Learn Japanse online - Konnichiwa Japón

Usually, some post come out talking about web pages to learn different languages online for free. You can also learn about the country where the language is spoken as well as their culture, history, gastronomy and so on. On this post we recommend a site to learn Japanese. If you want to find more sites to learn Japanese read our precvious post Learning Japanese - web pages.

Konnichiwa Japón is a non-profit-making site that promotes the Japanese culture and its language. The site is in Spanish. They try to teach Japanese in a fun way. The page has got resources for those who cannot attend regular classes in a language school, although, those who attend classes can also use these resources to reinforce their study of Japanese.

There ar e 50 lessons in the site. They start right from the beginning. So those who have no knowledge of Japanese can start learning it with Konnichiwa Japón. In addition, they got a section called Mundo Kanji where to learn the Japanese pictograms. Even thoguh, you'll notice that some lessons are still under construction.

Moreover, there's a blog where you can read news and comments about Japan, culture, technology, games, manga, anime... They write about diverse topics which are captivating for those who learn Japanese.

Finally, it is remarkable their video channel in Youtube with lessons. These lessons are presented by Yoshiyuki Kubo and William Ariasin an entertaining way. You can watch the introductory video bellow:



Links to Konnichiwa Japón

• Web: http://konnichiwajapon.com
• Blog: http://konnichiwajapon.com/news/
• YouTube:  http://www.youtube.com/user/konnichiwajapon

Practice and learn languages easily

If you want to make new native friends to learn and practice languages check out Babelan. There's also an area for private lessons, where teacher offer their seervices.

Lyrics Gaps. A fun way to learn languages

Lyrics Gaps is a fun method to learn and improve languages through music and typing in song lyrics.

On Lyrics Gaps, there are different activities with music videos to practice different languages: karaokes, quizes and fill in the gaps exercices for different levels (beginner, intermediate and expert). With these activites you can improve your listening skills and broaden your vocabulary.

They have got, also, a community, where you can review and add exercises of your native tongue. In additon, there is a new functionality for teachers to create and costumized the exercices.

The languages that you can practice are: Catalan, Chinese, Danish, Dutch, English, French, German, Greek, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Spanish, Turkish and Urdu.

Links

If you want to meet people and practice languages visit: Babelan.

All Japanese all the time

All Japanese all the time is a web page to know how to learn Japanese online having fun. The author of the page tells how to learn the language and built confidence. It's full of guidelines and tips for anyone willing to learn Japanese.

You'll also find usefull links related to Japanese. As well as, book recommendations, movies, podcasts, etc.

As Khatzumoto, its author, states: This site is about how you can learn Japanese without taking classes, by having fun and doing things you enjoy—watching movies, playing video games, reading comic books—you know: fun stuff! Stuff that you feel guilty about doing because you should be doing “serious things”.

(...)

So, if you’re wanting to learn Japanese but don’t know where to start, or if you already know some but want to take it further, and if you want to not just get by in Japanese but to own it, than this site is here for you, to share with you the tools and information that you can use to learn Japanese to native-level fluency.

Links

If you want to meet people and practice languages visit: Babelan, people learning, practicing or teaching languages.

Learn Japanese Free

Learn Japanese Free is a resource site for those ones who want to learn Japanese from scratch to a proficiency level.

The site offers a comprehensive course divided into lessons (basic & intermediate) and preparation units for the JLPT (Japanese Language Proficiency Test).

The site gives us the following advice: We have divided our 'Free Learn Japanese' and JLPT course into lessons. Please start from the first Japanese lesson and proceed to the next Japanese lesson only when you have thoroughly understood and learned the previous Japanese lesson.

Words from the author: My view about learning Japanese: I have learned the language and I personally love the language because it has very interesting scripts and the grammar too. I personally believe that if you like the language then it is very easy to learn it. All the Best to all of those who are planning to study Japanese language.

• Learn Japanese Free: www.learnjapanesefree.com

Links

• Babelan. People learning, practicing or teaching languages

Sit back... Watch... Learn (Learn a language on YouTube)

Sit back... Watch... Learn (Learn a language on YouTube) is a blog with a colection of youtube videos focused in learning foreign languages. In fact, it's a compilation of a different channels that you can find in Youtube to help you to learn languages.

The blog currently has posted video channels to learn Arabic, Chinese, Finnish, French, Hebrew, Icelandic, Italian, Japanese, Latin, Maori, Old English, Portuguese, Sign Language, Swedish and Welsh.

Moreover, the blog recommends other sites with language activities, listening materials, grammar tutorials, reading handouts, etc. This blog is a comprehensive source of online language learning resources.

