I’ve always been impressed with those who could learn a new language with relative ease. It has never been easy for me and I have struggled to retain the words and phrases I learnt. Then I found a learning process that worked for me and made learning Japanese online enjoyable and I was able to retain the information. Here’s what I learnt about learning Japanese online…

I have used two main methods when learning a new language. First I tried classroom sessions, about 10 years ago I started Japanese lessons as part of a degree course in international communications. Lessons were two one-hour classes a week for one semester and I did manage to learn quite a lot in that time. However, I struggled to keep up with the lessons and when I got stuck on a word or a phrase, I had to wait until the next class before I could clarify the meaning, usage or pronunciation. Unfortunately, I gave up after completing the required number of units for my course… and I have since lost it all… except possibly counting to 10.

More recently I found myself working for a large Japanese car manufacturer and I needed to learn Japanese for my frequent trips to Japan on business. This time I decided to learn Japanese using an online language course and I have definitely found that this works a lot better for me. I have found the learning process to be fun and interactive, while teaching me Japanese at quite a fast pace. I’m amazed at how much I’m learning.

But the biggest benefit of learning Japanese online is that I can schedule my learning to the times that suit me. I am able to repeat lessons as often as I need to and I am free to go through the course as quickly or slowly as I need to. The course that I did had audio lessons that you could download as MP3 so I was learning while out on my morning walk.

Certainly there are benefits of having a Japanese speaking teacher in a classroom setting; but many online courses are also able to provide this one-on-one assistance in an online forum and/or helpdesk.