How’ve you been doing lately? This is Koichi from Tofugu. Thank you for adding me to the “Hacks from the Past” roundup :) I’ve been enjoying the furigana extension from Open Office as well – I think I’ll do a writeup on that (with source, of course~)

Anyways, I’ve got a minor novel for you, here :P

Right now, working at eduFire.com (a website that does live learning via webcam…super slick), and I wanted to tell you about something that I thought could be interesting for your readers. Of course, that’s something you would have to decide on your own :)

eduFire is ramping up to a subscription program for it’s Japanese classes section. This would mean that for a certain amount of money each month (we’re estimating $30-$40, but this hasn’t been decided yet), users can attend as many group lessons as they want, with up to 99 students per class. I’ve taught a few lessons, and they’re so much fun, but people learn a lot too.

For the next month or so, though, the Japanese teachers who have signed up for our site are teaching Japanese Classes, and eduFire is paying them, which means all the Japanese classes are 100% free for students. There are currently 39 classes available, many of which repeat (so there’s really a ton more than that).

I also wrote an article about it, here:
39 Free Japanese Courses You Should Sign Up For

Well, that’s my spiel. Of course, it’s totally up to you as to whether you think your readers might find it interesting. I think it’s a ridiculously good deal, and am sooo excited.

Just to clarify, eduFire classes are live with the teacher via webcam, i.e. these aren’t prerecorded lessons that sit on the web for years collecting dust. You’ll be one-on-one (or group-on-one) with a teacher who will give you individual (or group) attention. It looks like there are 39 different Japanese classes available and you can attend as many as you want for free for the next month or so. Can’t beat that price!

Thanks koichi!

Related posts:

1. Free Book Alert: Japanese Gaming Centers!
2. UFO Catcher: A Guide To Winning
3. November Hacks from the Past roundup

Hi Thomas,

I’ve been reading your blog for a little while, and it’s really great as someone who is interested in Japan :) Keep it up!

I work at a website called lang-8, which is a website where users can write journal entries in the language that they are learning, and then get it corrected by someone who is native in that language. Everyone helps each other by correcting each others journal entries, and everyone learns! Maybe you would be interested in trying it out and taking a look? I also think it might be interesting for your readers as well, but of course, that’s up to you :) Please let me know if you have any questions!

http://www.lang-8.com

Anyways, keep up the good work! I’m enjoying your blog!

From the front page of lang-8, this is how it works:

1. You write journal entries in your target language (Japanese for must of us).
2. Native (Japanese) speakers correct your journal entries.
3. You correct journal entries of other users studying your language.

It really works too. I’ve had a lang-8 account for a while, and every journal entry I’ve ever written has been read and corrected for me quickly. Both for Japanese (popular language) and Swedish (somewhat obscure). If you want to improve your Japanese skills and make native-speaking friends in the process, give it a try!

Thanks Jaered!

Do you know of any websites geared towards Japanese learners, or foreign language learners in general? Post them up in the comments!

No related posts.

[Updated December 20, 2009]
I’ve received several comments that 51gzw is now dead.  Here is where you can find tests:

Tests
Listening sound files
Listening sound files (option 2)

Reader Miki sent in this link to find answers:

You can find some answers and tests on this chinese website [ed: box in the right column]:
http://jp.hjenglish.com/jlpt/
Choose your desired level (一级 = level 1, 二级 = level 2, 三级 = level 3, 四级 = level 4) & year, then click 答案 (answer).
For example, you can find the answers to 2007 JLPT 3 exam here:
http://jp.hjenglish.com/page/28500_riyupage_4/
Ganbatte ne!

Looks like they have answers up through 2007. Thanks Miki

The place to go is 51gzw.com.

Everything you need is right there on the front page.  The first column is level 1.  The last column is level 4.   Links to the sound files for the listening part of the tests are at the bottom of each column (red links with “MP3″ in them).  Answers are given at the end of each test.

If you find that 51gzw’s fonts drive you crazy, you can also find past tests here.  Just manually change the test year and test level in the URL to the test you want to take.   Test papers from this site include the scripts for the listening part.

Finally, another place to find the audio files for the listening section is here.

Thanks to hohomichi for the tip!

Good luck on the test!

Related posts:

1. JLPT Application Forms
2. Buy Your JLPT Application Online
3. Good luck on the JLPT

Google Images

JapanNewbie posted about using Google Images to get a quick visual on unknown words. In his words:

… at work I came across the Katakana word スパナ (su-pa-na).

Spanner? Usually Katakana words have roots in English, but what’s a spanner?

So when checking a dictionary I get…

スパナ (n) spanner; wrench;

Ahhh… So maybe it’s a what I think of as a “wrench”.

To double check, I can put スパナ into Google images… And most of the results look like this.

What a great idea! Nothing helps to clarify a word like 1,000 pictures.

Plain Old Google Works Too

Another trick, one that I pulled from All Japanese All The Time (though I can’t seem to find the precise article), is to use Google to find examples of words in context. When you learn a new word, plug it into Google and you’ll get millions of hits that show how that word is used – in real, natural sentences. This is a great way to clarify the difference between two words with similar meanings.

Do you have any Google tricks for learning Japanese? How about some non-Google tricks? Post your tips in the comments!

If you haven’t already, I invite you to subscribe to NihonHacks’ RSS Feed.

Related posts:

1. November Hacks from the Past roundup
2. Read the Japanese web with Rikaichan
3. Learn Kanji With Your Nintendo DS

About 250万人の漢検

Each level has thousands of questions (over 47,000 total) that it feeds you five at a time. You choose your level and question-type (writing, reading, radical recognition, etc) and it throws the questions at you. You answer as best you can and then it grades you on correctness and speed. Depending on how well you do, you get awarded one of four “orbs”: bronze, silver, gold or rainbow. Missed questions get marked and you can redrill your problem words (again, five at a time) at any time.

Since it’s so fast to complete a 5-question rep, it’s really easy to get sucked into “just one more turn” syndrome. In the short time I’ve owned the game I’ve already answered over 3000 questions without even realizing it. I’ve seen and written the target kanji in my level so many times that I can’t imagine ever forgetting them.

The game also:

1. keeps stats
2. includes two dictionaries
3. has a story mode (more reading practice)
4. kindly supports left-handers like yours truly

This game has been ridiculously time-efficient for me for learning kanji. Check it out.

Other Kanji Games for the Nintendo DS

250万人の漢検 is only one of many kanji games for the Nintendo DS. Kanken2 is another one that is getting a lot of buzz. I haven’t played it yet, but I’m sold on the Nintendo DS as a learning tool, so I’m sure I’ll have it soon.

If you want to know more about this game and others, I highly recommend checking out Naruhodo!, a blog dedicated to Japanese learning games for the Nintendo DS.

Do you use a Nintendo DS to learn Japanese? Got any game recommendations? Drop me a line in the comments.

Related posts:

1. Free Book Alert: Japanese Gaming Centers!
2. November Hacks from the Past roundup
3. Learn Japanese With Google