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Learning Japanese is a long and arduous task but there are ways of learning the language an easier way. Especially when living in Japan.

Teach kids. If you can choose between teaching children and adults, choose children. They are doing the same thing you are - learning the basics of a foreign language. I’ve learned tons of words from repeatedly teaching words in English and hearing the Japanese equivalent from them.

Listen to Japanese music. Just listening will help.

Watch Japanese TV variety shows. These shows have the annoying yet highly useful habit of displaying large cartoony Japanese of what they are saying as they are saying them. It’s a really good way to learn kanji.

Watch the learn English TV shows and repeat the explanations of the barbarian’s English into beautiful Japanese.

Get a non-English speaking Japanese girlfriend/boyfriend and speak only Japanese with him/her. You’re young. You’re in love. Language doesn’t matter.

Get Japanese friends. Take up a hobby and join a group - Taiko drumming, indoor football or karate.

The latest edition of Kansai Time Out has a funny article about the Kanji Typo Contest

This is a contest where members of the public send in examples of kanji typos which happen when someone enters a word in hiragana, presses the space bar to change it into kanji yet chooses the wrong word or phrase.

The article gives a few examples such as 今年から海外に住み始めました。（Kotoshi kara kaigai ni sumihajimemashita, This year I began living abroad”) accidentally written as 今年から貝が胃に住み始めました (This year shellfish have taken up residence in my stomach)

今日は見に来てくれてありがとう　(Kyo wa mi ni kite kurete arigato, Thank you for coming to see us today)
今日はミニ着てくれてありがとう　(Kyo wa mini kite kurete arigato, Thank you for wearing a miniskirt today)

うちの子は耳下腺炎でした (Uchi no ko wa jikasenen deshita, Our child had parotiditus [inflammation of the ear])
うちの子は時価千円でした (Uchi no ko wa jika senen deshita, The going price for our child was 1,000 yen)

You can see more at (the all Japanese) Kanji Typo Contest

for a Japanese language school in Osaka?

I’m trying to better myself by studying Japanese further past level three and I’ve come across a big hurdle.

When I studied for level three, all the grammar textbooks had English explanations. Now for level 2, every single textbook I can find has EVERYTHING in Japanese. This includes meanings and explanations.

This seems crazy to me. Why are the meanings of phrases and grammar points I don’t understand, in a language I don’t fully understand?

I studied two Modern Languages at University. If one of them had been Japanese, it would have been immensely helpful in my present life but I didn’t. I studied French and German. I never came across a textbook which had explanations in those languages. They were always in English.

My present study setup involves the grammar textbook and my mac on the kotatsu connected to Jim Breen’s outstanding Japanese dictionary site. This is so I can look up every single word I don’t understand.

But it’s a slow and laborious process when you don’t understand most of them.

When I was at University my friend told me a story of his guitar teacher. He didn’t know whether to buy a guitar that was new with a low fret action or an older one which was cheaper but harder to play. His guitar teacher told him he should buy the expensive one as there was no point in putting up hurdles between you and your goals.

I feel the same way here.

I got the results of the JLPT test I took in December. And I passed.

Writing/Vocabulary 63/100
Listening 74/100
Reading Grammar 163/200

I wrote about the tools I used to study JLPT before. I can’t recommend this book Japanese Language Proficiency Test: Grammar Exercises Level 3 highly enough. The practice exercises in it were harder than the actual exam and every single grammar point needed was covered.

My next target is level 2. I’d like to try it again this year but it’s a large jump up - from 300 Kanji to 1000 Kanji, 1500 words to 6000 words. I’m not sure if I can do it in one year.

We get a lot of cold calls at our house here in Japan. Far more anyway than I ever did in England. On our phone, we can see what the number is and if we don’t recognise it or it’s a local number, Reiko will tell me to answer it.

I”ve covered this theme before in Do I look like S.-san? Now **** off before I call the police

I actually throw them off guard with my Japanese, “Yes?” and then a few seconds later we both discover we have no idea what the other one is saying and one of us hangs up.

You see there are advantages to not knowing Japanese.

I just finished the JLPT Test Level and I`m pretty sure I passed it. I have a short term memory problem and so the listening part I found the hardest. If they`d have let you listen two times to each skit, I`d have been fine. Oh well.

There`s been a lot said about the third level. That you can`t get a job with it and it`s a pointless exam to take. My view is that I learnt more words, kanji and grammar points in the last three months I spent studying for the test than I did in the last two years I`ve been in Japan with no impending test date looming.

I can now also say, “I was made to take piano lessons by my mother” in Japanese. A sentence which although factually incorrect requires a tongue twisting ability found only in Amazonian reptiles and I believe that alone justifies the test fee.

Results are in February.

Good luck to all the fools like me doing the JLPT test tomorrow! Whatever level you’re doing, I hope you get the result you want.

Here`s a list of useful sites for anyone studying for the JLPT:

JLPT Kanji A resource to aid the learning of Japanese Kanji. Included in this site is a listing of the full Jouyou Kanji, classified into JLPT levels, with a lookup of vocabulary for each JLPT level. Including printable kanji lists (Example list), save kanji and vocab to your folder, and kanji and vocabulary level marks to indicate JLPT level

JLPTStudy.com The JLPT Study Page is a resource of study materials for JLPT Levels 2, 3 and 4.

JLPT Forums Forums with general discussion about JLPT

JLPT Vocabulary List These are the complete JLPT vocabulary lists in UTF-8 format, as printed in the official specification book (Japanese Language Proficiency Test: Test Content Specification, The Japan Foundation and Association of International Eduation, 1994-1997):

JLPT Vocab lists Japanese Language Proficiency Test Vocabulary Lists

MLC Japanese Lots of useful Japanese online materials

JLPT Home Home page of the JLPT

JLPT Guide Smug man explains why you shouldn`t take it

Kanji a day Just like it says

Level 4 Vocab A list of vocab from the 4th level.

If anyone can add anymore, I`ll put them up.

I`m applying for the Japanese Language Proficiency Test which takes place in December 3rd. I`m going for level 3 out of 4 which is advanced Beginner. After 2 years in Japan, you`d think I`d be better than that by now but I am naturally lazy.

It`s the level that one smug man who passed the highest level calls near useless but the act of applying to take it is proving great motivation to reach that level. It`s the kanji of course. They`re unimited. I think with 3 months of dedicated study I should know enough built on what I`ve already learnt to pass.

I`ve found a couple of sites that are really useful for information and help:

JLP Study
JLPT Kanji

Anyone know of any else or any advice for taking it?