• google translate – still a staple app and online tool for many travelers and language learners, at least in the U.S. Great for: taking photos of signs and blocks of text to directly transliterate meanings.Behavioral and cognitive approaches to learning I use this feature all the time (menus, mail, instructions) and it allows users to translate self-sufficiently. Although it’s about 60% accurate, in my experience, it helps to interpret a baseline meaning for unknown texts.Behavioral and cognitive approaches to learning

• jisho – A genius kanji-finding online tool that functions as a dictionary. Great for: finding unknown kanji by radical and stroke number, especially for advanced japanese.Behavioral and cognitive approaches to learning this makes it much, much easier to learn the meanings of individual root characters and grow your sight-reading ability. Great for: intermediate japanese learners and JLPT study (with level references for many phrases).Behavioral and cognitive approaches to learning

• A dictionary of basic japanese grammar (seiichi makino and michio tsutsui) – comprehensive and well-written grammar dictionary with example sentences and tips for speaking native-sounding japanese.Behavioral and cognitive approaches to learning an intermediate grammar and an advanced grammar are also available. Great for: getting over the next leveling-up hurdle. After almost one year in japan, speaking at a comfortable conversational level, I bought the intermediate grammar and was able to increase my listening comprehension a notch higher.Behavioral and cognitive approaches to learning it’s a heavy paperback, but an indispensable grammar book.

• japanese pocket dictionary – very cute and compact pink japanese-english dictionary.Behavioral and cognitive approaches to learning great for: discreetly looking up words while out-and-about/people who want a break from technology and bulky print dictionaries. Taking this with me to the bar when I first moved to japan helped break the ice with local patrons and made for entertaining, productive speaking practice sessions.Behavioral and cognitive approaches to learning

• meeting with native speakers via language exchange websites (always use common sense and safety precautions when meeting strangers, of course).Behavioral and cognitive approaches to learning I used this approach and wrote a brief introduction about myself in english with my photo, then met at a local starbucks a week later with a mother who traveled abroad and wanted to practice english again.Behavioral and cognitive approaches to learning I recommend this to people who enjoy making new connections, no matter how long or short-lived, in the spirit of sharing.

• go to karaoke, always.Behavioral and cognitive approaches to learning the super local, super fun way to bond with friends and acquaintances while practicing japanese (and you will likely be asked to sing-a-long or perform a duet on well-known english songs).Behavioral and cognitive approaches to learning I am definitely an introvert, but was invited to karaoke almost every other month and each time was memorable. At home, I got the lyrics of japanese songs I liked and practiced singing them often to impress my friends at karaoke.Behavioral and cognitive approaches to learning popular english songs at japanese karaoke (other than top 40s) are 1960s and 70s hits from bands like the beatles, the carpenters, ABBA, and so on.Behavioral and cognitive approaches to learning K-pop songs are also gaining popularity at japanese karaoke spots and many menus have songs in korean, chinese and sometimes southeast asian languages.Behavioral and cognitive approaches to learning

• use LINE messenger. This is the standard social app in japan and the preferred mode of contact for most, especially students and young adults.Behavioral and cognitive approaches to learning the LINE subculture is now a significant part of the emerging japanese social sphere, so many people you meet in japan may ask you for your LINE (and add you as a contact by scanning your QR code or via the shake-and-connect feature).Behavioral and cognitive approaches to learning

• repeat what you hear throughout the day. Set phrases are a big part of japanese life and dialogue, particularly exchanges between giver and receiver.Behavioral and cognitive approaches to learning tradition and social hierarchy is invoked and maintained through these phrases, so learning them is crucial for modeling japanese conventions.Behavioral and cognitive approaches to learning I had a very hard time picking up less frequently-used phrases (at the cash register, entering someone’s home, etc.) but asked native speakers to help explain them to me.Behavioral and cognitive approaches to learning learning how and when to say the right thing until it is natural and automatic makes an enormous impression. It also means you’re on your way to fluency.Behavioral and cognitive approaches to learning

• write vocabulary and phrase lists. Then, if your friends welcome this, take them out when with native speakers to practice phrases and ask for clarification.Behavioral and cognitive approaches to learning my friends helped clarify a lot of nuances for me that were lost in translation through apps and other resources. Unsurprisingly, some phrases that I thought were faithful interpretations were really off target!Behavioral and cognitive approaches to learning so, my last piece of advice is: