If you’ve been wanting to study Japanese but is having a hard time doing so. Here are some easy steps you can follow to get you started. 1. Find a good Textbook that will help you study the basics When learning a new language, it is important to have a book that will help you out with the basics of the language. Japanese can be quite difficult to begin studying if you don’t have the right guidelines. Some books that are easy to follow and will teach you in a fun way are Genki and Japanese for Busy People. These two books are one of the most popular text books people use when wanting to learn Japanese. They are simple enough where they will teach you the essentials in the language, as well as do it in a way where you don’t have to spend hours trying to understand the new concepts. They provide CDs, workbooks, and have websites that can allow you to continue studying without needing to have the book with you at all times. 2. Watch TV/Anime/Dramas/YouTube/Movies and Listen to Music in Japanese. Studying doesn’t have to be boring all the time. Surprisingly enough, studying Japanese by watching TV and listening to music is probably one of the most effective and fun ways of studying. Not only you can enjoy the shows and music that you like, but without even realizing it, you are learning the language at the same time. TV and Music help you improve your listening skills by training your ear for a better pronunciation and hearing how people speak in real life. This helps you learn in a more natural way and it becomes easier for you to sound like a native person. If you find it a bit challenging at first, a tip is to begin watching shows or movies meant for kids. For example; Disney movies often help since most people have already watched them and since the language it’s a bit simpler for kids to understand. They often speak in a slower clearer way making it easier for beginners to learn and understand the language. Once you are able to understand a bit better, try using subtitles in Japanese, so you can see how it’s spelled and written. This also will improve your reading skills and will make it easier to memorize Kanji. 3 Find Yourself a Conversation Partner When it comes to learning a language, speaking is always the most challenging part. More often than not, when learning a new language most people are able to understand better than speaking. Therefore, if you can find someone who already speaks Japanese and can help you with your conversational skills you will definitely learn the language faster. Try to have simple conversations and you will start connecting everything that you have been studying and putting it into practice. The language will start making more sense that way and it will also become easier to make more friends and communicating with people. 4. Learn Tongue Twisters and Japanese Sound Effects Tongue twisters are great in helping you improve your pronunciation skills, it helps you speak faster, and it can be a great conversation starter when needed. It’s also a great way to impress people when you speak with them. Japanese sound effects are definitely something that is essential when learning Japanese. Most languages don’t have the type of sound effects Japan has, but these are words that are used in everyday life to describe sounds that animals, nature, and people make. They are called onomatopoeia. Most of the time they are found in manga books, so if you read manga you most likely have seen them and probably know what some of them mean. Most of these sound effects don’t have translations to other languages since other languages don’t use these types of sound effects therefore, you just have to learn them on your own. But learning them will definitely help you learn Japanese and have a better understanding when people speak with you. 5. Come to Japan!! No matter how much you study, watch movies, or talk to people. The best way of experiencing Japan and it’s language is by coming to Japan! Japan is such an amazing country with such a unique culture, food, and people that the ultimate best way to learn the language and immerse yourself in the culture is to come to Japan. You will be able to experience it first hand and your skills will improve much more since you will be forced to speak the language. Going to places outside the city might be better to learn since less people will speak English there. So if you have the chance come to Japan enjoy all the great things this country has to offer!