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Review for Gakuu!

Posted on October 18, 2011 by ハヴネス

When I reviewed TextFugu for a second time, I mentioned Gakuu and how TextFugu members could get 80% off. Well, I decided to give it a go and see what to make of it. What I discovered is a goldmine for sentence mining, and a great way to understand the way the Japanese talk, especially when things aren’t nice and clear like they are in textbooks. My first impression was that it was TextFugu for intermediate and advanced students, and what I found was something different, and almost better. It won’t overshadow TextFugu, which will continue to grow into its own advanced material, but is excellent as a supplement for a textbook, or an amazing find if you’re an input person. Output people, I’m afraid this might not be your cup of tea.

Apparently the Gakuranman, as he studied Japanese through textbooks, discovered that they just weren’t doing it for him the way they were when he was a beginner. Basically, they didn’t seem to be teaching “real world” Japanese, and thus most of his learning at this stage took place outside of the classroom. His new website, Gakuu, is dedicated to bringing the odd and bizarre of the Japanese language, and presenting it in a way that even the most incompetent gaijin can understand.

Now, this is a website that’s excellent for sentence mining. You can find sentences everywhere, from anime, to pictures of billboards, to websites, but deciphering them can be a real pain. Let’s face it, the Japanese don’t talk like English speakers do. If I have a headache, I say that I’m going to take ibuprofen or something. In Japan, you would say that you’re going to drink ibuprofen. They just have different ways of saying things, and sometimes this can be downright confusing.

For example, go to this Japanese wikipedia page in your Firefox browser with Rikaichan enabled. Now, Rikaichan might be able to give you the definition of each word, and you probably know enough grammar to understand things like the various verb forms, etc., but are you still having a hard time understanding exactly what it says sometimes? I even tried to make it easier by directing the link to the wikipedia page for The Legend of Zelda – something you might be familiar with.

Now, I’m going to bet that it was rather difficult to really understand it. You might get the gist of it, but the real understand just isn’t there. That’s what makes Gakuu so wonderful; the ability to tell you how to put it all together. Sentence mining only works properly if you know how it all comes together, and this site gives you a good head start towards understanding real Japanese. You can take this knowledge and apply it to other areas of Japanese, or add it to your Anki deck when you collect sentences.

If there’s a con to Gakuu, it comes from its non-linear style. This isn’t a problem for me, but for people who like plans, charts, and lessons, it’ll be a bit daunting. Gakuu isn’t a textbook, it’s a site striving to bring learners of Japanese the real language, in its raw, uncut form and bridge the gap between the two languages so you can grasp its real meaning.

I also don’t recommend Gakuu for early beginners going the textbook route, at least not yet. Sure it has hiragana and katakana charts, but you should have some basic grammar under your belt before diving into this. If you’re an inputter, then I’d say go ahead and sign up. The cost really isn’t that bad and there’s plenty of information here.

All in all, Gakuu defied my first impressions and turned out to be a really great resource that I’ll be coming back to a lot. The explanations are clear and concise, it helps make sense of some of those stranger expressions, has slang, and is perfect for sentence mining.

Categories: Products, Websites | Tags: gakuranman, gakuu, sentence mining, Textfugu

TextFugu: A Second Look

Posted on October 3, 2011 by ハヴネス

7 Comments

Disclaimer: I still stand by what I said in my post about TextFugu vs. AJATT, that these two things cannot be compared, and this second look doesn’t change that. TextFugu is a product of the academic method; namely, it is more step-by-step and focused than anything from the other methods. That said, if you’re doing things the AJATT way and are looking for a good textbook to supplement or solidify your learning, please look elsewhere are TextFugu is too large a commitment financially speaking to use as a supplement for AJATT or any other input or output method.

So, some time has gone by and TextFugu has grown bigger and better, and I think it warrants a second look. Last time I reviewed it, TextFugu was a smaller site with infrequent and, seemingly, inconsistent updates; now it is a sprawling site full of good information and I can fully endorse it. Anyone who wishes to learn primarily by textbook (input and output people, this is probably not for you), TextFugu is a great product that will grow with you.

