[https://www.nipponcademy.de/online-japanisch-lernen/](https://www.nipponcademy.de/online-japanisch-lernen/)
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I consider taking it up, but it costs around 240 euro.
The website says that the course consists of learn videos, vocabularies, practice tasks (first in romanji, then in hiragana and katakana) as well as the possibility to reach out to teachers.
Would it be worth it or should I rather stick to free sources?
8 comments
Don’t have any experience with this particular course, or Japanese courses in general.
I’d say it depends on what you’re looking to get out of it, as in what are you looking for in a course, what are your expectations for this one and what are your learning needs.
Also how much are you willing to invest in terms of money, time and effort into it? That also depends on how much you’re already invested in your own language journey and how far along you are.
There are so much good contents available online for free to be honest. I would rather pay teachers to do 1 on 1 for around 10 -15 euros an hour on italki if you really want private tutoring. Do an hour a week and let the teacher set your homework and you can study the materials they provide.
Free resources are very likely equally good. No need to pay anything
That is interesting. I think there are a lot more English resources than German resources. So if your English is really strong that might be something to consider.
If there is an in-person class nearby, that might be interesting.
A live or on-line tutor is another option. You lose some structure so would need to develop a plan.
Romaji is a terrible crutch. Try to avoid that; buckle down and learn the kana.
Depending on how much time/motivation you have, you can probably progress significantly faster on your own, and it won’t cost you a single cent.
That being said, if you think you absolutely need either a teacher or instructions in German it might not be such a bad choice. Assuming your English isnt, as the Germans say, “unter aller Sau”, you could probably just stick with free English resources, though.
Hi! I highly recommend you checkout [Mimibot](https://mimibot.app)
If your English is good enough, the free English resources are enough. But the german free resources are lacking imo.
Ima be honest, I had taken their course, and its not worth the full price. Much on what you learn on what Site, are stuff covered in many textbooks which you can get for 10 Euros… a.k.a Genki 1 and Genki 2. Also, it states as you said that the first half will be in Romaji, this is for English learners to be able to more easily adapt to the language, but starting off with Romaji instead of straight Hiragana and Katakana (Which you can both learn in under 24 Hours) is a bad idea. Look up, on why Romaji is NOT recommended for beginners or even intermediates, anyone.
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The learning method they use is not best per se, and may not work for anyone. For me personally, it didnt. Its basically like an online course, in which you fill out certain tasks, and fill out paperwork of the grammar you learnt, which you then submit to get it checked etc. All you can do yourself with Genki, and save those 240 Euros. Thatd be better spent with a Tutor, or other books Genki 2, something like Wanikani for Kanjis etc. The way they teach you Grammar is sometimes really OFF, like literally. Some phrases are taught in a way, in which you would never speak it in todays Japan and Japanese. You would sound like a fool.
I can also not recommend their teaching of Kanji to you, as your progress is TREMENDOUSLY slow, not suited for new learners at all. Their menomics are really meh as well. When you spend 240 Euros, you would expect quite the bit, but you can find all of that stuff online for free. IF you wanna try it tho, Dont go for it.
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TLTR: Dont recommend for that price!