• Sit back... Watch... Learn:
  http://learn-with-youtube.blogspot.com

Links

• Babelan. Language exchanges, private lessons and translations

The top 100 language blogs

"The Top 100 Language Blogs is probably the largest language blog competition hosted annually by bab.la and Lexiophiles. It is aimed at finding the best blogs related to languages and awarding language-loving bloggers."

In Top 100 Language Blogs 2010, you can find an interesting list of 100 language blogs. It's a list of online resources to learn a foreign languages such as Korenan, English, Russian, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Japanese, Thai, Dutch, etc.

• Top 100 Language Blogs: http://en.bab.la/news/top-100-language-blogs-2010

Practicing and learning languages

In addition, you can find native speakers for a language exchange, a private class or a translator in Babelan.net: www.babelan.net

Learning Japanese - web pages

Everyone can find several web pages to learn Japanese online. Probably, it is difficult to say which is the best, however, you can use some of them together in order to learn and practice the language.

Here, there's a list. Some web pages are in English and others in Spanish.

A Japanese guide to Japanese grammar - http://www.guidetojapanese.org

Aprende japonés - http://www.aprendejapones.com

Bilingoz - http://www.bilingoz.com

Charles Kelly's online Japanese language study materials - http://www.manythings.org/japanese/

Japanese grammar guide - http://www.guidetojapanese.org

Habla japonés - http://www.hablajapones.org/

Japanese lessons - NHK - http://www.nhk.or.jp/lesson/

Japanese learning - http://www.japaneselearning.com/

Japanese listening comprehension exercises - http://web.uvic.ca/hrd/japanese/listen/

Japonés por libre - http://www.japonesporlibre.com/

Japoneando - http://japoneando.com/

Learn Japanese in 20 weeks - http://www.japanesein20weeks.com/

Minna - http://opal.ecis.nagoya-u.ac.jp/~jems/hosokyoku/bangumi.html

Reading tutor - http://language.tiu.ac.jp/index_e.html

Survival Japanese - http://www.ajalt.org/sj/howto.html

Practicing Japanese

In Babelan.net, every user can find native speakers for a language exchange, a private class or a translator: www.babelan.net

A couple of Japanese web pages

This post presents a couple of Japanese resources for students of this languages. The first one is A Japanese guide to Japanese grammar, a reference web site to Japanase students.

"This site explains Japanese grammar in a systematic step-by-step process and is released under the Creative Commons License. It was created as a resource for those who want to learn Japanese grammar in a rational, intuitive way that makes sense in Japanese. The explanations are focused on how to make sense of the grammar not from English but from a Japanese point of view. To learn more about this guide, go to the introduction page and start learning this intriguing and unique language!".

There is a web page version, although, there is a version available to download (sip file or pdf). Also, the page is translated into different languages: German, English, Spanish, French, Bahasa, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Finish, Turkish and Korean.

• A Japanese guide to Japanese grammar: http://www.guidetojapanese.org

The second one is Charles Kelly's Online Japanese Language Study Materials. As Charles Kelly states "these are free-to-use online materials that I have developed to help people learn Japanese."

This site is an interesting tool to practice the use of the language with quizzes, vocabulary exercices, flashcards, crossword puzzles, videos and so on. It's got a selection of Japanese language study sites to find more resources to learn this language.

• Charles Kelly's Online Japanese Language Study Materials: http://www.manythings.org/japanese/

• Language classes, exchanges and translations >>
  
• Global language exchange (messenger, e-mail, voice, chat, skype, webcam, msn) >>

Aploosh, videos to learn Japanese

Thanks to websites like Youtube, a student of any language can find videos to learn and practise languages. Aploosh is a youtube channel with a colection of funny videos to learn Japanese.

Here's the first lesson "I'm Yan"



Aploosh: http://www.youtube.com/Aploosh

• Babelan, the languages site >>

Help others to find a language exchange, a private lesson or translation service

You can help others to find a person for a language exchange. Also, you can help a student to find a private tutor (and vice versa) or a freelance translator a work.

Just place a link in your blog or personal page. Babelan has a free message board to offer and find a language exchange, a class or a translation service.

Example

Babelan - The languages site.

Copy and paste this code

<a href="http://www.babelan.net/">Babelan</a> - The languages site.

Improving foreign languages skills - Language exchange

When learning a foreign language, there are some different skills we need to improve in order to comunicate: writing, reading, speaking or listening. For example, it is pretty clear that we cannot speak if we cannot understand (listen) what the interlocutor is telling us.

Probably, the very first step learning a new foreign language is enroling a class. This could be either in a language school or with a private tutor. Obviously, this cannot be only source of learning and improving a new foreign language. Nowadays, new technologies, such as internet, offer us a wide range of languages resources.

