Introduction:

The Japanese language is an isolated language and one of the world’s major languages, with more than 127 million speakers in the early 21st century. It is primarily spoken throughout the Japanese archipelago; there are also some 1.5 million Japanese immigrants and their descendants living abroad, mainly in North and South America, who have varying degrees of proficiency in Japanese. Since the mid-20th century, no nation other than Japan has used Japanese as a first or a second language. Through the centuries, Japanese grammatical structure has remained remarkably stable, to the degree that with some basic training in the grammar of classical Japanese, modern readers can readily appreciate.

Learning a new language will almost always benefit you, especially if you’re in the localization industry or work adjacent to it. Additionally, there are some secondary benefits of learning a language such as Japanese. You can learn Japanese much faster and much more efficiently than you are doing currently. There are all kinds of tools out there to help you, and there are some great guides you can follow to have a better learning experience. But the bottom line is this: you can learn significantly more on your own. With this in mind, let’s look at some of the reasons why you might want to learn through self-study

• Use the Best Apps and Resources

There are so many apps out there that focus on daily lessons designed to fit a pace that the learner is comfortable with. Japanese-learning tools and apps allow you to study wherever you are. Make use of that commute or replace your morning newspaper for a month with these, instead. You can try apps like Multibhashi, FluentU, DuoLingo and many more.

• Learn to Read Hiragana 

Learning Japanese for beginners may seem like a huge step—and it is, but it’s a wonderful step to take! One of the fundamental topics to cover when you start to learn Japanese is learning to read hiragana. Hiragana is one of the elements of the Japanese writing system so it’s a pretty important skill to learn. The good news is that this isn’t a difficult skill to learn. There are some excellent resources available for beginning learners.

• Watch Japanese media 

If you don’t feel ready for one-on-one communication, you can still get some listening practice by watching Japanese movies, television shows, and dramas as soon as possible. A lot of Japanese TV consists of debating panels who collectively discuss news stories, interview guests or reporters, and so on. The discussions are spoken in fast-paced everyday Japanese because it’s intended for Japanese people. It’s pretty difficult to understand even if you are already familiar with the language for the simple reason that it’s so fast.

• Learn Basic Japanese Pronunciation 

Beginner Japanese learners should focus some time and energy on learning Japanese pronunciation. A good pronunciation dictionary is essential. A handy Japanese app is a mobile method for practicing pronunciation anytime. Apps like this one offer learners the chance to fill small pockets of spare time with language learning. I keep language apps on my phone to practice vocabulary and speaking skills!

While it may not be possible to become fluent in Japanese in just 10 days, it is possible to learn the basics of speaking in a short period of time and move on to becoming fluent. Don’t be discouraged. You can and will learn Japanese much faster than you expect. There are even cases (as the internet will surely tell you) of people who learn it in less than three months!