When I first started studying languages on my own, I felt a lot of pushback from friends and family. They didn’t get why I was so into this language thing. Why I wanted to spend so much time doing it or why I wanted to learn so many different languages. I heard things like: No […]

Struggling to grasp how to write in Japanese? It’s not as hard as it seems! Sure, hiragana and katakana, two of the key systems in Japanese writing, look so foreign and intimidating, but they can actually be quite simple. The characters don’t represent unique meanings the way Chinese characters do. They’re more like a Japanese […]

Learning how to speak French? There are so many French courses and resources out there, it can be tricky to know where to start. How do you know which French courses are good quality, without wasting hours testing them all out? The good news is that there are tons of affordable and even free ways […]

Today, I’m feeling pretty わくわく (wakuwaku: “excited”)! Are you うずうず (uzuzu: “itching to get started”)? Because today we’re learning onomatopoeia! You may think, why do I need to learn onomatopoeia? Maybe you’re thinking of American onomatopoeia, that seems to be only in comics (“bang” and “kaboom”) and children’s books (“woof woof” and “meow meow”). But […]

I thought I had good study habits. I’ve studied Japanese for some time. I took it in college, then continued to study it after I graduated. I studied most days and even met with Japanese language exchange partners. But… I had stopped growing in my Japanese ability. I wasn’t sure why. I kept doing the […]