Off Topic posts moved from Jpn 101 thread

[OCanadaOurHomeAndNativeLand]

Just wondering if anyone's tried James Heisig's book Rembering the Kana? The system used allows English speakers to learn to read & write hiragana and katakana in 3 hours each. Yes, three hours for the hiragana, and 3 hours for the katakana. Used it years ago, and it works very well. Used to be two separate books, now sold as a single book. Highly recommended.

http://www.amazon.co.jp/gp/switch-language/product/0824831640/ref=dp_change_lang/250-1669224-0092226?ie=UTF8&language=en%5FJP

[DoctorP]

Just wondering if anyone's tried James Heisig's book Rembering the Kana? The system used allows English speakers to learn to read & write hiragana and katakana in 3 hours each. Yes, three hours for the hiragana, and 3 hours for the katakana. Used it years ago, and it works very well. Used to be two separate books, now sold as a single book. Highly recommended.

http://www.amazon.co.jp/gp/switch-language/product/0824831640/ref=dp_change_lang/250-1669224-0092226?ie=UTF8&language=en%5FJP

I have seen his book, don't own it though. Hiragana and Katakana can be learned in about an hour. I have worksheets if anyone wants them that will help quite a bit. They are not something that I created...rather something that I received during one of my classes with UMUC.

[TheNoNamedOne]

The following are Uchinamuku's remarks moved from the Jpn 101 thread:
If there is an follow up interest in getting more out of the language or learning more than please take the time to read the following link as well.

The Learning Links to Learning Japanese (http://www.japanupdate.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1226)


It is as TP wrote the individual's choice.

[OCanadaOurHomeAndNativeLand]

I have seen his book, don't own it though. Hiragana and Katakana can be learned in about an hour. I have worksheets if anyone wants them that will help quite a bit. They are not something that I created...rather something that I received during one of my classes with UMUC.
I have never heard of anyone learning both the kana syllabaries in an hour. Just one of them in three hours is fast. No-one I know who's used the book has failed to learn both hiragana & katakana quickly, and to be accurate when tested asap after finishing the books. They remember when retested weeks and months later as well. Dozens of people I know have failed to learn all the kana using worksheets and other methods, and frequently fail tests of accuracy in reading and writing when tested after claiming to know the kana. Retests show a rapid loss of retention.

While it may be possible for one who has a near photographic memory to learn them in an hour, or for someone who comes from a country that uses kanji (like China or Korea), it is extremely unlikely otherwise. They can be learned through other methods, but it takes more time and effort to get the same results.

[TheNoNamedOne]

They can be learned through other methods, but it takes more time and effort to get the same results.

It took me about 6 weeks to learn them all well. Some people like to use worksheets or cards or other methods, but I had learned just by looking at a chart on the flip side of a text book cover and then one by one writing the same thing over and over on a few pieces of paper. Just good old fashion -- look, copy, write.

Wasn't even enrolled in a class then and had no teacher. Not needed to learn the kana.

Sometimes it was boring, though. I often fell asleep in the library where I was studying them.