Monthly Archives: June 2009

Restarting Heisig, Tips For Success

Posted on June 25, 2009 by stefan

It’s over two years since I started learning Japanese, and for a lot of that time I’ve owned a copy of James Heisig’s Remembering the Kanji. The first time I went through it I got halfway (~1000 characters) but ran … Continue reading →

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Getting Fresh Japanese Input Using Online Movie Rentals

Posted on June 20, 2009 by stefan

Had what I thought was a good idea the other day: use one of the online movie rental services to keep stocked up with fresh titles in Japanese. DVDs are expensive and things can be a bit hit and miss with Japanese films so I signed up for the free trial at LoveFilm.com. Not off to a good start though… Continue reading →

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Kougakushin Opens

Posted on June 1, 2009 by stefan

It would be wrong to say that this site has launched—there’s nothing here yet! That said, with time I hope this becomes a useful learning resource for those studying languages, Japanese in particular.

向学心 (kougakushin) means ‘passion for learning’. My parents instilled in me a passion for learning at an early age. Currently I’m a PhD student in the UK, and in my spare time I like to study Japanese. Learning has become a habit for me, and I gravitate towards topics that I enjoy. At present the most rewarding topic is definitely Japanese; interwoven culture and language that I can study endlessly. I don’t sit down with textbooks to study it though; I’m mostly watching TV and reading simple books. More on how that works later (you don’t need language classes, or many textbooks!) Continue reading →

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