Japanese courses don’t cover. For these, you either need specialized courses or you need to fill in the gaps by reading on the subject.

Whenever you think you’re ready, you can try taking the JLPT (Japanese Language Proficiency Test) or JETRO (Japanese External Trade Organization), offered by the Japanese government. These tests are paid and they are quite hard for even an intermediate Japanese student, so they’re not worth wasting your time unless you’re 100% confident on your Japanese language skills. If compared, you can say that the JLPT is similar to any other high level language certificate such as the English CAE (Cambridge Advanced English) and TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language), the French DALF (Diplome Approfondi de Langue Francaise) and DL (Diplome de Langue) or the German GDS (Groses Deutsches Sprachdiplom).

Michael Gabrikow
http://www.articlesbase.com/education-articles/is-learning-japanese-really-that-difficult-68630.html

Is learning Japanese really that difficult and what type of person does it?

The answer to the first question is "Yes". For most Westerners coming from one of the romance family languages Japanese is going to be more difficult languages to master than say, Eskimo. Regardless of what you’ve heard, regardless of what you’ve read and regardless of how many "Learn Japanese in your toilet time" book titles you’ve seen at Kinokuniya, the Japanese language is extremely hard to handle for most of the Gaijin world. Not content with a perfectly good alphabet in hiragana the Japanese have four alphabets (if you include romaji) and two systems of pronunciation, multiple interpretations, with the same kanji character. Then there is the distinct speaker – listener status that is specific to the Japanese language. These are all factors that can guarantee you’ll have a harder time learning this language than perhaps even Chinese.
So given that learning Japanese is some kind of bizarre masochism what kind of a person undertakes a lifetime commitment to working around the subtitles of a language based in hidden convention and working out all those little squiggles. Without being overly stereotypical there are two distinct groups.

The first group of learners pick up the language along the way and can often found in load boisterous izakayas having a riot and speaking very bad Japanese. Surprisingly these people are actually excellent communicators. They always have a huge circle of friends and appear to have a secure happy out going nature. However they are often frowned upon by the second group for their poor Kanji ability and less than serious attitude. The second group can usually be determined by a slightly geeky appearance and mis-shaped cranium. Obesity and baldness are also a common factor. They take great pride in their Japanese Kanji ability collecting Kanji in a similar fashion to a train spotter collecting train identification numbers yet they remain ignorant of how the transport system essentially works.. Usually the study of Kanji starts during high school or undergraduate life at university as they become socially isolated. Finding recognition in Japan they sadly are still unable to express themselves normally or communicate thoughts meaningfully. These people have a small circle of friends, usually Japanese who are forced to work together with them. There is a high correlation between members of this group and having Japanese partners who are inept.
Yet the western Japanese speaker remains a select group. There are only about 2.5 million student who study Japanese in institutions: 1.5 million being Korean and Chinese, 300,000 Australians, 150,000 Americans and around 200,000 Europeans. Although these figures refer to millions of people they are extremely small in comparison to German or Spanish.

Depending on your language learning skills, on the quality of your teachers, courses, books and the amount of time you spend on learning japanese, it could take you between 2 and 3 years to make a basic dent in the language. That is an investment of about fifteen thousand dollars and a lot of time. Obviously living and working in Japan facilitates the learning experience yet sadly for many of the second group, the geeks, as much as they wish to become Japanese they will always be outsiders. But being anal, this will not occur to them for a further decade. As for the first group, they’re to busy to worry about this fact and rarely care.
At some point the Japanese Language learner will want to sit the Japanese language Proficiency Test (JLPT) or Japanese External Trade Organization (JETRO) administered by the Japanese Government. These tests are not cheap and not for the faint of hearted. Significantly, the first group of boisterous party goers will not study until the last few days, although they may carry a text book around and talk about it dismayingly, they rarely open it. In contrast the second group is by nature extremely studious and live to tell all and sundry exactly how hard they study, and just how hard that study is. Finally both groups have a deep inner desire to integrate into Japanese society and at times this illusion may seem attainable. But the truth is no matter how long they live in Japan they will always be Gaijin, because exclusion is intrinsic to the society they love so much.

David Jones
http://www.articlesbase.com/languages-articles/is-learning-japanese-really-that-difficult-and-what-type-of-person-does-it-109770.html

You may need to learn the Japanese language because you are traveling to Japan and want to become familiar with popular Japanese words and phrases. Or you might have taken a class to learn Japanese years before and are now looking for a refresher course. Perhaps you have a great interest in learning to speak Japanese simply because you love the Japanese language.

Whatever the reasons you desire to learn to speak Japanese, you will want to be sure to keep the following advice in mind.

