Japanese learners who will live and work in Japan must be able to understand practical reading materials, but before that, they must first learn kanji. And before learning kanji, they must first learn hiragana and katakana.
To some, learning these characters may be the most boring task in a Nihongo class. However, kana and kanji don’t have to be too tedious! In the same way that we learned the alphabet growing up, they are also best learned through purposeful tasks (i.e., learning the characters in the context of communication; with a specific goal) such as reading, writing, and reading with illustrations, videos, or audio inputs.
みなと
For those who enjoy purposeful tasks, we recommend e-Minato. It is a platform for free online learning materials that allow learners to learn vocabulary, kana, and kanji, while immersing in the Japanese culture. It includes contents that range from Haiku and Calligraphy courses to easy to understand Japanese anime and manga.
Link: e-Minato
For those who find purposeful tasks uninspiring, the Japan Foundation has also created interactive platforms that engage learners’ different senses, making kana and kanji memorization both fun and effective.
IRODORI Online Course Website
The Online Course is based on the curriculum of the IRODORI coursebook and can be used anytime, anywhere on our gadgets—as long as we have internet! Just like in the book, it contains tasks focused on kana and kanji learning. Best of all, It is completely free to use.
Learners may access the kana activities in both the Introduction and Practice contents. In the Introduction, kana can be learned through activities like:
1) listening to the sound while looking at the character,
2) listening to the sound and choosing the correct character,
3) typing the character shown on the screen,
4) listening to words written in hiragana while looking at illustrations, and
5) typing the words written in hiragana.
Introduction Contents
The kanji activities, on the other hand are found under the Practice contents.
Practice Contents
Link: IRODORI Online Course
IRODORI Practice App
The IRODORI Online Course also has a smartphone application version that can be used offline. However, it mainly focuses on the Practice contents of the online course.
The Practice contents include activities such as
1) Flashcards,
2) Listening to the word and choosing the correct meaning or matching illustration,
3) Writing kanji by hand with the correct stroke order, and
4) Listening to the word and typing it in kana or kanji.
Apple Link: IRODORI Practice App (Apple Store)
Google Link: IRODORI Practice App (Google Play)
If your students find it hard to stay motivated while learning the Japanese characters, try these fun learning activities. You can incorporate them in class or assign them as homework!
CF: Hiragana / Katakana / Kanji Learning | Japan Foundation, Manila
