Departments
Intermediate Japanese - Free Online Course
November 19, 2006
Clay Boutwell of TheJapanesePage.com and TheJapanShop.com
page 2 of 2 (read page 1)
J123: What recommendations would you make for students of the Japanese language who are studying outside Japan?
Clay Boutwell: It is certainly a challenge not being immersed in the culture and hearing it every day. I'd say one of the best things you can do would be to make Japanese friends.
Before going to Japan I was able to make quite a few Japanese friends by volunteering at a local university's ESL (English as a Second Language) program.
I would suggest calling your local college or university to ask if they have some sort of 'Conversation Partner' program for the international students. Our school matched native English speakers with international students who would meet once a week for an hour and spend 30 minutes speaking/studying each language.
The contacts and friends I made during that time paid double when I arrived in Japan. During my first month in Japan I had three Japanese friends from all over Japan visit me and help me with every possible need I had.
Other than making Japanese friends, you can find other people learning Japanese in your area by advertising in your local newspaper or using Internet matching sites like http://japanese.meetup.com. You will be amazed how many people even in rural areas are interested in Japanese these days.
Lastly, the Internet is full of great information on just about every aspect of Japanese. Forums let students ask and answer questions and interact for free. Voice chats help people practice conversation without leaving their computer chair. The Internet's potential as a language learning resource is just being tapped, I believe.
A beardless Clay Boutwell sharing his insights with a new generation of language students.
J123: What trends do you see in Japanese language studies? How is the field changing (if at all)?
Clay Boutwell: I am excited about what is available now and soon to come regarding Japanese language studies. It seems everything is getting better as competition among products heat up. A great example is White Rabbit Press reinventing the flashcard for students of Japanese. By making high-quality cards geared for the JLPT (Japanese Language Proficiency Test), they are addressing a specific need for learners of Japanese that previously didn't exist.
Also when I started learning Japanese it seemed most books out there (particularly US published books) on Japanese were romaji based. We are seeing more textbooks and grammar books using kana. I think this is good news for students as it means book makers are more concerned about the quality of instruction rather than trying to sell quantity.
J123: Tell us what the JapanShop's "Super Suiyoobi" is:
Clay Boutwell: Quite simply Super Suiyoubi is our version of the 'deal a day' trend we see popping up all over the internet. Every Wednesday morning (when I wake up in Florida!) we discount a single book or item as low as we can go without losing our shirt.
It has been very popular with our customers. We like it too. Whenever we have too many copies of a book or find a fantastic deal on a product, we usually discount it on Wednesday.