Thanks to internet, you can improve your reading skills just with newspapers, magazines or blogs in the target language. Listening can also be boosted by listening radio stations and watching tv channels or videos.

The list of sites is endless in any language: English, Spanish, German, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, Italian, Portuguese, Czech, Romanian, Vietnamese, French, Dutch, Hungarian, Polish...

Thus, it could be wise to search for pages that deal with a topic you like (e.g. a hobby). You will improve faster because the topic will attract you and you will pay much more attention rather than a boring issue. In addition, when you know the topic in your mother language helps to understand the new language easily.

Thousands of language students are willing to speak a foreign language with native people. So, why do not try to find a language exchange. This could be a one-to-one exchange if you both live in the same city or a virtual exchange using the new techonologies (e-mail, chat, messenger, webcam, microphone...).

Recently, I searched some different sites to meet native people for a language exchange. Check them out and use the one that fits your needs.

• Babelan is a languages site. There you can find for free (not registration required) native people from around the world for a language exchange via mail, chat, voice,... Also one-to-one exchanges in New York, London, Barcelona, etc.
  http://www.babelan.net/
• Another place is My Language Exchange. You can find several registered members to practice a foreign language via email, text chat or voice chat. Needs registration.
  http://www.mylanguageexchange.com/
• Shared Talk is a community to practice foreign languages. It has different tools such as text chat or a voice chat. Needs registration.
  http://sharedtalk.com/
• In Speak Mania you can find penpals for a language exchange. Needs registration. It has a an audio and video chat.
  http://www.speakmania.com/index.php?language_id=1
• Lang-8 is a language exchange community focus in writing skills. Needs registration.
  http://lang-8.com/
• ConversationExchange.com is a community offering three types of language exchange face to face, penpals and text and voice chat. Needs registration.
  http://www.conversationexchange.com/
• Gumtree is a classifieds website, although, it has a languages swop category mainly for the UK and Ireland. It's free and needs no registration.
  http://www.gumtree.com/
• Another classifieds site with a language exchange category is Justlanded. It works in a wide range of countries, The UK, Ireland, Romania, China, Russia, Italy, Spain, USA, Germany, South Korea and so on.
  http://classifieds.justlanded.com/

There ara several sites where you can find native people for a language exchange, you can find them searching in internet. This is only a sample of some of them that could be useful.

Language teaching abroad

Probably, you want to travel abroad to stay in a foreign country for a long time. Some people want to learn a language, to study in an university or just long for an experience in a different place.

Unless you are a rich person, you'll need to earn your living abroad. When arriving a new country this could be a problem, specially, if you don't speak the native language.

There are many sort of jobs as bartender, bellboy, cook,.. the list is endless. Although, you may choose to teach your own language and get some extra money. It makes no difference which language you speak German, Russian, English, French, Italian, Chinese or Japanese. There are hundreds of chances to teach languages in language schools or offering private tuition.

A part from rendering your CV in all the languages schools, you may use internet to offer you private lessons. It's free and everyone can reach your post.

Nowadays, internet provides many sites to post free adverts. Here, you can find a sample list of sites to find students for your private classes:

First of all, a language site called Babelan. Currently, this has a free message board to offer classes in New York, London, Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Paris, Berlin, Sydney, Toronto, Vancouver and Chicago. This website is focus in languages.
http://www.babelan.net

Another site to place your free classifieds is Justlanded. It works in a wide range of countries, The UK, Ireland, Romania, China, Russia, Italy, Spain, USA, Germany, South Korea and so on.
http://classifieds.justlanded.com

A New York classifieds site is ikinewyork.com that has got a tutors, language lessons category.
http://www.ikinewyork.com

A UK based forum for tutors, students and parents is Local Tutor Forum. Here you can offer your private tuition in the UK.
http://www.localtutorforum.com

Japanese, English and other languages can be offered in Tokyo Notice Board.
http://www.tokyonoticeboard.co.jp

Loquo is a free classifieds site in Spain. It's got dozens of categories such as room, cars, jobs or servicies, also, it has a 'tutoring and private lessons' area to post your adverts.
http://www.loquo.com

Campusanuncios.com and mundoanuncio.com are two global classifieds web pages. So you may post your advert to teach not only in Spain but around the world.
http://www.mundoanuncio.com
http://www.campusanuncios.com

Related links

Finally, I'd like to add some other related links that could be useful:

English language teaching job opportunities worldwide http://www.eslbase.com/jobs/

Language recruitment and Language Jobs in Madrid, Spain
http://www.toplanguagejobs.es

Classes, courses or private lessons
http://www.language-school-teachers.com

Directory of jobs for teaching abroad
http://www.teachabroad.com/search.cfm

English Teachers - Madrid
http://madridteacher.com/

• Babelan, the languages site >>