TextFugu has a completely new look, and the site is much more streamlined than it previously was. It continues to deal in seasons, but each season selection up into a new page where you can pick your lesson, rather than the lengthy rollover the buttons used to be. The only downside to the site’s looks that I can think of is that the font is a bit large, and the pages aren’t long enough before you click to go to the next page, but that’s just purely cosmetic and has no reflection on the content within TextFugu.

Now, let’s take a look at exactly what TextFugu does, now that it’s large enough that I can actually fathom paying the monthly fee for it. For starters, it’s greatly expanded the lessons, sometimes making them 10+ pages long! This is an excellent source of information, as each lesson is focused on one aspect of the Japanese language, whether it’s i-adjectives or expressing a purpose for an action.

Secondly, TextFugu is now offering a lot more lessons! Back when I last reviewed it, if you look in the comments section, I answered someone’s question by making a list of all the topics TextFugu covered back then. For this review, I’ll list the title of every chapter TextFugu currently has.

Season 1
1. Japanese the Hard Way (Don’t worry, as this is just explaining why self-teachers often quit)
2. The Japanese “Alphabets”
3. Japanese Pronunciation with Hiragana
4. Reading and Writing Hiragana
5. Studying Your Passion
6. Japanese Grammar with Yoda
7. An Intro to Kanji
8. An Into to Kanji Radicals
9. Season 1 Review

Season 2
1. How to Ask Questions in Japanese
2. Negative Tense Nouns
3. Past Tense Nouns
4. Combining the Past and the Negative
5. Your First Japanese Particle, Ha ha ha!
6. Developing a Sense of Identity
7. This, That, & That Over There
8. Counting & Numbers
9. Why So Possessive?
10. Season 2 Review

Season 3
1. Making Time to Study
2. Learning Katakana
3. Particle Wars: は vs.　が
4. The Things that You Love
5. The Things that You Hate
6. Have You Reached the Dip?
7. Doing Something (Verbs pt. 1)
8. Doing Something (Verbs pt. 2)
9. Japanese Sentence Enders
10. Keeping Up With Everything

Season 4
1. な Adjectives
2. い Adjectives
3. い Adjective Conjugation
4. What Do You Want?
5. Adjectives + Nouns = Adverbs
6. When the Going Gets Tough
7. Colorful Adjectives
8. What You’ll Go Do
9. Social Learning
10. Season 4 Review

Season 5
1. Being Casual Part 1 (Nouns)
2. Being Casual Part 2 (Adjectives)
3. How to Be Casual, Part 3 (Verbs)
4. The Purpose
5. What You Expect
6. Past Tense Dictionary Form
7. If
8. Too Much
9. Negative & Past Negative Casual Verbs
10. Experts and Amateurs
11. Plans & Conviction
12. What You Will Become

Season 6
1. The Particle と
2. What Do You Think?
3. The Particle で
4. This Lesson is Coming Soon

Yes, this is all still at the beginner’s level, but as you can see, it covers an awful lot of it right now, and that’s not even including the kanji, just the grammar lessons! TextFugu also has a deal going with the Gakuranman, giving you up to 80% off his Japanese learning site, Gakuu, if you’re a TextFugu member. Now, I can’t vouch for Gakuu, although I’m very, very tempted to take up this offer, but it’s allegedly kind of like TextFugu, but for intermediate and advanced learners. Now, I’m going to assume that TextFugu eventually plans on including intermediate and advanced material (that’s why I bought it to begin with), but if you’re like me and TextFugu is little more than a reference guide for you (part of that is because I’m primarily an input person), then Gakuu might be worth checking out. One day I’ll buy it and review it, but for right now, I’m only saying this as an outsider looking in and giving my first impression.

Another good thing about TextFugu is that the flashcards are now based on Anki rather than the late, great Smart.fm. It recently changed back to its former name, iKnow, and now charges a monthly fee to use it. Anki is my new favorite flash card system, so I’m glad that TextFugu is implementing it.

