しあわせ

LingQ is another site that is based around learning through flashcards. It takes a slightly different approach to WordChamp however. The underlying philospophy here is the natural acquisition of language through reading and listening.
The idea is that you become receptive to a language before you can become active in it. You learn from examples rather than studying the specifics of grammar. Vocabulary is seen as the most important tool for communication and understanding. Oh, and having fun.
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An Internet flashcard web2.0 application.

Flashcards are a good way to learn new vocabulary. However there is always the task of making the cards and deciding what cards to make. Computers make the process easier, and I’m a great fan of iFlash, but it would be nice to be able to find sets of ready to use flashcards.

Enter WordChamp as a solution.
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I first came across this idea in a thread by Mikuji-san on JapanesePod101’s forums.
The idea is to use kanji instead of numbers and therefore become used to reading the kanji shapes and distinguishing between them. At a basic level you could print out sudoku grids and copy the puzzles from the daily newspaper substituting kanji for the numbers. You’d also get good writing practice this way.
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Adanami Shobo Brewer Street

There’s no signage, in fact it still has the signs from the dry cleaners who once owned the shop. And it’s not a temporary thing as they’ve been there well over 2 years now. This small shop is crammed with Japanese books and manga.
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I was asked this question by a classmate a while ago.

It’s something I’ve wondered about myself. There are essentially two main strands to any language; Vocabulary and Grammar. Grammar is the structure and Vocabulary the specifics. You need both. You can only get so far by knowing the words and pointing. Or trying to slot the Japanese words into English grammar structures (which would lead to very weird and unintelligible sentences.) But knowing the grammar structures but not having the right words to slot in is equally frustrating. So let’s assume you can learn grammar structures, how can you learn words to express what you want.
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