1. 10 Good Habits For Learning Japanese
1. Keep a Notebook
Buy a cheap notebook (I recommend moleskine) and jot down any new
vocabulary or phrases that you hear. For each entry, write down the
new language, its meaning, and one or two examples of its usage. If
you hear a word you know used in a new way, write it down again.
2. Take Up A Japanese Hobby
If you take up a Japanese hobby you get three benefits. First, you get
to take up an interesting and enjoyable hobby which is fun in itself.
Second, you'll find a great place to interact with Japanese natives
and get plenty of speaking practice. Finally, you'll get a source of
motivation to study Japanese harder. You can take up anything from
flower arranging (ikebana) to sword-fighting (kendo).
3. Make Japanese pen-friends
Google 'japanese pen friend' and you'll find a host of websites
dedicated to finding you a Japanese pen friend. Make sure you insist
on replies in English and Japanese. This is a great way to expose
you to new language, and of course, make connections in Japan. If you
can't read Kanji, you should try downloading Rikaichan, a plugin for
the Firefox web browser (which you should be using anyway!)
4. Review Characters Once A Week
If you are just starting out, it's very important that you review
hiragana/katakana characters at least once per week. Rather than
spending one afternoon trying to cram all the characters into your
brain, its much easier and more effective to go slowly and review
periodically. You should be able to read words you see, and write
words you hear. If you are confident with your kana, you should move
onto Kanji when you feel ready.
5. Make Japanese Skype Friends
Similar to making pen-friends, the difference is you will actually be
speaking to them over the internet. Often you can convert pen-friends
to skype-friends and vice versa. This is a great way to get speaking
practice if you don't meet Japanese natives in your day-to-day life,
but it's never a substitute for the real thing.
6. Listen To The JapanesePod101 Podcast
If you open iTunes (comes with all Macs, you'll need to download it
for Windows), and go to the iTunes Store, you can find a podcast made
by JapanesePod101. They regularly broadcast high quality Japanese
lessons via their podcast. They can be a little pushy for you to join
their paid website, but the podcast is very well produced and is a
great way to get listening practice for free.
7. Check Your Grammar With Tae Kims Guide To Japanese
Tae Kims guide can be found at this url:
Http://www.guidetojapanese.org
It is a one-stop shop for Japanese grammar explanations. Though I
wouldn't recommend it as a good way to start studying Japanese, it's
a great way to review grammar that you might have forgotten. His
explanations are brief and filled with examples. He also has a great
understanding of contemporary Japanese language usage. Best of all,
it's free.
8. Correct Yourself

2. We all make mistakes when speaking, the most important thing is that
we go back and correct them. If you know you've made a mistake, don't
be lazy and let it slide. If you make a habit of letting yourself go,
you will never improve. Go back to what you said, make the correction,
and carry on the conversation from there.
9. Don't Second Guess Yourself
Don't try to make everything you say perfect. Do your best to speak
naturally, and then only after you've made a mistake are you allowed
to go back and correct it. Unless you're giving a speech, never spend
more than a couple of seconds trying to figure out what you're going
to say.
10. Come to Japan!
Whether only for a few weeks or the rest of your life, coming to Japan
will multiply your Japanese ability. If you are a beginner, you'll
get 24/7 exposure to the language as its spoken naturally. If you're
intermediate, then you will have more speaking opportunities than you
could ever handle or prepare for (which is a good thing). If you're
advanced, then you probably already live here :
Japanese anime guy