Welcome to Japanese with Tony Sensei!

App update [2010.07.26]: Our first iPad app, Kanachan's Kana Reference Table is now available on the app store!

App update [2010.08.31]: Our first iPhone app, Kanachan's Read the Hiragana, is also now available on the app store! If you would like a preview before downloading, you can watch this first draft video walkthrough to get an idea of what the app is like. (Then again, the app is free for the first 100 practice cards, so you don't have anything to lose by just downloading it now...) =)

 

 

So summer has begun, and classes are out. Over the summer I will probably be doing freelance translation work to generate some income, but in between translation jobs I will be working on a couple of other projects. 

For a time I was thinking about continuing my "Genkier" podcasts (which have had over 17,000 views so far! woot!), but two things are holding me back:

  1. I will not be teaching Japanese next year (I have accepted a position as a research assistant, rather than as a teaching assistant), so I will not have classroom students using the textbook on which the series is based, and
  2. I have never really liked that textbook to begin with =P

Instead, after many requests from former students I have begun writing my own textbook, which I will make available for free online. I am still working on the introductory lessons but I have a basic outline for the first book, which will aim to teach all of the content required to pass Level N5 of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (the JLPT). If there is sufficient interest in the first book, then I will create additional ones that cover higher levels of that exam. While things are very rough now, I welcome comments on the textbook to help me make it the best learning resource that it can be.

I have also started working on my first iPhone app, which I hope to publish this summer. The first app will teach how to read the hiragana, and will be followed by a katakana version. Future apps will likely be tightly associated with the Japanese textbook, supplying drills and other learning materials. I have an infrequently updated blog about the apps, too, should anyone be interested in following developments there.

In the meantime, I will do my best to quickly answer questions about Japanese that are posted in the forums here, so please feel free to make use of this site. (Note: I have noticed that this site's auto-notification feature is a bit wonky, and I sometimes do not get notifications of new posts. If you submit a question in the forums and I do not respond within 48 hours, please feel free to message me to let me know that you have a waiting post!)

—Tony

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Looking for the easiest way to find the online lectures and Anki decks? Try this page. 

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What is this site?

This is a Japanese learning community, created for Japanese learners of all levels. I originally created this site to support the Introduction to Japanese course that I teach, but I hope that this will develop into a community where Japanese language learners from around the world support each other in our studies by asking and answering questions, sharing learning resources and tools, and by just providing a helpful environment. Please join us!