Learning Japanese From Zero!

George Trombley Teaches Japanese From Zero Youtube Series

    Perhaps THE BEST resource on youtube is George Trombley's Japanese From Zero series.  The videos compliment and are based on his book series.  While I haven't bought the books yet, I have bought a subscription to his website http://yesjapan.com (which at this time subscriptions are $5 a month) which hosts every course and lesson.  The site can also be used for free.





    George has grown up and lived in Japan for many years.  He was also a professional interpreter for a lot of major companies.  So when I watch videos of this man teaching Japanese, I feel comfortable knowing that he knows exactly what he's talking about.   His videos are upbeat and personable.  He seems a very friendly guy.  Such a personality in a teacher is a Godsend.

    The aim of the series is to literally teach you Japanese without you knowing anything at all to get started.  While you can gain a great amount of knowledge with the videos alone, it is somewhat necessary to at least look at the courses on yesjapan to learn the hiragana and vocabulary along the way.  You don't even need to know hiragana to start watching the series, George teaches it in what he calls a "progressive" style.  He'll teach the first few hiragana, show you a word in English lettered romaji, and slowly start replacing the English letters with hiragana you've learned.  I already knew hiragana by the time I found these videos but the concept is an interesting idea for sure.

    This series is now my main staple for moving forward with my study.  I don't know where I'd be right now without it.


Japanese From Zero - Youtube Playlist

yesjapan.com