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  • Books

    How and What to Read

    August 19, 2007
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    The Daily Telegraph, a newspaper from some random, wind-swept island in the North Sea, has this really cool article by Nick Hornby about how to read. I find it interesting because it applies directly to Japanese study in particular and language study in general. A lot of people sneer at manga readers and anime watchers; they’re not “serious” learners; they’re not doing...

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    Book Review: Understanding Basic Japanese Grammar

    April 24, 2007
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    Book Review: Understanding Basic Japanese Grammar

    The book is Understanding Basic Japanese Grammar by Koichi NISHIGUCHI . に・ほん・ご き・そ ぶん・ぽう きょう・ほん ISBN: 475740168X You probably know by now what I think about textbooks and studying grammar. Textbooks are the devil’s spawn; studying grammar is a confusing waste of time in terms of actually teaching you how to use the language. Grammar is a “why”, not a “how”. If...

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    How To Use a Japanese Textbook

    November 14, 2006
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    Textbooks for learning Japanese suck. All of them. We could end it right there, but then we would be whiners, and whiners we are not. Whining my feel good at the time, but it’s ultimately just self-destructive. In my humble opinion, it’s far better to be a naive teacher’s pet, doing what you are told no matter how ineffective...

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