my experiences
Let me start by saying, I'm not that good at Japanese yet though I've studied it on and off for almost three years now. To learn a new language first and foremost
requires the will and motivation to learn. Second is the tools available to you.
I've used different products along the way to learn the language. Therefore I want to share my opinion on those products. They're all listed below with links:
Kana de Manga - A small inexpensive book that teaches you to write kana. I find it very useful as a tool to learn the kana.
Kanji de Manga 1 - Same type as Kana de Manga, only with kanji. This book teaches you the first 80 kanji you have to learn. These are the 80 kanji you need to know to pass the JLPT N5 test. It is easy to use and though it looks a little childish, it is still quite good.
Pocket Kenkyusha Japanese Dictionary - Japanese - English dictionary. The Japanese-English part is in romaji, meaning that it is written with latin letters. This forces the user to learn how to translate from kana/kanji to romaji to find the word one needs. This is not necessarily a bad thing though most people prefers a kana/kanji dictionary. It is nice to have for people who don't know kana yet, but as soon as you know kana it feels kind of like a waste. Since I learned kana (takes a month tops if you write some everyday) I haven't really used it
Even though the content of the dictionary is good, the quality of the book sucks. After a few months of use, the book began to fall apart. That's pretty annoying, considering it has more than a thousand pages.
Pimsleur's Japanese I - I found this product very useful. This should clearly not be the only product you use to learn Japanese, but it's a nice product especially if there aren't any Japanese classes in your area.
It gives you a good grasp on how to pronounce Japanese words and forces you to participate and speak Japanese actively
Rosetta Stone's Japanese 1 - Compared to how long it actually takes to go through this product, you don't learn a lot. The good side is that you remember most of the Japanese you're taught. Bad side is, it is mindnumbingly slow and the introduction of kana is a waste of time. You will sit puzzled about the grammar a lot of the time since this product gives no explanations whatsoever about this.
Considering the price, it is definitely not worth it. But if you can get your hands on it on a library, you should try it out, just to get a feel of how to pronounce kana and words in Japanese.
My Happy Planet - Website with focus on language and culture exchange. You start mailing with different people that are natives of the language you want to learn and then help them learn your language (or your second language). Since very few wants to learn Danish, I usually help people learn English. From this site I've moved on to speak with my Japanese friends over Skype and Messenger too.
http://lang-8.com - Great place to test your language skills! The page focus is on people helping each other out with their respective languages. You'll write an entry in the language you want to learn (not only Japanese) and then a native will correct your sentences. Vice versa you help others in learning your native language (win-win situation!).
http://smart.fm - Comprehensive site with focus on widening your vocabulary. And the method actually works! I know I've improved my vocab considerably.
http://www.realkana.com - Great site for learning to recognise kana. It has a kanji equivalent too, but I've only used that a few times.
LearnKana! - Java applet at this site developed for people who wants to learn kana.
Genki I - An Integrated Course in Elementary Japanese - Book made by The Japan Times for newcomers to the language. This is by far the best rescource I've used to learn Japanese. If you get the full pack, meaning the book, workbook and cd's (a bit expensive perhaps), then you're good to go! This has helped me immensely both with my reading, writing and comprehension of the language in genereal.
The first book more or less corresponds to the JLPT N5 level, and about 150 kanji are introduced (more than enough!). The Genki II book corresponds to JLPT N4, even though with these two books, only about 250 of the relevant 300 kanji for this level are covered. I haven't tried this book myself since I'm only at Lesson 8 in Genki I in this very moment.
I've used different products along the way to learn the language. Therefore I want to share my opinion on those products. They're all listed below with links:
Kana de Manga - A small inexpensive book that teaches you to write kana. I find it very useful as a tool to learn the kana.
Kanji de Manga 1 - Same type as Kana de Manga, only with kanji. This book teaches you the first 80 kanji you have to learn. These are the 80 kanji you need to know to pass the JLPT N5 test. It is easy to use and though it looks a little childish, it is still quite good.
Pocket Kenkyusha Japanese Dictionary - Japanese - English dictionary. The Japanese-English part is in romaji, meaning that it is written with latin letters. This forces the user to learn how to translate from kana/kanji to romaji to find the word one needs. This is not necessarily a bad thing though most people prefers a kana/kanji dictionary. It is nice to have for people who don't know kana yet, but as soon as you know kana it feels kind of like a waste. Since I learned kana (takes a month tops if you write some everyday) I haven't really used it
Even though the content of the dictionary is good, the quality of the book sucks. After a few months of use, the book began to fall apart. That's pretty annoying, considering it has more than a thousand pages.
Pimsleur's Japanese I - I found this product very useful. This should clearly not be the only product you use to learn Japanese, but it's a nice product especially if there aren't any Japanese classes in your area.
It gives you a good grasp on how to pronounce Japanese words and forces you to participate and speak Japanese actively
Rosetta Stone's Japanese 1 - Compared to how long it actually takes to go through this product, you don't learn a lot. The good side is that you remember most of the Japanese you're taught. Bad side is, it is mindnumbingly slow and the introduction of kana is a waste of time. You will sit puzzled about the grammar a lot of the time since this product gives no explanations whatsoever about this.
Considering the price, it is definitely not worth it. But if you can get your hands on it on a library, you should try it out, just to get a feel of how to pronounce kana and words in Japanese.
My Happy Planet - Website with focus on language and culture exchange. You start mailing with different people that are natives of the language you want to learn and then help them learn your language (or your second language). Since very few wants to learn Danish, I usually help people learn English. From this site I've moved on to speak with my Japanese friends over Skype and Messenger too.
http://lang-8.com - Great place to test your language skills! The page focus is on people helping each other out with their respective languages. You'll write an entry in the language you want to learn (not only Japanese) and then a native will correct your sentences. Vice versa you help others in learning your native language (win-win situation!).
http://smart.fm - Comprehensive site with focus on widening your vocabulary. And the method actually works! I know I've improved my vocab considerably.
http://www.realkana.com - Great site for learning to recognise kana. It has a kanji equivalent too, but I've only used that a few times.
LearnKana! - Java applet at this site developed for people who wants to learn kana.
Genki I - An Integrated Course in Elementary Japanese - Book made by The Japan Times for newcomers to the language. This is by far the best rescource I've used to learn Japanese. If you get the full pack, meaning the book, workbook and cd's (a bit expensive perhaps), then you're good to go! This has helped me immensely both with my reading, writing and comprehension of the language in genereal.
The first book more or less corresponds to the JLPT N5 level, and about 150 kanji are introduced (more than enough!). The Genki II book corresponds to JLPT N4, even though with these two books, only about 250 of the relevant 300 kanji for this level are covered. I haven't tried this book myself since I'm only at Lesson 8 in Genki I in this very moment.