Your favorite Japanese media and language resources!
January 26, 2016 8:39 AM Subscribe
I am looking for specific Japanese language resources that fall into two groups: adult intermediate-to-advanced level, and early childhood education for Japanese kids. Please share your recommendations!
When I asked last week about sending our child to weekend Japanese school, I was loudly reminded of the obvious: that we need to step up our Japanese-speaking game at home. Got it. The project is underway.
Assume that the primary Japanese speaker in the family will take responsibility for ensuring that everyone learns correct and proper Japanese. But, assume further that the secondary Japanese speaker in the family is able and willing to participate, and would like to demonstrate to the child that this is a group learning effort.
I'm plenty aware of the general recommendations to "speak Japanese at home, consume Japanese media, read manga, read Japanese books", and what have you. What I am looking for are specific recommendations for your personal favorites in the following categories:
1) Adult learner: Needs language learning materials that are at least intermediate level. Not beginner. Major concerns are for improving vocabulary and listening/speaking fluency. Kanji is obv. important but secondary for now. Do you have recommendations for:
- iphone apps? I currently use KanjiBox, which I like. The multiple-choice format has some limitations but has been good for scrubbing some rust out of my brain.
- podcasts? "News in Slow Japanese" is good. I tried JLA, but the audio quality was rotten.
- manga? Especially manga that has fairly natural dialogue and vocabulary. Like, not Rurouni Kenshin.
- TV shows? Preferably with dialogue that is relatively easy to hear and follow.
2) Early childhood education. Preferably targeted at kids who are native speakers:
- TV shows? Of the slow-paced and educational type.
- Youtube videos? (For example, this Mr. Men/Little Miss series by Sanrio is really good)
- iPhone/iPad apps? (We have some. I'm interested in your favorites. We have access to Japanese iTunes store.)
- Fun games to slip some education into our daily lives?
- Websites with ideas for parents?
- Lists of words your average 2-3 (or 4-5) year old should know?
And of course any other ideas you have that I missed. Websites in Japanese are fine. I can read through something - what I can't do is skim twelve things and pick the best one. I'll also share whatever brilliant ideas you have with Mr. Panda, who will take care of sourcing materials.
When I asked last week about sending our child to weekend Japanese school, I was loudly reminded of the obvious: that we need to step up our Japanese-speaking game at home. Got it. The project is underway.
Assume that the primary Japanese speaker in the family will take responsibility for ensuring that everyone learns correct and proper Japanese. But, assume further that the secondary Japanese speaker in the family is able and willing to participate, and would like to demonstrate to the child that this is a group learning effort.
I'm plenty aware of the general recommendations to "speak Japanese at home, consume Japanese media, read manga, read Japanese books", and what have you. What I am looking for are specific recommendations for your personal favorites in the following categories:
1) Adult learner: Needs language learning materials that are at least intermediate level. Not beginner. Major concerns are for improving vocabulary and listening/speaking fluency. Kanji is obv. important but secondary for now. Do you have recommendations for:
- iphone apps? I currently use KanjiBox, which I like. The multiple-choice format has some limitations but has been good for scrubbing some rust out of my brain.
- podcasts? "News in Slow Japanese" is good. I tried JLA, but the audio quality was rotten.
- manga? Especially manga that has fairly natural dialogue and vocabulary. Like, not Rurouni Kenshin.
- TV shows? Preferably with dialogue that is relatively easy to hear and follow.
2) Early childhood education. Preferably targeted at kids who are native speakers:
- TV shows? Of the slow-paced and educational type.
- Youtube videos? (For example, this Mr. Men/Little Miss series by Sanrio is really good)
- iPhone/iPad apps? (We have some. I'm interested in your favorites. We have access to Japanese iTunes store.)
- Fun games to slip some education into our daily lives?
- Websites with ideas for parents?
- Lists of words your average 2-3 (or 4-5) year old should know?
And of course any other ideas you have that I missed. Websites in Japanese are fine. I can read through something - what I can't do is skim twelve things and pick the best one. I'll also share whatever brilliant ideas you have with Mr. Panda, who will take care of sourcing materials.
iPhone: Do you have imiwa? (It's called imiwa? as in it ends in a question mark.) It's a dictionary and a good resource.
App2: Try "otome games" by voltage inc. The dialogue tends to be short and simple because it's made for mobile phone users. The Japanese ones show up on my UK iTunes store. It's all silly romance, but nothing magical or odd. More josei than shoujo.
TV show: try Nihongo de kurasou -- it's designed for intermediate learners.
TV show 2: Nihonjin no Shiranai Nihongo -- a drama about a woman who teaches an intermediate Japanese language class. There's also a series of books. I'm at a very low level of Japanese and I can understand the book a little.
(If you're looking for something like "kanji for kids grade 1 or 2" then PM me, I can send you one when I go to Japan next month, but please PM me before the 5th!)
posted by Ms. Moonlight at 10:51 AM on January 26, 2016 [1 favorite]
App2: Try "otome games" by voltage inc. The dialogue tends to be short and simple because it's made for mobile phone users. The Japanese ones show up on my UK iTunes store. It's all silly romance, but nothing magical or odd. More josei than shoujo.
