| In this article, we will take a look at the basic types | | | | courses in general is their lack of visual stimuli can |
| of Japanese language learning resources available on | | | | make the instruction seem somewhat rote and |
| the market, and review their advantages and | | | | boring and cause the student to lose interest. |
| disadvantages in terms of which ones are most | | | | Nonetheless, many audio courses are quite |
| effective for self-study. | | | | comprehensive and well-constructed, and offer an |
| 1. Japanese Language Textbooks | | | | effective approach to learning Japanese for the |
| There are many Japanese language textbooks on | | | | dedicated student. |
| the market. Among the most popular are Japanese | | | | 3. Japanese Online Multi-media Courses |
| for Busy People, Japanese for Everyone, and | | | | Japanese multi-media courses provide perhaps the |
| Situational Functional Japanese. All of these textbooks | | | | best framework for learning Japanese effectively in a |
| contain solid, well-thought-out Japanese language | | | | self-study environment. Whereas textbooks lack |
| instruction. However, there is a significant | | | | audio instruction and feedback and audio courses lack |
| disadvantage to using textbooks for self-study, and | | | | visual cues to aid in recall and memorization, |
| that is that they were primarily developed to be | | | | multi-media instruction provides all of the above. |
| used under the guidance of an instructor. | | | | The industry standard in multi-media language |
| Without an instructor or accompanying audio material, | | | | instruction is Rosetta Stone. Rosetta Stone offers |
| textbooks can at best provide you with an | | | | Japanese multi-media instruction in both CD-ROM |
| understanding of Japanese grammar, sentence | | | | audio and an online course formats, both of which |
| structure, and vocabulary, but you will be unable to | | | | provide dynamic language instruction that is |
| gain feedback from an instructor or the opportunity | | | | reinforced with appropriate visual cues. As fantastic |
| to actually listen to models of the Japanese you are | | | | as Rosetta Stone is, its one drawback is that it may |
| attempting to study. Therefore, you should be aware | | | | be on the pricey side for some learners, particularly |
| of this basic limitation when attempting to study | | | | those who are still unsure of whether they are ready |
| Japanese on your own using textbooks. | | | | to make a full-blown commitment to learning |
| 2. Japanese Language Audio Courses | | | | Japanese. |
| Another option for Japanese self-study is Japanese | | | | For a much more affordable online Japanese learning |
| audio courses. There are many Japanese audio | | | | learning program, consider Rocket Japanese. Like |
| courses on the market, including Instant Immersion | | | | Rosetta Stone, Rocket Japanese provides high-quality |
| Japanese, FSI Japanese, and Pimsleur. The basic | | | | Japanese language instruction in a dynamic, |
| approach to learning via audio is to listen to a | | | | multi-media format, but at a much more affordable |
| passage of Japanese and attempt to emulate what | | | | price point. As such, Rocket Japanese is ideal for |
| you hear. | | | | beginning learners of Japanese who want to get their |
| While audio courses are in excellent form of | | | | feet wet with the language while getting off to the |
| instruction in that they require that you rely solely on | | | | right start in their learning with high-quality instruction. |
| your ears to learn, the major drawback of audio | | | | |