Below are some pieces of advice for learning Japanese in earnest.

Beginner

  1. Learn to read and write the basic 46 hiragana - set yourself a target of learning at least two a day. This knowledge will help you retain what you learn, pronounce better and have a firm grip on the structure of the language.

  2. Learn and practise reading katakana-noun-words such as supootsu(sport),doa (door) or paatii(party), and make sure that you can write your name in this.

  3. Make your own vocabulary cards on which there are no English definitions. Instead, draw some simple pictures or cite good examples from target textbooks to illustrate the meaning.

  4. Make sure you are aware that Japanese verbs have both polite (formal) forms as well as casual (informal) forms.
    Polite forms are usually employed when the speaker would like to convey some sense of formality and respect because they do not know the listener well.
    Once they know you (the listener) sufficiently, they usually switch to the informal form.
    This means that you should understand both forms but you do not have to use the casual form if you feel happier sticking to the formal.
  5. Understand the main counting systems
    A lot of gaijin (foreigners) come across situations where they need to use numbers. For example, when you go to a restaurant, they almost always ask how many people there are - hitori(ひとり）, futari（ふたり）, san nin（さんにん）. If you would like to buy a train ticket, the person in the ticket office will ask " Nan mai desu ka?（なんまい　ですか。）" (How many?) as 'mai' is the counter for paper-based things such as tickets. If you would like to buy four apples, you should be able to say "Yottsu" （よっつ）　instead of just "yon".
  6. Enhance your Japan-awareness by going to Japanese films, listening to Japanese music and eating Japanese food.

  7. Make a provisional travel plan to go to Japan in the near future.
    Learn some useful phrase such as Ohayoogozaimasu, Itadakimasu, Itterasshai.

Intermediate

  1. Learn only the most relevant reading of a kanji. You don't have to know all of the readings. Which reading to know depends on your level
    One of the best ways to learn the appropriate reading is to learn these in the right context for your level. For example, the kanji byo as in byooin (hospital) has another reading, yamai, but this reading may not be of any use until you reach a more advanced level.
    The knowledge that kanji can be classified into six major categories - rikusho - will help you learn them better.
  2. Make sure that you can construct complex sentences with so-called adjective clauses. For example, Yamada san ga kinoo yonda hon wa watashi ga 1-chinen mae ni yonda hon desu. (The book that Mr Yamada read yesterday was the book that I had read a year ago.)

  3. Distinguish intransitive verbs from transitive verbs that have similar meaning. For example, otosu means 'to drop' as in You dropped a pen on the floor., but ochiru means 'to drop' as in Your pen dropped on to the floor a few minutes ago.

  4. The Japanese are passive in expressing their sentiments. When one talks about his/her ability; for example, the ability to remembering so many kanji (Chinese characters), one can say this in at least two different constructions.

    (1) I have the ability to remember a lot of kanji.
    (2) Some unknown forces enable me to remember a lot of kanji.

    The subject of the construction (1) is the agent- “I” who actively makes the effort and achieves the target of remember kanji.
    In this construction the agent is seen as active and contributes to the outcome. This results in an English sentence such as “I can remember so many kanji!”
    However, this is not what Japanese people do. Japanese prefer (2) construction in which they seem to be saying that “I am made capable of learning so many kanji.” Or “I do not do any active effort on my own, but some unknown outside force caused me to learn what looks impossible.”
    This result in “Takusan kanji ga oboerareru!”（「たくさん漢字がおぼえられる。」）

    Notice when a Japanese person achieved a remarkable outcome, they often say “Okagesama de”（「おかげさまで。」）, which literally means “ Your caring shadow made me achieve this!”

Advanced

  1. Get rid of bad linguistic habits that you are likely to have developed over the years.
    One advanced student keep saying “SuiAsen!（「すいあせん。」 ” when he apologizes, which reminds me of a Japanese comedian with a red lipstick on his cheeks.

    He always says this expression in the right context in the right tone. The only thing that is not proper is the pronunciation.
    It should be, obviously, “Sumimasen（「すみません。」）” or colloquially “Suimasen　（「すいません」）”. He sadly complained that no Japanese people had pointed this funny sound out before.

    It is usually very hard to notice, point out and correct some of the mistakes that advanced learners make because they are so subtle.


  2. Read a lot of Japanese books to learn how we express ourselves, which is distinctively different from the way European people express themselves.

  3. Chat about anything with any Japanese people as often as possible to learn the informal/formal register.

  4. Buy a good Japanese-Japanese dictionary, which is publised for Japanese children, so that you can refer to this instead of a Japanese-English dictionary.

  5. When you talk to Japanese people, be attentive to their use of vocabulary/phrases/expressions. Make a note of those that you have never heard of. Afterwards, check them and if they turn out to be useful/interesting, add them to your list and try to use them in the right context.

  6. Be consistent in the degree of politeness. If you talk to your Japanese friends, always use friendly forms. However, when you talk/write to your Japanese teacher, always communicate in politer terms. Employ proper nouns/adjective/pronouns/verbs, etc. You have to be consistent in terms of politeness; do not mix less polite forms with politer forms as this make it seem you don’t really know advanced Japanese grammar.

  7. Realize that Keigo can be classified at least into three categories - sonkei (respect), kenjyo (humble), teinei (polite).