For some reason I’ve been getting a lot of emails regarding this subject lately. There are a lot of people out there learning Japanese on their own who don’t know what to do first. Of course, there isn’t a set way to start learning Japanese. Everyone will have their own opinions and their own ideas on how it should be done. I think mine are pretty standard, and nothing revolutionary, but hopefully it will be a good jumping off point for some beginners out there who don’t know what to do next.
- Start with hiragana. Most class settings start you off by learning some basic words, and that’s graavvy, but when learning on your own, I think you need to take a slightly different approach. Since you are learning alone, you won’t get help with your pronunciation from your teacher. You need to start with hiragana in order to learn the basics of how Japanese sounds, and how the structure of the letters works. By learning hiragana first, you will understand how words are put together, and how they are said. If you don’t have a teacher to correct you, learning hiragana will give you the best base that you can get for starting Japanese.
- Make sure you check your pronunciation: There are sites out there that will help you pronounce all those crazy Japanese syllables. Practice your hiragana by saying it with the computer. Once you can say all the letters perfectly, you are well on your way to having good pronunciation.
- Start putting together words: Now you know hiragana, so start using it! If you’ve managed to get this far, you probably know a few words. Start spelling them out and say them out loud. I remember the first day I could spell sushi. That’ll be one of your first words, like a little baby.
- Right about here is where you pick up a beginning Japanese textbook like Genki or Yokoso and do what it tells you. Those aren’t necessarily the best Japanese text books, but they’ll do the job. Remember, learn hiragana first, and then break your text book open. I guarantee you will have stronger basics and it will speed up your learning in the long run. Everyone faito!
That about does it. If you have any more questions, or anything to add, please do! There are so many things that us “classroom Japanese learners” take for granted that can’t be compared to the self-learner. I think there are a lot of people out there trying to learn on their own, so let’s support each other with ideas, mistakes, and success stories…just don’t tell me about how your love for Naruto inspired your Japanese language abilities, or you’ll get some Pepsi-man shafting.