Also, TextFugu has two different pricing systems set up now. $20/month or a one-time fee of $120. I definately recommend the latter if you can afford it.

So, I’d say that TextFugu is definately on the right track. It’s written in a smart, stylish way to keep you engaged and to feel like you’re actually listening to Koichi, not reading a textbook, which always scores points in my book. I definitely recommend it for beginners, and I’m sure that one day I’ll be taking yet another look at it and recommending it for intermediate learners, too. Koichi sure has filled a void for a lot of people who don’t want to invest in one textbook after another, and he’s done it in an interesting way.

P.S.

Someone left a comment on my other review, and unfortunately blogger won’t allow comments right now because of some internal error with the system. Basically, the person didn’t know whether to sign up for TextFugu or a class, and my response is this:

“Sorry it took me so long to get to your comment. It really depends on the person whether or not you’d rather sign up for an online book or take a class. If you’re the kind of person who needs the motivation that you can get from having an encouraging teacher or from being surrounded by peers, then a class is good for you. However, if you’re self-motivated and want to work at your own pace, then I’d definately recommend TextFugu over a class. Koichi is an excellent teacher, and he’s always willing to help.

‘If you do decide to take a class, research the teacher a bit. If he/she (it’s usually a she for some reason) is a native speaker, try and get a good feel for her and her style first. I don’t want to sound generalizing, but I’m aware that some native teachers have the idea of Nihonjinron (a school of philosophy characterizing what makes Japanese “unique” and why everyone non-Japanese is basically…well… inferior – although it doesn’t state that directly), so they teach assuming that the students will basically not get the language anyway.

‘Best of luck to you!”

Categories: Products, Websites | Tags: Koichi, review, Textfugu, Tofugu

There’s No Wrong Way to Eat a Reece’s (Or Learn a Language, for that Matter)

Posted on September 29, 2011 by ハヴネス

9 Comments

Long enough title for you? Okay, so after a bit of research, I noticed that there’s a lot of keywords out there for “Textfugu vs. AJATT” and the very fact that those two are together in a search query makes me want to facepalm (I also made the mistake of mentioning AJATT in my review post), so I’m going to explain the various ways to learn a langauge, as they’re all different, so maybe you’ll have an idea as to how you’d like to try learning. This stuff will all be compiled in a lengthier, much more detailed book I’m writing, but for now let’s just get a few things straight.

Firstly, there’s many different methods out there for learning a language, but they all basically can be simplified down to four categories: academic, input, output, or a mix of those three. That’s it, and while everyone can claim that their method is different or better than all the others out there, you can always guarantee it will fall predominately into one of the first three categories, even if it’s a mix. Now, TextFugu and AJATT come from two different camps: TextFugu is predominately academic, and AJATT is almost exclusively input. So, let’s take a look at how these methods break down.

Academic

This method involves enrolling in a school and taking classes to learn a language, hiring a private tutor, or self-teaching using text books or other material that would normally be found in a classroom. The textbook or instructor are going to be at the center of your journey towards whatever your goal is (it’s not always fluency, you know), and grammar and vocabulary are king. It’s very structured and takes everything step-by-step. Basically, if you did well in school, you’ll do well in this.

Unfortunately, it’s very expensive, even if you’re doing things the self-taught way, as textbooks can be pricey, and, yes, TextFugu is pricey as well. It also takes a long time to learn the language (in one video, Koichi even exclaimes, “Several years of work!”), as you usually don’t spend every day studying, especially if you’re enrolled in a college or university. Perfection in the language is stressed, making little room for mistakes, although that’s not to say it’s totally unforgiving.

All in all, if you like structure or did well in school, TextFugu is great for that, as it provides that nice, step-by-step feel that a classroom will give you, and Koichi is a great guy who spends a lot of time helping people acheive their goals.

