Press Release for New Language Learning Websites

The Japan Foundation is excited to announce three new websites designed to help you reach the next step in your Japanese language study. We believe that learning a new language should be a fun and intuitive experience, so each of these three sites is intended to help you get the most out of your study time. Ganbatte kudasai!

“Erin’s Challenge! I Can Speak Japanese!” – www.erin.ne.jp

Aimed at Japanese-language beginners, this innovative site is fast-paced, colourful, and incredibly interactive. Featuring more than 200 video clips and over 2,100 questions to test your skills, the site also tracks your progress as you choose an avatar and make your way through a manga-style role-playing game. The episodic video content originally aired on NHK in Japan, and on TV stations in 12 different countries, but now you can follow the story at your own pace, while supplementing it with several types of quizzes and drills.

NIHONGO eな – www.nihongo-e-na.com

These days, anyone studying a language knows that using the internet is a vital strategy for success. But the internet is full of so many sources—how can you be sure which ones are worth your time? Nihongo-e-na is here to make it easy, compiling handy links to dozens of useful Japanese-language websites and online tools. Whether you’re looking to enhance your vocabulary, practice those kanji, or look up a word in a dictionary, you’ll find it here, along with lots of other helpful resources. Links are divided into intuitive categories, so you can get started in no time.

Japanese in Anime & Manga – www.anime-manga.jp

Lately, one of the most popular reasons for learning Japanese—especially among young people—is enthusiasm for Japan’s incredible selection of manga and anime. But as any fan knows, the language spoken by Monkey D. Luffy or Himura Kenshin doesn’t exactly sound like textbook Japanese. With this site, you’ll be able to move beyond Tokyo Standard dialect by practicing the expressions of eight different “character types”, including Samurai, Scrapper, and even Osakan, using fun quizzes and games. Get ready to power-up your Japanese!

Minna no Kyozai - http://minnanokyozai.jp/kyozai/home/ja/render.do

Minna no Kyozai is a free, members-only website to help Japanese-language teachers around the world create teaching materials for their students.

Internet Japanese Test : Sushi Test – http://momo.jpf.go.jp/sushi/

Students can take this test for free.

Directory of Japanese-Language Resources (Japanese)

Journal Collections: Table of Contents (Japanese)

Japan Foundation Language Centers and Institutes

The Japan Foundation Japanese Language Institute, Kansai (English/ Japanese)

The Japan Foundation Japanese Language Institute, Urawa (English/ Japanese)

The Japan Foundation Japanese Language Center in Los Angeles (English)

The Japan Foundation London Language Centre (English)

The Japan Foundation, Sydney Language Section (English)