JapanesePod101.com Blog

Today, we bring you another blog post from Motoko, JapanesePod101.com lesson creator, host and Office Party Planner! Motoko will be sharing more bilingual posts on our blog, so check back often and leave a comment! Hi everyone, Motoko here! In the beginning of summer this year, the Innovative Language staff went on a day trip. Today I’d like to talk about that. We chose peach-picking for fun, and soba-making so that everyone could try a traditional Japanese food! We made soba in a wonderful nihon-kaoku, a traditional type of Japanese house. Do you know what soba is? Soba is a famous type of noodle in Japan that is a greyish-brown color. It gets this color from a special type of flour called sobako that is used to make it. You dip the... Show more

Today, we bring you another blog post from Motoko, JapanesePod101.com lesson creator, host and Office Party Planner! Motoko will be sharing more bilingual posts on our blog, so check back often and leave a comment! Hi all, Motoko here. Today I'd like to tell you about the baseball game the Innovative Language team went to at the end of September. But before I do, which sports are popular in your country? And do you know which sports are popular in Japan? The answer is: soccer and baseball. Soccer came to Japan because it was popular in Europe. Baseball, on the other hand, can be written in kanji (野球), and that’s because it was introduced to Japan much earlier than soccer was. In fact, it came to Japan in 1872. It is said that... Show more

Today, we bring you another blog post from Motoko, JapanesePod101.com lesson creator, host and Office Party Planner! Motoko will be sharing more bilingual posts on our blog, so check back often and leave a comment! Hi everyone, Motoko here! Today I’d like to tell you about another listener meetup we had. The other day, we had two JapanesePod101.com listeners come to visit us. One was from Canada, and the other was from France. It was the second meetup for me, but I still felt nervous beforehand! Andre from Canada, and Becher from France paid us a visit. They met each other through their Japanese studies, and this was their first trip together – they were staying in Japan for two weeks. They told us that right before... Show more

Another Fall has come and gone and just like that, another iPhone model has hit the market, along with iOS updates for all. If you’ve updated your iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad to iOS 6 already and tried looking for your favorite InnovativeLanguage.com podcast, you may be scratching your head wondering if we’ve packed our bags and closed up shop. We haven’t. In fact, we continue to release new lessons every single week in over 25 languages! Here are some tips on where to find us and listen on-the-go!* Using the Podcast App To find these apps using iOS 6, you’ll need to download Apple’s Podcast app. (Here’s a quick link to the free download.) Once you have the Podcast app installed, you’ll be able to find us under Education or... Show more

Dear Reader, “You’ll Never Master a Language!” That’s what my foreign language teacher, Mr. Barry, told me many years ago. “I’m sorry, you just don’t have an aptitude for languages” is what he added. Well, he was wrong, and I knew it. I went on to master Japanese, a much harder language than the one Mr. Barry taught, obtaining a master's degree from a top Japanese university and founding a Japanese company headquartered in Tokyo. My name is Peter Galante, founder of Innovative Language Learning, and I’m here to tell you the story of how I proved them wrong. So how did I go from language class failure, to founder of a language learning company with over 200 million language lessons delivered? The secret lies in my... Show more

Hello Listener, Just one thing is missing from making your Japanese perfect. A native Japanese speaker. Someone who can correct your mistakes. Someone who understands your strengths and weaknesses and tells you what to study next. Someone to practice with. Ready to improve your Japanese? The NEW Premium PLUS subscription at JapanesePod101.com, like Premium, gives you unlimited access to the entire JapanesePod101 website. You’re getting: • 1750+ Audio and Video lessons and the lesson notes with every lesson, • Premium Tools such as 2000 Core word list, Spaced Repetition Flashcards, Line by Line pronunciation, Voice Recorder, and more. But here’s how you reach Japanese perfection: Premium PLUS gives you access... Show more

There’s absolutely no limit to the number of vocabulary words you could and should learn in the Japanese language. The fact is, the more words you know, the better you’ll be able to speak and communicate. That’s true of any language; even your native tongue! But when are you going to find the time to learn them all? Isn’t there a shortcut? Introducing Visual Dictionary Lite - Learn Japanese, presented by Innovative Language Learning! This new App for iPhone and iPad focuses your Japanese vocabulary learning to the words you need to know - the objects, places and people that you’ll encounter in your daily life. With Visual Dictionary Lite, you’ll be transported to a world where everything you tap and touch comes to life with native... Show more

Hi there Listener, Your first Japanese phrase. It’s the first step to speaking Japanese Basic phrases like “How are you,” “Thank you,” and “Where’s the bathroom!?” are what beginners learn first. And since you’ll use them daily in Japan, mastering these phrases is a must. Learn the Essential Phrases with the Japanese Key Phrases List! The Japanese Key Phrase List is free and the newest addition to the Japanese Resources Corner. You learn the most commonly used phrases of the Japanese language with this list. Each phrase comes with the native audio pronunciation, English translation, transliteration, and an illustration to make it memorable. Mastering these basic phrases takes minutes! Just browse through the... Show more

Hello Listener, Last July, the JapanesePod101 Dashboard made its first appearance. It provides a great place to start if you’re completely new to JapanesePod101 and don’t know which level is right for you. In short, the Dashboard allows you to: Start at a lesson appropriate for your level Track your Japanese learning progress with every lesson completed Jump to the next lesson from the Dashboard by pressing “Study Now” And the feedback? It was incredibly positive and filled with great suggestions. Thank you for reaching out to us! We listened and this past month, applied the suggestions to your Dashboard. Your New Dashboard V1.1: Take control of your Japanese learning! What’s New? Want to study on your own terms?... Show more

Hello Listener, What’s one day of Japanese learning? Simple phrases? Takes 5 minutes. 30 new vocabulary words? At least 30 minutes. New grammar and creating your own sentences? Let’s say an hour. And we’re still just 2 hours and 35 minutes into the day. You won’t master Japanese in one day but you’ll make big progress. One day is enough to start learning, start speaking, and improve your Japanese. Rome wasn’t built in a day, but streets and city blocks here. So, if you tune into the fun, fast and easy lessons, you start speaking minutes into the lesson. Just one lesson. Imagine how much more you’ll learn in one day? It only takes one day to speak better Japanese. Start today and save 27% on all Basic and Premium... Show more