The Best Japanese Learning Software: What to Look For

Learning Japanese requires perseverance, hard work, motivation, and daily practice. The best way to get daily practice is language immersion and being forced to speak Japanese in everyday life situations.
But is that really the only way to reach your goals?

1. It's a structured Japanese course

No great achievement ever happens overnight, and learning Japanese is no different. In order to learn Japanese fast, you first need to make smart, realistic goals to help yourself organize your time and plan your studies. Your Japanese language learning software should help you do this by allowing you to set measurable daily goals and track your progress. It should provide an easy-to-use structure that helps you to achieve SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time-Bound) goals.

2. It keeps you motivated to learn Japanese


3. It's goal-oriented

Learning Japanese is a never-ending task, so it’s essential to set goals from the very beginning so you don’t get frustrated and you can better measure your achievements. The ideal software should break down the process of studying Japanese into different levels so you always know where you're at.

4. It's an interactive Japanese course

One of the greatest contributions of computer-based learning is that you no longer need be in a classroom to interact and listen to other people speaking Japanese. The ideal Japanese learning software should provide you with a variety of engaging, interactive activities that help you improve your listening and speaking skills. A language-oriented forum or chat is also a great idea when it comes to encouraging students to interact and put what they’ve learned into practice.

5. It's personalized and adaptable to your needs

Every student is different. Learning Japanese is not the same for a native Chinese speaker with other experience learning foreign languages as it is for a native English speaker who's new to the language learning scene. Also, a student whose goal is to travel to Japanese with her family won’t need to study in the same way as a student who needs to focus on business-oriented Japanese.

6. It's a well-balanced course

The best Japanese learning software should help you to learn vocabulary, grammar, and culture while listening, speaking, reading and writing. None of these elements should be neglected, and there should be a balanced amount of each in your study program. Ideally, there should be voice recognition technology to help you practice speaking and your program should include interactive listening, reading, and writing lessons. Vocabulary should be presented in context and you should be able to study it with tools that allow for its repetition, such as flash cards or your own personalized online notebook.

7. It's very comprehensive

Quality is not an option when it comes to learning Japanese. Studying a language is a time-consuming and tricky process, and you should be able to take advantage of the best possible tools. That's why language learning software isn’t something you want to buy at the dollar store during your lunch break. Make sure the program you choose is filled with audiovisual and written content and gives you all the necessary tools to succeed. When it comes to learning languages, it's worth investing a little extra to have high-quality materials that you can use for every aspect of the learning process.

8. It teaches you practical Japanese

Who wants to learn how to say “my tailor is rich” in Japanese? If we hardly ever say that in our native language, why should those be my first words in Japanese? Unfortunately, a lot of language learning software don't take into account the practicality of the vocabulary you're learning.

9. It goes from beginner to advanced Japanese


10. It's easy for you to access and use

Since the biggest advantage of Japanese learning software is the flexibility that it offers to the students regarding time and place, why not making the most of this fantastic benefit? The perfect language learning program is one that you can access online from any computer, without the inconvenience of having to carry books or CDs. Also, the possibility of accessing some features from anywhere through a smartphone app is a really interesting and useful characteristic to look for in a software. That way, you can study anywhere and anytime you have a free moment.

11. The cost structure suits you

There are 2 common pricing structures with software:
Now that you have a checklist for what look for in Japanese learning software, you only need to go online and find what it best fits you. But before spending time browsing through Google, don’t forget to take a look at the Rocket Languages Courses!


Sayaka Matsuura 
Rocket Japanese