Input

This is a much less structured method, involving reading, watching, and listening to a lot of your target language. If you take this to the extreme, as Khatzumoto does, you should try and do something – anything – in Japanese or whatever your target language is as often as you can. The principle is to have fun, as that’s the biggest motivator you can have. The general idea is that you don’t have to study grammar that hard, but rather just a bit and reference it a lot as you build your vocabulary and general knowledge with an overdose of books, movies, games, etc. As you go, you grow accustomed to how the language works in real life rather than a sanitized text book, which doesn’t provide real life speech, and your own speech will sound much more natural.

Now, that description doesn’t do it justice, so I suggest you head on over to AJATT yourself.

Doing things this way is usually cheaper and much, much faster in the long run, but starting out can be a pain. Why? Because the complete lack of structure can leave one feeling overwhelmed. Once you get the hang of it, you’ll love it, but starting out, trying to piece together small sentences even, can be difficult. There’s a lot of websites that are good at helping people out in this regard, though, so this is becoming a slightly less daunting issue.

You’ll enjoy doing things this way if you didn’t care for school much, feel that a textbook or instructor is slowing you down, get bored easily with that kind of stuff, or want to be able to do the things you enjoy (like watch anime) as a form of learning.

Output

This method advocates speaking from day one, and is great if your primary goal is to be able to visit a foreign country and still be able to speak with the natives. It’s largely advocated by the site Fluent in 3 Months, and it’s focus in on speaking and understanding. The idea is to learn often used words, phrases, etc. and by speaking with natives you get feedback and a chance to perfect your language skills. Perfection isn’t stressed, and while it typically has some structure, it also allows for a lot of freedom. To be perfectly honest, though, you’re better off visiting the site, as it explains it much better than I can, especially seeing that this isn’t my preferred method.

Now, there’s a few ways to go about this method, but it’s usually the most inexpensive of the three methods, and it’s also the fastest. You won’t be able to work in the country, or do anything formal, such as education, but it’s a great way to interact, especially if you’re an outgoing person who would rather be talking with people than curled up with a book by the fireplace.

So there you have it; great ways to learn languages, but also hopefully an eye-opener that you can never compare TextFugu and AJATT, as they both go about doing things in a very different way. Now you can compare TextFugu to Genki Japanese or AJATT’s design to Steve Kauffman’s (I probably spelled that wrong). Basically, you need to first figure out what your language goals are, and how you learn best, then you figure out which is right for you.

Categories: Insight, Products, Websites | Tags: 3, AJATT, Benny, Better, Fluent, Months, Textfugu

Friday Review TextFugu

Posted on August 13, 2010 by ハヴネス

9 Comments

Update: For everyone coming here looking for a review of TextFugu, this post is out of date. It was written when TextFugu was in its infancy, and is a first-impression review. A more accurate and up-to-date review is here.

Textfugu makes the incredibly bold statement, “Best way to teach yourself Japanese, guaranteed.” I’ve been meaning to review Textfugu for a while, as Koichi is a hardworking guy who endlessly promotes the Japanese language. He’s a very successful marketer, has a vibrant personality, and is actually dedicated to your success, not his. Well, I wouldn’t wager he’s that selfless, but you get the idea. So, what do I make of his product? It’s a mixed bag, but I’m going to spoil the review by saying I’m glad I bought it. However, that doesn’t mean that Textfugu isn’t without its flaws, so here’s my complete review. Oh, but before that, I’m going to offer a disclaimer. Namely, Textfugu doesn’t yet offer lessons for my level, so a lot of this is the hypothetical if-I-was-starting-again kind of thing, and may not be 100% accurate.

Textfugu is basically an online textbook, but specifically addresses the self-learner. It deals in “seasons” with each season comprising of a series of lessons, and I gather that each season is supposed to take approximately a month to complete. There’s a separate section for studying kanji.

Since Textfugu is specifically designed to center around self-learners, Koichi’s first task was to find out why self-learners have this nasty habit of failing and to make Textfugu a better way to learn. I must say that Koichi does this quite well. He pinpoints the biggest problems with self-learners and does his best to make Textfugu overcome these hurdles.

