Are you thinking of giving the Mirai Japanese App a try for learning beginner grammar and vocabulary? If you are already using an SRS flash card system like Scribe for kanji and need something to tackle the grammar basics of Japanese, then Mirai would be a great fit. This is an app aimed at beginners who are looking for N5 level grammar.
The Mirai Japanese app is tool for learning basic grammar and vocabulary points with interactive points that make it a step up from a regular text book. It features a good range of clearly spoken examples and a variety of phrases that are useful in every day life. This app will not be useful as a one stop shop for learning Japanese but the lesson plans make it an engaging place to start.
Of course there are definitely some negatives such as the subscription pricing model, lack of content and testing modules so let’s get going into some more details!
What is the content and pricing of Mirai Japanese like?
The app is a free iPhone download with the first 20 lessons available to trial and the rest available on subscription. The subscription fees start at AU$14.99 a month, $79.99 for 6 months or $139.99 a year. That quite pricy in comparison to a lot of other apps. Luckily, there is an educational discount of 50% which requires no additional proof and seems to be available to anyone. There is also a version for Android but I believe there are fewer available lessons.
The content is currently at 165 Lessons split between Beginner and Elementary 1-3 levels. According to the app, by Lesson 200 you should be able to confidently complete the N5 exam but as the app only has up to Lesson 165 this is just a starting point.
Hiragana, Katakana, some basic Kanji as well as vocabulary words are included in the app. The real strong point is the grammar tutor though, as it gives good real world examples and includes native audio. The audio lessons are not stilted and feel natural in pronunciation. Most of the grammar examples are useful but some of the later lessons can end up quite dry and would be improved with simpler explanations (eg. Resultative Transitive Forms).
How is the app to use?
Mirai Japanese is available on both iPhone and iPad. I used the iPad version so my review is pretty much exclusively based around that format.
Each Chapter is made up of 5 lessons with a 5 question quiz, then a 20 question Super Quiz at the end of the chapter. Within each lesson is the Tutor section, a writing area, vocab list and then the quiz to complete. Each of the lessons has around 5 words of vocabulary along with a hiragana, katakana or kanji character to learn.
Navigating the tutor lessons is easy, you tap to pause or repeat the audio. You can switch the examples given from kana to romaji easily and have the native speakers repeat them. The auto scrolling means you can do the lessons hands free if you prefer. The kana is contained in the Writing section of the lessons and is not guided by the tutor. Other apps are much better for kana memorisation so I suggest Mirai for grammar only.
Outside of the chapters you can get weird sushi badges for completing lessons. In the menu area you can check your vocabulary, see statistics, do flashcards or view kana charts etc. Everything outside of the lessons is pretty pointless.
The tutor format of the lessons is where the app really sets itself apart.
Each lesson appears as scrolling text on the screen as it is read aloud by the English tutor. Two native Japanese speakers read the examples and converse during the lessons. The native speakers vary the politeness levels of the dialog which is helpful to understand context in a variety of situations.
Watching the scrolling text makes the lessons more engaging than a traditional audio only or text book format. With plain audio I tend to zone out and my mind wanders while I miss what’s going on. The message format kept me interested enough that I was able to remember more of the content.
The format is great for people who have trouble focusing on text books such as Genki as it keeps things interesting. I will compare the full content with Genki 1 in a later post but suffice to say that this is really for beginners to inspire you towards further study.
The examples used are mostly around traveling with some friendly work situations thrown in.
What does Mirai Japanese need to improve?
The two biggest issues in the app as I see them are the testing mechanism and the lack of content updates.
Quizzes
Neither the quick quizzes or the super quizzes are a good representation of knowledge learned in the app. The questions are basic multiple choices with a timer function. If you get 10/20 right on the Super Quiz you can download and progress to the next level. Most of the questions are pretty easy to guess even if you haven’t completed the level because they are often vocabulary based. With only 5 words per lesson there is not a lot of variety in the questions and if you already know katakana and hiragana the beginner quizzes will be a breeze. Questions also include character’s number of strokes, which can be tedious if you aren’t learning that.
If you have any previous Japanese knowledge you can easily blast through all of the quizzes to download the rest of the levels and then complete them at your leisure. Once you have downloaded the level, it remains available whether your subscription is active or not.
Updated Content
The Mirai Japanese app hasn’t been updated in quite some time. I paid for 2 years worth of subscription because I took a very long break in the middle but the current number of lessons could easily be completed in a couple of months. The description in the app store says there are monthly updates which is not true as the last update was in October 2017.Their website and social media pages also seem abandoned. I do hope for more updates because while the content is really good, even at 165 lessons there is not enough content to complete the JLPT N5.
Mistakes within the text are also a minor problem in later levels. I didn’t notice mistakes in the first 100 levels but in the update after that there were quite a few small issues with kana not aligning with the spoken text or romaji. Occasionally the voices had sections that had been rerecorded in a different audio situation which was a little jarring.
Is it worth the subscription price?
I found the Mirai Japanese App to be worth the subscription price. The format of listening with the auto scrolling text made the content really easy to digest and enjoyable. The lessons are fairly short so I didn’t get bored and it was easy to set goals of completing 5 lessons per day even when the subjects weren’t interesting. The explanations for grammar are clear and concise. The large number of examples helped to get some concepts to finally click in my brain.
The best way to use the Mirai Japanese is as a basic grammar companion alongside an SRS app for kanji. I recommend first learning hirigana and katakana then doing the free Mirai lessons. When you have a month free, subscribe to the monthly educational rate and aim for 5 lessons a day. This will give a decent grammar foundation before you move on to more complex material!
