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あけましておめでとうございます。Akemashite Omedetou Gozaimasu. Wishing all the readers of our blog a very Happy New Year.

Many of us start the New Year with new resolutions. It is a good thing to make resolutions because it makes us stay focused and determined. Learning any foreign language is not an easy task. On this note, I decided to jot down a few points for those of you who are learning Japanese. Japanese is considered as one of the hardest languages to learn. If your goal is to improve your Japanese learning skills, then I hope these tips will help you.

Speak

It is true that when you regularly talk with the native speakers your speaking improves much faster, but not many of us are lucky to mingle with native speakers all the time. Just don’t leave out any opportunity where you can use the Japanese words and phrases that you have learnt. Talk with your friends (友達 tomodachi) who are also learning Japanese. The more you talk the more confident you become.

Entertainment

It is a very effective way to improve your language skills. Many people learn Japanese because they get hooked onto Japanese アニメ animation and 漫画 (まんが) comics. Watch Japanese films (映画 eiga), dramas (ドラマ) or listen to Japanese songs (歌 uta) and pay attention to the lyrics.

Write down

People who use Japanese at their workplace (会社 kaisha), might have to write mails and prepare documents in Japanese on a regular basis. Those who do not get the chance to write Japanese should also make a habit of doing so. This will mainly help in remembering kanji. It is a good habit to practice Kanji on paper.

Get to Know Japan

Whatever might be the reason for you to learn Japanese, if you have an interest in Japan and its culture your interest in the language will grow as well. Find out what you like about Japan and read about those things in Japanese.

If you are fond of reading the news (ニュース), you can install some Japanese news apps on your mobile phone (携帯電話 keitai denwa). This really helps to stay up-to-date with the Japanese current affairs.