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. Learn several greetings before you go to Japan. A lot of students who have been to Japan agree that learning some greetings is very helpful.

    Arigato (Thank you), Ohayoo (Good morning) **or Jya mata! (See you again) are just some of them.

    You do not have to learn the polite version of these, though these are often listed in guide books, as the informal version will be acceptable.

    One of my students who stayed in Japan for a week learned just two phrases and she kept saying these: they are "Arigatoo" and "Sumimasen" (Excuse me!).

    If you think that these are too long, learn just one word - "Doomo!" which could mean "Thank you / sorry/ excuse me/ good bye and many more!
  7. Enhance your Japan-awareness by going to Japanese films, listening to Japanese music and eating Japanese food.

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