HOW MUCH WiLL IT COST TO LEARN JAPANESE?

“How much should I plan on spending on learning Japanese?”

“…hardware (dictionary) is expensive though, I hope I can afford it.”

“I’ve read about spending over a $1000 to learn Japanese … why not me as well?”

I have seen this question a few times, and it’s a topic often-overlooked by many people. If you were to count cost of classes, textbooks, and CDs, the cost of learning Japanese will be a much more than you expect.

some examples:

The Japan Times series is a popular choice for textbooks, lets start with that.

Newbie	Genki 1: Textbook	$45.00
	Genki 1: Workbook	$25.00
	Genki 1: CD Set	$225.00 (optional)
Beginner	Genki 2: Textbook	$45.00
	Genki 2: Workbook	$25.00
	Genki 2: CD Set	$225.00 (optional)
Intermediate	Integrated Approach to Intermediate: Textbook	$45.00
	Integrated Approach to Intermediate: Workbook	$25.00
Advanced	Authentic Japanese: Textbook	$45.00
	Authentic Japanese: Workbook	$25.00
	Authentic Japanese: CD Set	$60.00 (optional)
Total Price		$280-790

The Pimsleur method is a well known audio program.

Japanese Level 1	$300.00
Japanese Level 2	$300.00
Japanese Level 3	$300.00
Comprehensive Level 1-2-3 Set	$600.00

The Rosetta Stone is the best known software suite.

Japanese Level 1	$260.00
Japanese Level 2	$280.00
Japanese Level 3	$300.00
Japanese Level 1, 2 & 3 Set	$500.00

*I’m not including music/anime/movies/etc. as study materials.

As you can you, one can spend upward of $1000 on study materials. ALL of which work. If you use them, you will learn “some” Japanese. But… why spend more money than you need to? Many people have already spend a lot of money and discovered which methods are effective and which are not. I myself have tried all of the above materials.

However, together with thousands of others around the world, we have discovered what works and what doesn’t. We are all part of an online community that have been learning languages and sharing our methods. Over the last few years several methods have become the new standard of effectiveness and efficiency. I have taken only the best of the methods and combined them all together on this site.

I do not want to debate which method is better. I simply want to share an extremely effective method for learning Japanese. If you are interested, read on.

If you have been taking classes and do not see the results you want, maybe the problem is the classes! Maybe the classes you took suck! Maybe watching anime with subtitles doesn’t teach Japanese! Maybe your methods suck! Maybe your textbooks/cds/dvds all suck. Or maybe they don’t?! Either way, using this site’s methods an average (English as-a-first-language) person can go from zero-Japanese to fluency in 2-3 years. These methods were not created by me. I merely applied them in a systematic way to produce the best results.

see School Supplies for my recommended learning materials

Further Reading:
How Long will it Take to Learn Japanese?
Guide to Learning Japanese
Language Proficiency Scales
School Supplies

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