About Nihongo Kaizen

ようこそ！

Have you ever been really frustrated about how long it’s taking your Japanese studies to get anywhere?

Have you tried watching a drama or listening to a podcast and feeling completely lost?

Have you ever tried communicating with native Japanese and, despite your best efforts, struggled understanding each other?

Have you ever wondered if maybe there’s a better way?

I get it. I’ve been there myself. I started studying Japanese more than 30 years ago and my initial efforts felt agonizingly slow, a constant uphill battle with little to show for it.

But fear not! You are in the right place, friend. I’m going to show you how to acquire this wonderful, mind-boggling language more quickly and efficiently than you ever thought possible. The information I am sharing here, if you are willing to put the methods into practice, will greatly accelerate your learning journey. Moreover, this approach will bring more enjoyment into the process so that you actually look forward to embracing the language and not dreading it.

My Story

I’d had years of classroom instruction in French, German and Russian during elementary school, high school and college respectively. I did great in the classes, always scored high on tests, but never really acquired competency in using the languages versus knowing about the languages. I could ace vocab tests and give you chapter and verse on grammar rules, but communicating with native speakers was never anything that was taught or emphasized. It was frustrating, to be honest. I felt like I’d been cheated.

I started studying Japanese on my own in preparation for a sightseeing trip and after visiting Japan for the first time, I got hooked on the country and the language. Because I was primarily self-taught and knew the failings of academic approaches to language learning, I was always on the lookout for effective meta-learning techniques that could help. Ultimately, my Japanese became good enough that I was able to work and live there and along the way, I did manage to pass the JLPT N2 exam without purposefully studying for it.

My Mission

My personal mission statement is, “Learn new things, solve hard problems, teach others.” I am writing this to share what I’ve learned about the process of language acquisition in the sincere hope that others (you!) can put it to use and reach your own Japanese goals even faster than I’ve reached mine.

Secret Bonus!

What you’ll learn here is more focused on HOW to learn Japanese, not actual Japanese lessons per se. The skills you will acquire on meta-learning, mindset, habit formation, motivation, etc. are transferable – you’ll be able to apply them to almost any area of your life in which you want to grow your abilities. 一石二鳥 (two birds with one stone)!

Next Steps

Sign up for the email list below so that as I release new content, you’ll be notified immediately. You will also receive a cheat sheet with some of my favorite tips to improve the effectiveness of your studies. No spam, not now, not ever. I hate spam.