There is no definitive “correct” way to study language, but some language learners prefer more structure than others. Here’s one progression of materials (both free online resources and traditional textbooks) that I generally recommend.
Absolute Beginners
Goal: Learn the kana systems and get off roman characters as soon as possible.
Free Resources
Smart.fm:
Hiragana
Katakana
Hiragana stroke order
Katakana stroke order
Genki Online Free Resources
Ideally, you would have both Hiragana and Katakana done and under your belt in two days, which is what would be expected of you in a university-level intensive summer course. More realistically, it will take a casual but dedicated learner about 1 to 2 weeks, and a casual but undedicated learner up to a month. I don’t see any reason to put money into products that will only teach you the kana systems, so I recommend just sticking to Smart.fm, which is the free, and traditional pencil and paper. Buy some graph paper with fairly large squares to practice maintaining the balance of the characters, and refer to the stroke order sites linked above (from the University of Hawaii which, arguably, has the most prominent Japanese department in the U.S., if not the world).
Books
Japanese in Mangaland: Learning The Basics
Unless you’re really in a dedicated drive to master the language ASAP, keep on the lighter side of things with an introduction to the language through the Japanese in Mangaland series.
False Beginners
Goal: Get familiar with the language, build your lexicon.
Free Resources
Smart.fm:
Japanese Core Steps 1 – 10
ReadTheKanji.com (JLPT Level 4 only)
Books
Genki 1: An Integrated Course in Elementary Japanese
Genki II
A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar
Japanese in MangaLand 2: Basic to Intermediate Level
Jump right into the Smart.fm Core Vocabulary series for your first 2000 words. Take the decks slowly and make sure you are repeating the terms and example sentences out loud. Really spend some time on each term – Don’t just fly through the deck like you’re in a race for your life. Study slower to learn faster.
Alternate Smart.fm with the free JLPT 4 deck on ReadTheKanji.com. If you like the system (I do), consider signing up quick while their one-time-$10-fee for lifetime membership offer still stands.
Consider buying the books listed above and change your study environment. Getting out of the house is something that is really important to me, and I find that studying in a new environment actually makes me more productive. My house has too many distractions to really get any serious studying done. The above-mentioned grammar dictionary is a particularly good investment. I have all three in the series, and I don’t for a second regret buying them. Also, the Genki series is what really got me into the language, but I had a biased experience because one of the textbook authors was my teacher at uni, so she obviously knew the material inside and out.
Intermediate
Goal: Start to change the way you think about language, think in Japanese.
Free Resources
Smart.fm:
Intermediate Japanese Steps 1 – 12
Books and other products
Basic Connections: Making Your Japanese Flow (Power Japanese Series) (Kodansha’s Children’s Classics)
Making Sense of Japanese
Japanese in MangaLand 3: Intermediate Level (Japanese in Mangaland (Numbered))
Remembering the Kanji
A Dictionary of Intermediate Japanese Grammar
ReadTheKanji.com ($10)
Keep going with Smart.fm, and really visualize the sentences for target terms.
For paid resources, I recommend going through Basic Connections and Making Sense of Japanese as a sort of refresher on what you’ve been doing up to this point.
Regarding Remembering the Kanji – I recommend holding off on it until you’re intermediate because you’ll get through it faster. You should be getting comfortable with Kanji at this point, and you’ll be able to put the pieces together quicker. When you study with RTK, you’ll soon realize that you don’t have to write out the Kanji hundreds of times just to learn the characters – After just a couple of reviews, you’ll sort of “see” them in your head and be able to put them on paper.
Alongside RTK, you can review the Kanji with the JLPT 3 and 2 levels of ReadTheKanji.com.
Upper-Intermediate
Goal: Start to really explore the language and make it your own, keep on top of your studies.
Free Resources
MySoju.com
DramaNote.com
Basically any website written in Japanese
Books
Authentic Japanese: Progressing from Intermediate to Advanced
Unfortunately, there’s not a whole lot of material out there to get you over the steep upper-intermediate incline. You’ve just got to push your way through it. Always keep in mind that you’re almost to the top. If you’re in Japan, consider going to your local bookstore and picking up the 完全マスター series for JLPT levels 1 and 2.
Advanced
Goal: The language is now yours to perfect.
Free Resources
The internet. All of it.
Books
A Dictionary of Advanced Japanese Grammar
You’re pretty much there now. You’ve made it. I don’t think there’s much more that you need to be told at this point. Pick a book your interested in and read it. Pick a show that piques your interest and watch it. Enjoy the language.
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{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
Have you checked 2001 Kanji Odyssey? Would you recommend it?
This is the first I’ve heard of it, but I had a look through the site and sample materials and I don’t see what it has to offer over other systems.
The workbook materials are free, so that might be something to exploit:
CosCom.co.jp Kanji Odyssey site
Each learner responds differently to materials, so it might be something that works for you. It doesn’t look that appealing to me, though.
This is something to beware of: “1,110 characters cover 90%”
90% sounds like a lot, but consider that there are about 400 kanji on the average page of a Japanese book (based on a random selection of a book on my shelf) – That means you won’t know 40 kanji per page. That’s a lot of dictionary work!
I’d just stick with the books and free resources that I’ve linked to here, but then again I’m biased through first-hand experience.
Why wait to go to Japan to get 完全マスター 2級 and 1級 when you can just buy them online?
I couldn’t find them for cheaper than $43 online (including shipping), and they’re only ¥1200 when you buy them in Japan. I figure most people who are that dedicated to the study process will probably at least visit Japan, and they’ll want to stock up on books when they make it over there.
Where have you been shopping?? I doubt that I paid anywhere near that on bk1, just the ¥1200 plus a few dollars for shipping.
Well, I personally bought mine in Fukushima, Japan, but I looked over Amazon.com to provide a link for learners outside of Japan and all I could find were $40 – $50 books. I’m not very familiar with sites that ship from Japan to the States. However, I just remembered TheJapanShop.com and it looks like they’ve got books for around $20, but they’re out of stock.
thanks for the comment. I’m already using smart.fm, readthekanji.com, mangaland textbooks and “どんな時どう使う 日本語表現文型辞典” for grammar.
I started with RTK, but at around kanji 300 I got tired by only memorizing stories and not learning the language itself, it was great for learning how to write the kanji though, so I’ll resume the book when I get to intermediate level as you mentionned in your article.
This was very informative. Thank you for this.
Good Things,
Glad you found it useful! Good luck with your studies.