TV show: try Nihongo de kurasou -- it's designed for intermediate learners.
TV show 2: Nihonjin no Shiranai Nihongo -- a drama about a woman who teaches an intermediate Japanese language class. There's also a series of books. I'm at a very low level of Japanese and I can understand the book a little.
(If you're looking for something like "kanji for kids grade 1 or 2" then PM me, I can send you one when I go to Japan next month, but please PM me before the 5th!)
posted by Ms. Moonlight at 10:51 AM on January 26, 2016 [1 favorite]
If you have a chance to go to Tokyo, head to Bonjinsha near Nagatacho station. They have the best selection of Japanese learning books anywhere in the world. They can help to find something, and it's nice to be able to browse to find a book that suits you.
Just in case your level is lower intermediate, Minna no Nihongo has a second book, which is an excellent place to start.
I used a book called "New Approach" after Minna no Nihongo. There are two volumes, Intermediate and Intermediate/Advanced. They come with CDs and there's a supplemental workbook. It uses a passage of text (also on the CD), then the new vocab, followed by examples of the new grammar and a bunch of quizzes. I liked it a lot. It does tend to be a bit dry though. The advantage is that you learn vocabulary, reading, listening and grammar at once.
I've heard good things about Tobira too. It seems to be the book that's mostly recommended for intermediate.
The Kanzen Master books are great. They're geared towards the JLPT but can be used for self study. I found the grammar ones the most helpful and the kanji ones the least helpful. As an aside, the JLPT is a great way to get motivation for studying as well as learning from a set curriculum.
Another nice book for grammar is どんな時にどう使う by ALC. There are a few different versions and one is specifically inter/advanced. ALC make great quality Japanese learning books.
Jazz Up Your Japanese with Onomatopoeia is a fantastic book that teaches Giongo/Gitaigo through natural sounding conversations. It's a lot of fun.
As a final two, 中級日本語文法要点整理ポイント20 (published by 3A Network) is a nice intermediate grammar book. They also have a beginner level book which is surprisingly good. And Jay Rubin's Making Sense of Japanese.
For apps, I use the Wisdom 2 dictionary and The Kanji Learner's Dictionary app. If you have an iPad, this app has fun quizzes and a Kokugo dictionary that intermediate learners can actually use. It's much easier to use than something like Daijirin. I still haven't found a great English-Japanese dictionary, they're all geared towards Japanese speakers learning English.
Good luck!
posted by nevan at 12:49 PM on January 26, 2016 [1 favorite]
Just in case your level is lower intermediate, Minna no Nihongo has a second book, which is an excellent place to start.
I used a book called "New Approach" after Minna no Nihongo. There are two volumes, Intermediate and Intermediate/Advanced. They come with CDs and there's a supplemental workbook. It uses a passage of text (also on the CD), then the new vocab, followed by examples of the new grammar and a bunch of quizzes. I liked it a lot. It does tend to be a bit dry though. The advantage is that you learn vocabulary, reading, listening and grammar at once.
I've heard good things about Tobira too. It seems to be the book that's mostly recommended for intermediate.
The Kanzen Master books are great. They're geared towards the JLPT but can be used for self study. I found the grammar ones the most helpful and the kanji ones the least helpful. As an aside, the JLPT is a great way to get motivation for studying as well as learning from a set curriculum.
Another nice book for grammar is どんな時にどう使う by ALC. There are a few different versions and one is specifically inter/advanced. ALC make great quality Japanese learning books.
Jazz Up Your Japanese with Onomatopoeia is a fantastic book that teaches Giongo/Gitaigo through natural sounding conversations. It's a lot of fun.
As a final two, 中級日本語文法要点整理ポイント20 (published by 3A Network) is a nice intermediate grammar book. They also have a beginner level book which is surprisingly good. And Jay Rubin's Making Sense of Japanese.
For apps, I use the Wisdom 2 dictionary and The Kanji Learner's Dictionary app. If you have an iPad, this app has fun quizzes and a Kokugo dictionary that intermediate learners can actually use. It's much easier to use than something like Daijirin. I still haven't found a great English-Japanese dictionary, they're all geared towards Japanese speakers learning English.
Good luck!
posted by nevan at 12:49 PM on January 26, 2016 [1 favorite]
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喰う寝るふたり 住むふたり I loved this one - sweet couple moving through their late 20s, some work scenes.
いつかティファニーで朝食を I've only read the first two, but especially liked the inclusion of real breakfasts and recipes - you can plan ahead for places you'd like to visit next time you're in Tokyo...Again, the settings are mostly domestic, offices, and restaurants, so the vocab is realistic.
Orange. If you can tolerate some high-school and sci-fi, a great friends' group story. Looks like it's available in English, too, for cross-checking.
For a novel, how about 窓ぎわのトットちゃん? We read excerpts from it in a fairly low-level class back in the day, and it's relatively easy going.
You could try CrunchyRoll for subtitled doramas (I'm sure there are other options as well). I also strongly recommend watching news clips on NHK online. You can watch over and over again, and print out the written article to go through and pick up the vocab. Very helpful for learning more "grown-up" Japanese.
posted by chocotaco at 8:57 AM on January 26, 2016 [1 favorite]