There are many aspects of the Japanese language that you might be considering learning. If you are interested in learning essential Japanese words and phrases to get through a few conversations with those who speak Japanese fluently, then beginning with the basics is the best place to start.

Learn popular words and phrases such as “hello”, “how are you?” and “thank you” first. Then practice using them in your daily conversations with those who speak Japanese. If you do not know anyone who speaks Japanese, keep practicing and speaking your words and phrases daily anyway – practice makes perfect.

If you want to learn Japanese so that you can better understand Japanese etiquette and culture, it is probably best to immerse yourself in conversational Japanese language studies. learning japanese this way can be beneficial because you will understand the body language, intonation and communication styles of those who speak Japanese fluently.

Listen to conversational audio, observe fluent speakers interacting with each other, and even try to watch and comprehend Japanese news or other real-life Japanese shows on TV. When listening to others speak Japanese, you still want to try to pick up on basic Japanese words and phrases. However, in learning conversational Japanese, it would be to your advantage to focus on situational phrases and even Japanese slang or expressions as well.

Understanding and using these types of colloquialisms is what helps you to become fluent in the Japanese language. Instead of focusing on basic phrases like “hello” and “good morning”, you will want to focus on how to begin interactions by asking questions like “what is your name?” or “what do you do for a living?”. Japanese etiquette plays a role in conversation, so take notice of the phrases and intonations that younger people use when speaking to their elders or that employees use to speak to their superiors.

It can be very difficult learning a new language. You want to try your best to stay motivated. When learning the Japanese language, you are not only learning to speak new words, you are also learning to read and interpret a different type of writing. Languages such as French and Spanish contain the same letters as the English language, but used in slightly different ways. The Japanese language will be a totally new way of reading and writing for you.

Do not be afraid of making mistakes with reading, writing or speaking Japanese, instead try to learn from your mistakes. Record yourself while you practice speaking Japanese so that you are aware of your mistakes in pronunciation and intonation. Being able to identify your weaknesses as you learn Japanese is the best way to improve.

Blank
http://www.articlesbase.com/education-articles/some-advice-when-learning-to-speak-japanese-59670.html

Japanese is anything but an easy language to learn, regardless of one’s mother tongue. Still, it is one of the most popular foreign language choices in America and Europe, for two main reasons: the economical importance of Japan and the numerous businesses contracted between Japan and these areas and the fascination for Japanese culture that mainly formed up through modern Western media. Regardless of which reason you want to learn it for, the Japanese language cannot be learnt easily unless you know how it works.

Japanese is spoken by over 130 million people all over the world, obviously most of them being in Japan’s mainland. The Japanese language’s grammar is usually very complex to foreigners because it uses a specific speaker-listener status vocabulary that is unlike anything English or other western languages can offer. Another showstopper when learning japanese is its writing style, which uses a combination of three alphabets: Chinese characters (also known as Kanji) and two syllabic scripts known as Katakana and Hiragana. In addition, modern Japan uses the Latin alphabet for more and more purposes, which makes it slightly easier for English speakers to grasp this new language than say, a hundred years ago.

Many Japanese learning courses and books start off slowly, in a gradually increasing order of steps. Although this is the correct way to go with any language learning process, it takes a lot of time and you might simply not have that available time to invest in it. For this reason, there are a series of accelerated learning techniques that skip through some of the basics and try to accumulate these fundamentals over more advanced chapters, naturally. Take note that although this is definitely a faster way to learn Japanese, there’s a good chance that someone that takes the “stepwise”, slower technique will almost always speak and write better and more correctly.

One of the most common Japanese language accelerated learning techniques is to plunge you head first into some easier texts, as soon as you know the basic alphabet, then provide a translation in English (or your mother tongue) of the same text. This obviously skips a lot of steps such as basic grammatical structure, pronunciation of words, punctuation and so forth. However, this accelerated learning technique has the advantage of building up your vocabulary quickly. Doing several of these translated reading exercises per day, you will soon get some of the grammar and spelling foundations that you’ve skipped in the first place, up and running.

The next step in most Japanese language accelerated learning techniques is to play a tape followed by a translated text. After you’ve built on your Japanese reading and understanding skills, the audio technique is the logical step forward. This will correct any pronunciation problems and will also have a positive effect on your vocabulary gain. There are several sources offering Japanese language accelerated learning techniques, including books and courses. You can find some very useful sources online, on sites dealing with Japanese language learning, Japanese language translations and tests.

Michael Gabrikow
http://www.articlesbase.com/education-articles/japanese-language-accelerated-learning-techniques-70805.html