Basic greetings. Learn how to say the equivalent of “Hello,” “Good morning,” “Good evening” and “Good afternoon.”  Also, find the most common informal greeting in the language — the equivalent of “Hi” for English.

Basic introductions.  Learn how to introduce yourself: “My name is…  I am from…”  That way, you can meet people and let them know quick personal details.

Basic requests.  Most important: “Please help me.”  Other requests depend on what you plan to do in the country.  For instance, I’ve always memorized “Please take me to my hotel” and “Please talk to them for me.”

Getting around.  Learn how to ask questions for getting to and from places.  Must-learn questions: Where is the airport?  Where is the nearest hospital?  Where is the police station?  Where is the hotel?  Where is the nearest toilet?

Usefulness

Japanese is spoken exclusively in Japan, along with a few small communities of expatriates in some places (like Brazil and Hawaii).    Learning it could prove very valuable, though, considering that Japan remains one of the largest economies in the world.  It’s also one of the mast fascinating countries to visit, filled with rich natural structures and amazing historical landmarks.

Difficulty

Expect to work extra hard when trying to read and write Japanese.    Spoken Japanese  will sound daunting at first, especially when you hear native speakers using it among themselves.    Once you come to terms with the differences in grammar and build up your vocabulary, it’s actually simpler than a lot of exotic languages.

Grammar and Vocabulary

English and Japanese grammar are along the same levels when it comes to difficulty.   They’re widely different, though, and a lot of your early struggles will have to do with learning all the new concepts.   Most of the vocabulary will either be Japanese in origin or derived from Chinese, so there’s little chance you’ll recognize a lot of them.

Good news is, it need not be frustratingly expensive.  If you spend your money wisely, all you’ll have to do is fork out for a few basic things — your hard work will take care of the rest.

1. A primary language software.  Review what’s available, then find the one that is best suited for your learning style and situation.  For the most part, pricing for most full-featured language software are no more than $50 apart, so don’t skip one that you feel is a great fit because another title’s cheaper — good material pays for itself in the long run.
2. Other costs.  Apart from a primary language program, all other expenses, from books to videos to website subscriptions, can be considered optional.   If you must pay for anything else, I recommend a membership to a language club with a chapter in your area.  Having people you can practice with can help accelerate learning better than many tools out there, provided you keep up faithfully with your regular lessons.

If you’re learning a foreign language as a hobby and there’s no pressure for time, you can just follow whatever lesson plan is laid out by the course you’re taking.   Doing so will usually help you learn the language in an optimized step-by-step process, as most courses have been refined from hours upon hours of applied testing.

Things are slightly different, however, when you’re learning a language because you need to.  Whether it be for an upcoming trip or a job requirement, there’s usually time pressure involved.    As such, you need to take a firmer hand in setting priorities for your study materials.  If you’re situation, the following guidelines should help:

1. Dive immediately into what you need to learn.  If you need business French, then don’t bother with survival phrases for travel.  Grab yourself a business-focused language software and get cracking on that.
2. Play to your strengths.  If you can’t stand grammar, then don’t take a grammar-based language course.   Choose a language course that plays to your strengths — you’ll get faster results that way.
3. Practice the core items you need again and again.   Language learning relies heavily on repetition to help things kick in.  Do your language software exercises several times over — it helps.

While apps are limited by their platform (you can’t have anything half as robust as even beginner language software for the PC), well-designed ones can prove very useful as secondary learning tools.  Already, I’ve been using a couple of them to aid in my off-the-computer language practice, such as a flash card app, a translation dictionary and a web-based notebook for my notes.

Just this week, I found a fascinating translator app that’s well beyond what I ever imagined I can find in a smartphone.  While it’s not all that useful to me (it only has Spanish and English right now), it could very well be down the line, once they’re able to expand their language packs to the languages I frequently need to use.

Why is it so fascinating?  The app works this way:

1. You launch it on your phone, where it accesses your phone’s camera.
2. You point the camera to a signboard with a sign written in Spanish.
3. The app will automatically translate it to English and overlay the translation in the original image.

Not only does it translate from one language to another, it also reads the sign all on its own, as well as recreate the whole scene with the new sign in English.  It’s ridiculous and leaves me inspired at the amazing things we will probably see from our language software of the future.

