It Begins…
Since I was a little girl, I have dreamed of living in Japan, the culture appeals to me so much. This time last year I got very ill, and have been unable to work, now I am improving slightly; I have made it my goal to get to Japan once my fiance graduates university here in the UK. We would both have job opportunities in our intended career fields over there; mine being photography, his CGI, animation & programming. Of course a key element to this is being able to speak, write, and understand the langauge; over the past few years I have vaguely looked into the language itself, however with schooling, work, etc I never found the time to dedicate to it. Becoming so ill granted me the time I need to learn the language whilst in recovery.
3 days ago I came across a website called NihongoUp, whilst strolling through forums discussing the best methods of language learning. I had started looking through the content after signing up, for the level 1 work and so much of it impressed me. The first thing I noticed was infact how user-friendly and aesthetically pleasing the website itself was; the layout and various menus, sub menus and sections available is quite extensive - and even 3 days in, the creators are continually adding content, improving on the existing stuff and making it bigger and better! There is a wealth of information available to the learner, starting you at a very approachable level and progressing. The forum and community is great and useful to have others around to support & learn from.
After looking over some of the introduction levels and information, as well as looking at the initial quizzes and then exploring the further content available as you progress, I knew I wanted to get stuck into this method - as the site advertises, it’s fun, as opposed to the typical teaching from textbooks and the like. That night I discovered they have a scholarship programme which allows you full access to all the content, games, etc and a full forever membership - of course I wanted to delve into this and I am very dedicated and serious about learning, however without working due to my illness, there is of course little income to use. I wrote an application for the scholarship and they accepted it the very next day! I am very appreciative of this, as it has opened up so many doors for me now and given me such opportunities.
After accepting my scholarship I got to work on the first level work; some initial points I like about this learning method is the fact they also tell you what you’re learning, and why. They include theory behind it all and cultural information as background, which helps so much and adds great depth.
With the full account access I have been able to get the additional features such as the desktop game and though I am not yet at a high enough stage to use it - the style of learning looks very competent and useful, whilst remaining fun!
I also downloaded the iPhone app and it is of similar ilk to the above, and is a fantastic tool to have on the go. Such innovation.
The content thus far has been so well rounded and feels tailored to your own needs, as you can study in a steady progression. There is a lot of information and resources; such as videos, audio for pronunciation, cheat sheets, exercise sheets, etc. These all form together really well to complete the learning method and for me, certainly works well as a multi-pronged approach. It feels do-able whilst challenging enough, and with enough information to keep you afloat.
Quizzes are available at the end of each level section and I must say they are so fantastic! After reading the information needed, and going over the learning, the tests have enabled me to gain such a great understanding at the end, and really solidify the information into my head. By testing your knowledge in a very clear-cut way it is a method that works very well.
The cheat sheets available are a great resource and have enabled me to learn the information alongside the exercises and reading on the site.
Using the sheets and information together for the first time I’m fully understanding the aspects of the language, and surprised myself by actually being able to recognise the characters in the hiragana within text, and translate them.
The information to read is very in depth and very to the point; it’s all important and key to the learning process I have noticed, without any additional un-needed content.
For the first time I feel like I’m properly understanding the language and the principles of it.
—
As a little intro - こんいちわ, I am 23 this summer, Scottish born and bred, now living in the South of England near the coast with my fiancè who is studying at university. I am a photographer whose main area of interest lies in macro photography, I also enjoy drawing and video games. I am aiming towards moving to Japan once my partner graduates.
