Language Learning Tools: Improve Your Japanese

In this post, I would love to tell you more about my favourite apps, podcasts and tools I use to learn Japanese.

Let us start with the podcasts. My best recommendations for Japanese learners are:

• News: For intermediate students, “Weekly News in Simple Japanese” from NHK World-Japan or “News in Slow Japanese with Sakura”. For the native-level Japanese, “NHK Daily News”.

https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/learnjapanese/audionews/

https://newsinslowjapanese.org/

https://www.nhk.or.jp/podcasts/program/r-news.html/

• Japanese studying: Various podcasts from the NHK World-Japan. NHK World Service created a number of excellent programmes for Japanese learners of all levels. You can check those and select one suitable for your level here (this website is also available in many languages): https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/learnjapanese/
• Topic-centred podcasts: “Yasashii Jikan (Kind Time)” from “The Company”. This wonderful podcast offers you soothing and kind stories in native Japanese. Although the programme was created for the native speakers, due to the simplicity of the topic it is easy to understand even for the intermediate students. You can check it out here: https://www.company.co.jp/yasashii_jikan/index.html

For the TV-shows, I recommend Japanology Plus with Peter Barakan. Filmed in English, this amazing programme offers deep insights into the various parts of Japanese culture and daily life. You can watch the latest episodes here: https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/tv/japanologyplus/

Besides podcasts, I also love listening to audiobooks. My favourite source for finding audiobooks in Japanese is a website Audiobook.jp: https://audiobook.jp/

This resource not only offers an app for mobile devices, but also one of the few sources providing authentic Japanese content in Europe (when many others have severe country restrictions). However, it main advantage is a huge library of audiobooks available upon subscription. Unlike Audible, which offers only one book per month for a subscription fee, Audiobooks.jp provide you with unlimited access for hundreds of titles. There is no free trial, but the fee is smaller than that of Audible and you can cancel your subscription at any time.

Another favourite of mine is a monthly magazine for Japanese learners “Hiragana Times” https://hiraganatimes.com/ . It provides articles for students of all levels, as well as additional listening exercises and other materials. You can order a printed or PDF version, however, the best option is to subscribe to the magazine using their app, since that will give you access to the archive of over 400 issues. Application version is also cheaper, has cancellation options and, unlike printed or PDF versions, can be billed monthly: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/hiraganatimes/id729245159

The last, but not the least, tool I use is WaniKani.com – this kanji learning platform helps you to memorise kanji using mnemonics techniques. Out of various tools I have tried so far, this one is the best for kanji memorisation. You can check it out here: https://www.wanikani.com/

Hope this short list of my favourites helps you on your journey to Japanese proficiency. In the next post, I will tell you more about my favourite sources, podcasts and websites I use for improving my Spanish.

Now, could you tell me which tools do you use to improve your Japanese? What are your favourites? Please, let me know in the comments below.