He gets a good portion of vocabulary out of the way right at the start, as well as some basic grammar. After this point, he accurately predicts how you’re feeling and tells you why you feel that way. He also offers motivation and study tips to help you stay focused on learning Japanese. I really appreciated these chapters. Why? Because I’ve never seen another book address this. AJATT addresses it pretty good, and I know some people would love to compare their styles, but AJATT also doesn’t attempt to teach Japanese, just offer a method for learning it. As such, Textfugu scores big points for this one. Stay motivated, Japanese students!

Another thing I enjoy is the way that Textfugu does kanji. Personally, I was afraid of kanji for a long time, and by that, I mean more than reasonable. I finally started working my way through Remembering the Kanji. As such, I don’t want to switch methods now, but looking at Textfugu’s kanji section, I can safely say that Koichi has the right idea. In fact, his method is, in small ways, similar to Heisig’s in that the kanji just keep building on each other. Great way to learn the kanji, and to get into a good rhythm of studying it.

I think this is important because usually a textbook will offer you 300 odd kanji to learn by the end of the book, but it won’t give you any way of remembering them or learning them! Moreover, the kanji it throws at you is usually in a weird order. So, again, Textfugu shines in this area by making kanji not only easy to learn, but actually comprehendible.

I also like the way the lessons build on each other. Each new lessons feels like you’re getting into something way different, whereas traditional text books can sometimes take baby steps so small, you wonder if you’ve accomplished anything much by doing the lesson. Not to mention, Koichi has an interesting story going on, which is a lot better than the dialogue stories you get in traditional textbooks. This way, you’ll have great writing skills in Japanese, which is something that we self-learners occasionally lack.

Also, Textfugu has a great community. Tofugu is a popular blog, and its followers seem to have migrated to Textfugu. What does this mean? It means that the people at Textfugu are pretty passionate about what they’re learning. You can meet them in the forums, although you’ll have to sign up for that separately.

Now, Textfugu still has its problems, some of them unavoidable. A good example of the unavoidable problems is that it can seem a bit boring at first. Smart.fm (a review coming soon for that one) is heavily utilized at the beginning of the course, so you basically do a lot of memorizing. It’s well worth it, and a quick glance at the lists tells me that Koichi really wants you to get conversational fast, but that doesn’t change the fact that a ton of memorization is just less than fun. Still, you can’t really get around that, no matter where you go or what you do.

Another problem, and a blessing at the same time, is that Textfugu isn’t a traditional textbook. What am I talking about? It updates. This is great because sometimes when you get to that certain level in language learning, it can be hard to find an intermediate or advanced book that you actually like, especially if you’ve gotten used to the style of the beginner’s book you were studying. Textfugu will always update and give you what you need. In the long run, this is excellent, but right now it can be problematic. For example, it’ll be a while before Textfugu reaches my level, and you have to wait until the updates come, although I go through all of its lessons anyway. I really only got it when I did because I knew the price would only go up.

That leads me to the last problem. Pricing can get expensive. I mean, the guy’s gotta eat, and Textfugu is his full-time job. When Textfugu first hit the market, it was around $50. Not to mention, once you paid that fee, no matter what pricing system Textfugu would adopt, you would have a lifetime membership and not have to pay anything afterwards. Great deal! The pricing is a bit trickier now. I think there’s a monthly subscription. I don’t know if I could afford Textfugu now (unsteady income alert), so I’m glad I got it when I did!

All in all, though, Textfugu is a great product. I highly recommend it, especially if you have a hard time finding that right book or software and this blog hasn’t helped your decision so far! So go check it out. The first few lessons are free, so you have nothing to lose.

(Disclaimer – This article could be subject to rewriting after my brain comes out of its illiteracy fog)

Categories: Products, Websites | Tags: Friday, review, Textfugu

楽しい日本語 Tanoshii Nihongo

Review for Gakuu!

TextFugu: A Second Look

There’s No Wrong Way to Eat a Reece’s (Or Learn a Language, for that Matter)

Friday Review TextFugu

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