Hey, it’s Xiaoma here!
Want to learn Japanese?
Or maybe you’ve tried to learn Japanese before and want to give it another try. Then you’re in the right place!
On this page, I’m going to show you how you can learn Japanese fast. I’ll show you the method I use to go from zero to a ‘street-smart’ level in almost any language nowadays.
And most of the time, I can do that within just a few weeks.
If you pay attention, you’ll also learn how YOU can hold fun and spontaneous conversations with Japanese speakers, in just ten weeks.
I invented this approach myself and it’s great for you if:
Learning to speak Japanese will let you talk directly to the hearts of over 125 million people.
You will impress friends and strangers and put a huge smile on their faces - just like you see me do in my videos.
Sounds fun?
Then keep reading…
I’ve talked to so many people who really want to learn Japanese, but most of them are struggling.
They say things like:
“Switching the object and the verb feels so unnatural to me", or
“I’m worried about sounding rude or overly formal in the wrong situations.’’
And then there’s the overwhelm when you realize there’s 3 different alphabets to learn if you want to read and write in Japanese.
You’re not alone in this feeling.
The U.S. State Department’s Foreign Service Institute confirms that Japanese isn’t easy.
They created a list of the languages that are the hardest to learn which included Japanese as one of the most difficult languages for English speakers.
That’s why so many learners get overwhelmed and give up after a while.
That’s a pity!
Why?
Every day that goes by that you can’t speak Japanese, you miss out on tons of opportunities like:
- Instantly breaking the ice with all the Japanese people you meet and having fun!
- Quickly winning respect when doing business in Japanese;
- Getting a better understanding of Japanese relatives and improving your relationships with them;
- Or even falling in love with a Japanese partner?
In my opinion, it’s definitely possible for an English speaker to become near-native fluent in Japanese.
The real issue is that most learners focus on stuff that doesn't really matter at the beginning.
They’ll go way too deep into grammar or really focus on lists of numbers, colors, clothing, professions and that kind of stuff (aka the Duolingo approach).
And by the way, this is how most language courses work. And obviously, it's important to know all these things at some point.
But it’s like building a fancy house without a foundation. Eventually, it’s going to collapse and you need to start all over again.
When that happens, students get demotivated and give up!
That’s why I learn languages like I play chess.
This approach works for me, and thousands of my students.
You can use it too, and the best thing is it works 100% from home.
In fact, I believe that it’s possible to learn to have a basic conversation in any language within just 24 hours.
Yes, 24 hours!
You probably think I’m kidding...
But I guarantee it’s possible because I do this all the time on my YouTube channel.
And trust me, I was definitely not the smartest kid in my class at school.
So what’s the secret?
My real name is Arieh, but most people know me as Xiaoma. I run the popular YouTube channel Xiaomanyc.
Tens of millions of people watch my videos every month and see how I make connections with people from all kinds of backgrounds, by speaking to them in their language.
I’ve studied over 15 foreign languages, including Chinese, Spanish, Korean, French, Wolof, Maya, Italian, Indonesian, Navajo, Hindi, Punjabi, and Tibetan.
People always ask me how I do it. I get emails literally every day!
With my chess game approach, I managed to hold conversations in all these languages after just a few weeks of studying.
Since I’ve launched my very first Chinese course ‘’Street-Smart Chinese,’’ thousands of students from all over the world have joined and picked up a new language.
I understand that learning a language can be really boring and difficult because that’s how I experienced it at school.
That’s why I thought it was time to make language courses more practical for the real world!
And people seem to love this approach:
Yes, I was a total language idiot in high school.
I took Latin, Hebrew, and Greek classes but every year I felt like I was learning the same thing over and over again. Every year I would have to rummage back through the dictionary to look up the exact same words I looked up the year before.
I kept thinking to myself, I wonder when any of this stuff is going to stick. (Tell me if that sounds familiar!)
To this day I don’t remember anything from any of these classes.
Growing up in NYC I only spoke English. But my dad would take me to Chinatown when I was little and man, it was the coolest thing!
The lights, smells, tastes — it was just wild. I dreamed about someday being able to speak this amazing, intricate, seemingly exotic language, but I never actually thought it was possible to get fluent.
And the first Chinese courses I took in college did little to dispel this idea. I found the Chinese language beautiful but oh-so frustrating.
- Why did 了 work like that?
- What the heck was the little square next to 吗?
- And how do you just say “bring me that pencil” already?!
I felt so confused by teaching materials that were totally irrelevant for beginners.
My teachers would try to explain tiny details about the writing system that didn't make any sense because I didn't have any idea how the language actually worked!
Later I got the opportunity to study Chinese at a university in China, but even then I mostly became fluent outside of the classroom, not during the lessons!
Going to a language school can be a good way to keep yourself motivated and accountable but…
Don’t forget that in the end you have to learn by yourself.
Nobody can learn a language for you.
That’s the cold, hard truth!
And that’s why I’ve developed a method that enables me to learn languages from home, without having to sign up for an expensive language school, or having to go abroad.
And if you focus on learning the right things, you will be able to learn much faster than the average learner.
In fact, I believe that it’s possible to learn to have a basic conversation in any language including Chinese within just 24 hours.
Yes, 24 hours!
You probably think I’m kidding..
But I can guarantee it’s possible, because I do this all the time on my YouTube channel. You can find tons of videos on my channel that back up this crazy claim
So how do I pick up languages so fast?