Summaries are very helpful for a variety of reasons:

1. They force you to recall everything you went over in the lesson, an activity that quickly doubles the amount of attention the information receives.
2. They give you a chance to filter the significant parts of each session.  Not everything taught is equal — some things are usually just more important than others.  Summarizing gives you an opportunity to revisit each part for evaluation.
3. They help you retell the lesson in your own words.  As anyone who’s read a book for class knows, writing ideas in your own words is a great way to solidify committing them to memory.

When you summarize a lesson, you will tend to use two things as reference: whatever you remember from the language lesson and the notes you took.  If you’re using a language learning software, you can use that as a third source: when any part of the lesson you’re summarizing is unclear, simply fire the software again and go back to that.  It’s one of the advantages of language programs, after all — a benefit you just can’t get from more traditional classroom lectures.

1. Endless costs.  Let’s face it – language learning isn’t cheap.  All those classes will cost a lot of money and the deeper you want to go, the more cash you’ll need to dispense with.  With a language program, however, you get to limit your costs to the one-time expense of acquiring the software.
2. Re-working your schedule.  Regardless of how tight your schedule already is with work, family and school, you’ll need to add one more to the rotation: your language classes.  This is a hassle you don’t have to put up with on a foreign language program, since you can arrange the sessions according to your available time.
3. Commute.  Unless you’re able to pay a private tutor to come to your house, you’ll need to deal with the local traffic and transportation hassles in order to attend your language classes.  With a learning software, you can do everything right from the bedroom or anywhere else you are.

When you decide to learn a new language, you may feel overwhelmed by the amount of choice available.  The avenues are definitely aplenty and things can get confusing fast.    Each one will have a different approach to the process, implement their own materials and follow their own procedures.  Deciding on which one to take can really give you fits.

Consider this list of possible methods:

• situational language learning
• audio-based language learning
• communication-based language learning
• software-based language instruction
• adapting styles based on student’s learning tendencies
• total immersion approach
• simulated immersion approach

Overwhelming, right?  And that’s even far from being a comprehensive list.  Imagine if you really went out to research them one by one – you’ll probably end up paralyzed with the amount of choices.

So, what’s a confused, novice language learner to do?  My suggestion is to try to dabble first, while trying to gauge which approach works best for you.  We’re not saying to invest tons of money on everything – far from it.  Instead, take a local night class, use a trial software and try some free online materials to see which ones you best respond to.   There are many ways to try the different avenues of learning without having to fully commit.  Try them out until you find one that fits.

1. Use a language acquisition software (or enroll in a course) that is based around either communicative techniques or immersive learning.  Traditional grammar-based instructions are only likely to end up flying over your head.

2. If you’re designing your own learning program (incorporating numerous materials, for example), get help.  Many of the skills required to make such preparations are left-brained by nature.  As such, there’s a good chance you’ll end up drawing up inadequate plans and activities.

3. Incorporate plenty of opportunities for interaction with your learning, especially ones that call for innovation and creativity.  Remember, you tend to learn best when employing your strengths.

4. Use your imagination to your advantage by integrating it when memorizing vocabulary, practicing speech and other activities.

5. Use your intuition to your advantage.  Learn to trust your instincts when guessing the meaning of certain words and phrases.  When practicing your speaking skills, don’t hold back.  Chances are good that you’re doing it right.  Even if you’re not, nobody’s watching.

6. Use visual and auditory stimulation to aid your studies.  Pictures, music and art can be very beneficial tools for someone of your temperament.

Of course, projecting an air of professionalism is not as easy when you’re conversing in a foreign tongue.  Regardless, you should do everything within your power to bring a professional tone to your interactions.  For instance, you can:

• Learn the basics of professional business communication in the language.  Many foreign language software specifically target business communicators.  You may not be able to completely grasp the nuances of a vernacular, especially one that’s industry-specific, but knowing how to show tact and respect can go a long way.
• If you hold correspondences in written form, such as email, have someone knowledgeable proofread it.  Use a language checking software, if necessary.
• Know the local customs.  Do they expect calls to be returned promptly?  Is it acceptable to put it off for a day?  Get acquainted with  how they conduct business and arrange to be able to fulfill those expectations.

When you communicate in a professional manner, it fosters an image that reflects both on you and your organization.  That’s true whether that picture paints you in a good or bad light.