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A Hidden Gem for Language Lovers and Learners

This article presents a unique approach for intermediate to advanced (and beyond) learners of many languages to gain exposure to interesting material in their target language(s). It has to do with a very popular website that features short (usually less than ten minutes) presentations by some of the world's greatest and most famous minds (not always both ;) on their specific areas of expertise. It's called, simply, TED, and the presentations are called "TED Talks".

The TED website itself is not geared towards language learners or educators yet is useful for both. It is especially useful for English learners, as all the talks are in English. But it's also useful for anyone learning most of the world's most-spoken languages (as well as numerous lesser-spoken ones) who want to simultaneously watch inspiring, funny, courageous, fascinating, informative, persuasive, ingenious and often jaw-dropping presentations about technology, science, entertainment, design, business and global issues - all while gaining exposure to their target language. Here's how and why...

Summary

Denshi Jisho is a free online Japanese dictionary that leverages the powerful WWWJDIC Project to provide users with a way to find words, kanji, kanji by radicals and even sentences. It is very lightweight and loads quickly!

The site has a version that is optimized for iPhone and iPod Touch.

A forum is also available for discussions about Japanese words, kanji and more.

From Website

This site's purpose:

This site was made to help anyone who is studying Japanese, specifically studying for the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT). if you don't know anything about the test, a good place to start is the Japan foundation of LA (though it is mainly overview and where to apply information). We have more information about the test on this site at about the JLPT.

What this site can do:

The main point of this site is to act as a day-by-day calendar with a new kanji from the level of the test you are studying for. So, registering makes this site much more useful (it is free, painless, and we'll never send it to anyone). When you register the site remembers what level you are studying for, and automatically loads the kanji that will appear on the test you are studying for. Also, any vocab on the vocab list for that level will be displayed below the kanji. If you click on one of the kanji in the vocab list (anywhere on the site) a pop up with the kanji and all of its compounds in the dictionary will appear.

Additionally, you can download the kanji or vocab lists for any level in a html formatted file (you can view them with word or some other word processor program). These will be customizable to the extent of you can choose what you want on your list (ie: kanji, kana, definition or kanji, romaji, part of speech, definition). There is also a Japanese -> English and English->Japanese dictionary and a Kanji dictionary on the right toolbar. Anytime you look up a word or view "Today's Kanji" you can choose to add the vocab/kanji to your personal list. This is usefull when word comes up that you want to remember, you can have quick access to it with your vocab/kanji list.

Comments

An excellent site for learning Japanese kanji, as well as hiragana and katakana.

This is an excellent resource for Japanese learners of all levels.

Visit Kanji-a-Day.com

From the site:

"World Nomads present a series of podcast language guides. They are yours to download for free and contain all the essential phrases to keep you travelling safely.

We hope that in 2007 there'll be time to produce a few more guides, so feel free to leave us a comment or send an email with suggestions for the languages you'd like to learn."

Comments

This podcast, along with other podcasts by World Nomads, has nice entries with world-traveler action and a transcription to boot.

Visit World Nomads Japanese Language Guide for your iPod.