Chess players usually start the game with standard openings, like moving the pawn from E2 to E4. Then you know that you need to follow up with the Sicilian Defense. Then there are all kinds of standard responses, and that's because those are generally recognized as the best and most common moves.
And the more you play the game, the better you have those opening moves memorized. As the game gets more complex, your skills get tested more and more by all these variants.
Do you see the similarities between playing chess and learning languages?
That’s why I always focus on these ‘opening moves’ at the beginning.
Once you can ‘’open’’ a conversation and start speaking, you have a foundation that you can start building on.
Start with practical phrases like ‘’do you speak Japanese?’’ or ‘’I’m learning Japanese’’. The fancy stuff will follow later.
With this approach, you can speak a new language from the very beginning. This will give you the momentum you need to become fluent.
I’ve created a beginner conversation course just for you.
It’s called Street-Smart Japanese Foundations!
For this course, I partnered up with an amazing Japanese teacher.
Stefano from “linguaEpassione” on YouTube will be your host in this course.
He's a super nice guy and one of the best linguists we know!
He’s also a great teacher to have because he loves breaking down complex grammar and making it easy to understand.
Here he is…
And there is more.
For this course, we recorded a short, fun video series for you, with real actors in Japan.
These sketches will make your learning journey a lot of fun.
Throughout the videos, you’ll learn everything you need to have fun with 100% real conversations in Japanese, impressing Japanese speakers in your neighborhood and your Japanese-speaking friends and relatives!
Your new Japanese skills will help you strengthen your relationships with Japanese speakers and give an entirely new dimension to your life.
Trust me, you really do get a new soul with every new language you learn to speak.
The best thing?
You won’t have to travel to Japan or enroll in a language school and spend thousands of dollars.
When you practice your Japanese with somebody, they will always ask you the same questions:
We’ll focus on the words, phrases and sentence structures that you need for your first conversations in Japanese in practical real-life situations.
Think about situations like:
Our Japanese friends act out all these scenarios in video conversations to get you started speaking Japanese fast. We learn grammar naturally as it comes up in the dialogues, not by memorizing a list of points.
We don’t just teach you a bunch of phrases that you need to learn by heart. You will learn patterns of speech so that you can make your own sentences in Japanese and say whatever you want.
You don’t need any prior experience!
Like the idea of learning Japanese with a teacher?
We’ve added walkthrough videos. Stefano from “linguaEpassione” on YouTube will walk you step-by-step through all the dialogues of each lesson and give an in-depth explanation of all vocabulary, pronunciation and grammar features.
You’ll almost feel like you’re in a virtual classroom with him as your private teacher, where every single line of dialogue is clearly and simply broken down and explained. This lets me guarantee you the learning experience I want you to have!
Not only that, but you’ll be able to comment on all lesson content, and because of our passion for learning languages, not only do we read every single comment but we also usually reply!
I know that learning Japanese can be hard, especially if you’re starting from scratch.
So here’s the deal…
If you sign up for this Street-Smart Japanese Foundations course, we’ll also give you access to our 7-Day Magic Sentences Bootcamp for Japanese.
In this mini-course, you’ll learn all my magical sentences.
These sentences help you get an early grasp of how the language works. They’re also incredibly practical. In my experience, these sentences represent 80% of the likely first 5 minutes of conversation you will have with a given stranger.
You can literally have entire conversations with total strangers just by knowing them, and I do so on a regular basis.
First, we teach you a few simple words. Then we start making simple sentences that gradually become more difficult. Eventually, you’ll have learned some of the “Magic Sentences” that I always learn first when studying new languages.
If you study these sentences for 10 minutes per day, you’ll have learned all of them in only one week!
This mini-course is available on the website for $27, but you’ll get it 100% for FREE!
It’s the best way to jump-start your Japanese!
Deal?
That’s quite a hard question isn’t it?
It’s hard to put a price on the ability to speak Japanese and transform the way you interact with Japanese speakers.
People from all over the world are spending thousands of dollars (or pounds, or euros!) to fly to Japan to enroll in a language school.
But even those who don’t want to travel or can’t travel often end up spending over a thousand dollars to take Japanese lessons at a local language school.
There are also online courses that often charge a premium. The real question is, do they really work? Are the courses designed in a way that will keep you motivated and make learning Japanese fun?
My course does! 😉
And because of the huge reach I have on my social media channels I’m able to offer you a high-quality course without having to charge you thousands of dollars.
I am only asking for a small investment in yourself.
If you’re ready to put in the time, the results will pay off very quickly. That’s something I can guarantee!
Want to know how?
Just keep reading…
The course comes with 10 modules with real-life conversations in video and downloadable audio formats to get you speaking Japanese fast.
Each video includes subtitles in both English and Japanese to make sure that you understand every single word. Stefano will walk you step-by-step through all the vocabulary, pronunciation and grammar features of each lesson. Master all aspects of the course with me as your virtual guide!
Native audio recordings to get your pronunciation just right. You’ll no longer need to guess how Japanese is pronounced in the real world.
Spending too much time in front of a screen? Print the worksheets and review the dialogues, key vocabulary, and grammar.
We've added supplemental sentences with tons of additional vocabulary for bonus practice, for those of you who want more. You definitely won’t be bored!
Just like on my YouTube channel, you can comment or ask questions on every single lesson, but unlike on my YouTube channel, my team can read every single comment and we usually reply.
Pay only once and get access to all materials for the rest of your life!
Jumpstart your Japanese with this step-by-step starter kit. It's great for complete beginners.