What's the best way to learn Japanese?

Question

Possibly other options beside the CD rom types, thanks :D

Answer 1

That's my personal suggestion, being a Japanese learner myself:
Start with the Pimsleur courses. They are tape (or CD-) based and they teach you progressively to speak and understand Japanese. There are 90 lessons, 30 minutes each. Pimsleur is by far the best initial approach to the language, and you can really do that while you are exercising or commuting. They are expensive, so you should get them at the local library. They are really good and in 3 to 5 months you will be able to have a very good command of the spoken language. In the meantime, you can start learning the main sillabary, hiragana, followed by the second sillabary, katakana. That is easily done online or, even better, with flashcards (you can find them for real cheap). The best way to learn it is to use it, though, so you may want to try writing down the words you learn with Pimsleur. As a dictionary, use the Furigana one by Kodansha, you can find it on Amazon. That's the best resource for learners at an early stage.
At this point, the best thing to do IMO is to start practising with some Japanese. There are several people in Japan who would like to do tandem with Americans, to learn English. For the conversation, you can easily arrange phone calls on the Internet (for free or at very low cost). Also, get yourself a grammar. It's really not that hard, but very interesting to have a complete understanding of everything you have been learning by assimilation. Don't forget to watch DVDs with subtitles (at this stage, any DVD in formal language will be fine).
The next step is learning Kanji (the japanese ideograms). While there are very good systems out there, you do need a lot of flashcards and patience. This step is the most complicated and may take a while. Learning kanji should go together with getting yourself some facilitated readings (that also is easily available material).
At this point, I really would consider visiting Japan and getting to know as many Japanese as you can. In particular, you can work on your conversation skills. You will be surprised, Japanese is not such a hard language to learn!
Best luck,
Marco (italian "linguaphile")

Answer 2

It's a little hard to answer without some more information. I would quickly say to live in Japan for a few years, but I realize that isn't a practical option for everyone. If you're college bound (currently in high school) then start looking for colleges with Japanese as a major. It's not easy to find, but you can also settle for colleges with just Japanese courses, which isn't so rare.

If you're in college, and you can't take Japanese courses (because of your schedule, the college doesn't have it or otherwise) consider the JET programme. That's where you teach English in Japan. I don't know why so many people are discouraging people from going if they don't know the language. Obviously, don't go without a book or two (i.e. dictionary, phrasebook) but consider this-I had studied Japanese for three years in high school before I met a person who just came back from JET over the summer before my senior year (which I went on to a fourth year of Japanese). He went on the JET programme without any knowledge of Japanese. In two years, his Japanese language skills were better than my three years of high school.

So really, the best way is to live there. Again, if you're in college, and the JET programme isn't for you, you can always try study abroad programs. They're out there; you just have to look. Some colleges may even have their own that go to Japan-sometimes even if the college doesn't offer in Japanese courses.

If you're looking for a way to do it in your own country, pick up some books, maybe even consider a private tutor (which is also not for everyone). Everyone has a different way of learning. I would like to argue one of the posters above me. One, while Romaji shouldn't be used by proficient Japanese users, or even at a point beginners, at the very start of your learning of Japanese, having the Roman characters alongside the Kana characters will help you learn those. It's not even possible to know what the heck those symbols mean without Romaji. So to a certain point, you need Romaji. When you get more proficient, yes, stay away from it. But not at the start.

Two, anime can certainly help your language. True, you won't get 'good' by simply watching it, but it will help you pick up a few phrases, and retain ones you know. Watching anime certainly won't hurt, and even if you watch it for a while and only pick up a few words, it has helped in some way. So anime is good, and, dare I say it, a healthy way to progress your learning of Japanese.

You will not get 'good' on anime alone. So hopefully I've listed enough options for you to try. I truly hope you are able to learn Japanese!

Answer 3

Spend time around Japanese people. Maybe go to Japan.

Answer 4

Rosetta Stone

Answer 5

A college course in Japanese at your local community college.

Answer 6

Move to Japan for at least a couple of years...

Answer 7

Classes with native Japanese speakers.
Speaking to them on things such as Skype.
Using kana and kanji (that you know) in chatrooms such as http://www.sharedtalk.com
Staying the hell away from romaji.
Not beliving watching anime will make you "good".