I haven't found an app that revolves around reading words in the context of example sentences, or a narrative. I find this to be the best way to learn a language.
That is not enough though and that problem you are describing is the reason I am developing Koipun Reader(https://www.koipun.com/reader/). My goal for Koipun Reader is to help intermediate level learners go through any arbitrary Japanese text and give them the ability to save words they want to learn, so that they can review them later within the same context of the text they read. I only have preview version of the app right now, but I will release an MVP in a month.
Edit: fix typo
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13910080
I much prefer that method over things like flashcards, Anki, SuperMemmo, etc.
Everything is in context, it has a practice portion for things you needed help on, you can make lists of vocab, it tests for kanji writing as well as reading, and the zatsugaku challenge has lots of interesting things going on.
I haven't found any other tool to be even in the same league
Learning from scratch, I think vocab is better memorized in context.
It is based on spaced repetition and frequency lists to optimize what you learn (see the About page).
It has to be complemented with other learning methods of course. The required login is with github for sync with different devices.
Now listen to this every night right before bed, and try to parrot off whatever they are saying verbatim. comprehension has no relevance. Just repeat it. Rewind if you want. Make a game out of it. 'Im gonna do my best to make this exact combination of noises with my mouth. dont try to do too much at once. 5-30minute spurts are a good range. It should not be the center of your day, at first, now matter how bad you want to learn. a good rule of thumb is u should spend about as much time as it takes for you to do your morning bathing and hygene ritual.
Add it to your music playlists so it catches you off guard. hunt down some more pieces of films you like and grab the audio of those. alternate between a few audios. adding them incrementally 1 3 5 5 5 5 5 5 10 20
If you find any good japanese audios, let me know!
Source: i work with language learning
The best app I used to learn Hiragana, Katakana and JLPT N5/N4 Kanji was "Kanji Study"
https://play.google.com/store/apps/developer?id=Chase+Colbur...
Though I do agree with the other threaded replies about being out of context. You don't learn the grammar, you just learn the immediate meaning/subject of the sentence and then kinda guess what it really means.
YMMV.
Men should at least have some interaction with other native male speaker otherwise they'll talk like women and that will hurt them socially.
I know a bit of Spanish because I holiday in Spain occasionally, although lately it has become valuable as we are working in LatAm a bit.
I know passable Italian purely because it was enjoyable to learn. It has since been useful on two vacations across Italy.
And finally I'm learning Polish due to my partner being Polish. It's hard as hell compared to Romance languages, but it'll be worth it when I can have a conversation with her parents beyond courtesies.
Are you interested in Japanese culture, history, literature, religion, or people?
Do you or your company want to do business in Japan, with Japanese companies, or Japanese people?
Do you have friends, family, or a significant other who's Japanese? Do you want to make new Japanese friends or contacts?
Are you interested in what the Japanese have to say, and want to read or hear it in their own language?
Have you ever wanted to visit Japan and feel less like a tourist and more like a native, to be able to better know what's going on around you, read the signs, maybe have some ability to find your own way?
Well, if you're not interested in any of these things, perhaps you'll forgive or at least understand some others if they actually are interested and find these things valuable.
One of the things that exists in their culture that doesn't exist in the US is the notion of "oneness." If you get on the train in the morning and observe people going to their jobs, you'll notice that there's almost a "uniform" - very similar suit, haircut, and overall style. In America, individuality has become a disease that has lead to everyone feeling the need to be special and different. I'd argue that this 'disease' is the plague of our politics and economy, as companies nor politicians typically think about society's greater good ( save a handful who are now trying to align business with humanitarian efforts ).
Also, embedded in the language is respect. You use different words and sentence structures to address your friends vs. your boss.
So, what is the value? Probably experiencing life in a different way, and gaining more perspective.
tldr: it opens doors that would not normally be open to you
Note that this is valid for more countries than not: learn the language, and the locals will look on you more favourably. It is still a must to work well in places like France and Italy, for example (albeit less so than 10 years ago).
English is a fallback language, but the preferred option is still the native lingo.
It lets you experience things you could not have otherwise.
