Confessions of a Japanese Linguist - How to Master Japanese: (The Journey to Fluent, Functional, Marketable Japanese)

Struggling to learn Japanese? You're in good company. Despite proclamations from various companies touting their products as the ultimate learning solution to easily master Japanese, Shane's book makes it clear that there really isn't any substitute for the time, patience and effort necessary to attain fluency.This isn't a textbook or grammar guide. Instead, it's a combination of memoir and useful tips with a heaping dose of realism regarding what it really takes to learn a challenging language like Japanese.Shane candidly shares his struggles and triumphs throughout the process of becoming fluent and ultimately making his living as a professional translator (quite an accomplishment!). He excelled in intensive Japanese courses in college, but despite his efforts, he was humbled when he actually went to Japan and realized he still had much to learn. His story should be easily relatable to any student who wades into the deep water of learning Japanese. It's reassuring to know that struggle is just part of the process.If you're a serious student of Japanese, the road to mastery can be made easier with the many excellent (and often free/low cost) options that weren't available until relatively recently. Here are some of the many Chrome extensions that can help: Language Reactor, Migaku, Japanese IO, Yomichan, Rikaikun, Iago.You also need to train your ear by listening to a lot of Japanese. There are many excellent YouTube channels and podcasts such as "Organic Japanese," "Bite Size Japanese," and "Nihongo for You," which are great places to start.According to my Japanese wife, "Deep L" is the most accurate translation app. Finally, the Tofugu website is an amazing resource with something to offer everyone, regardless of your level of Japanese.Ganbatte!

Excellent book. The author gives a very personal account of his journey to master Japanese, which he surely accomplishes. This is no mean feat. For those of us who continue in the same struggle, it is comforting to hear that one who succeeded has had all the same feelings that this of us who have not yet made it, suffer with on a regular basis. He gives some good tips, most notably the need to just sit down and learn kanji. There is no magic way to do this. He also (correctly) attributes success in this endeavor to persistence and not some natural ability (reminds me of "Grit" by Duckworth).

I can not recommend this book enough. Out of all the material I have to study Japanese, I never was able to find a 'map' of how to navigate. Or even if I was on the right path. Sure, these books worked for other people - but will they work for me? A person who failed at learning Spanish, having to drop the class more than once. Then there's Kanji, a wall that's gigantic and really complicated and numerous.When studying Japanese, especially self-taught, there's even more doubts that rear their ugly head. This book not only helps calm those fears and doubts but also presents a road map to how the author became masterful in the language. Surprisingly, he doesn't just recommend full immersion in the language by living in Japan. Citing that most people will be overwhelmed with the language, and will most likely settle into comfortable gaijin herding.The book can be split into numerous places. For the majority of us, the first half of the book contains the bulk of the formal and not-formal language learning. This includes the pros and cons of Romanji, Language learning methods of learning japanese (Speaking vs Reading), text books (Author used JSL in classrooms), meeting friends and the difficulties of making Japanese friends, and Kanji. How he learned to study Kanji on his own terms. He goes into great detail about how he studied Kanji. It's so clear and precise that I've begun to use his method in my studies. During this time the author lived in Japan while in school, and also back in the states.The second half is about finding work to use Japanese, life in the states after year in Japan, relationships, Translating and the difficulties surrounding it, Teaching, and other ways of using Japanese in other ways besides entertainment and media (Anime and Manga).The book can be easily summed up in one sentence, and makes it a must buy: "If just one reader who may have otherwise given up stays the course as a result of reading this book and goes on to master Japanese in their own right, then the effort I put into writing it will have been more than worth it." This is probably the most 'real' book about learning Japanese you can buy.

This could use a lot of editing. You read a paragraph, then the next states the same thing, then a page later, he repeats the same info again. I liked his story, but this could very easily be 40-50% less verbiage. I know it’s free, but if done better he could charge for it. Thanks for the story!

There are lots of books teaching Japanese but there aren't many books that might show you what's behind the real journey to acquiring this language.The author shows us that every one can learn a foreign language if you're persistent and really want to achieve that goal.Also, he gives us many good tips that can be applied not only to Japanese learning but to whatever language you desire to study.

I was pleasantly surprised to find this an interesting read. I had zero expectations while reading the first few pages. I couldn't stop and I finished in two days.

Expected a little more substance. If you enjoy reading about people prattling on and on about themselves then by all means waste your money on this. Looking for how they achieved or did something...there are much better books that give you more value. All in all, a run of the mill book by a gaijin in Japan. Basically one of several thousand and certainly not standing out in any regard.

A fun, quick read about the author's experience learning Japanese and making a career of it. Jones repeatedly reminds his readers that his fluency is the result of diligence and hard work, and notes the number of hours he spent studying throughout his study and career. He briefly compares different study methods suggests techniques that helped him study and talks about the high level pros and cons of different language acquisition patterns. If you're looking for a quick and dirty magic key to fluency in Japanese, you're likely going to be disappointed. As a reader who enjoys studying languages, I found his insights super interesting and I really enjoyed reading his memoir.