Learning Hiragana Like a Baby?

I found this toy at a Japnese second a shop quite some time ago. I won’t say it was for babies, but maybe for toddlers. It was in perfect working condition and I thought I would be a great way to practice hiragana. For some people studying Japanese, they feel insulted or belittled if they have to study using child-based learning tools. I take a completely opposite approach. If it works, I say use it. But I didn’t always feel this way.

There was a time when I would be just a little embarrassed to walk into my local library and be the biggest thing moving in the Japanese children’s books section. I felt embarrassed because I’m adult who, by Japanese standards, I’m just barely literate. But these were the only Japanese publications (except for the Hiragana Times) I could actually read. I couldn’t fully understand them, but I could read the words. There were so many kids in that library who could read and speak so much better than me. I would trudge into the kids section feeling a bit like a six-foot-two, African-American, dunce…sigh.

However, after teaching in a Japanese elementary school and having a chance to interact with Japanese students, I don’t feel bad anymore. I realize that you can learn so much just by listening to kids speak everyday. Now if I get a kids book in hiragana, I am inspired to really try hard. Doing so may make communication with my students easier, and dare I say, conversation with adults easier.

With hiragana, katakana, and the kanji that I do know…I know them and in many cases can reproduce them. The challenge for me sometimes is in the speed. So with this particular toy I bought, is a great tool for helping me to recognize the hiragana more quickly. There are game modes in this teaching tool that make the learning whole lot less repetitive and a lot more fun. This is what the toy looks like in action: