UNCW Foreign  Languages and Literatures http://www.uncw.edu/fll

Here are my favorite links for your references (updated 1-26-2015)

Career in Japan http://www.japan-career.jp/en

http://www.careerforum.net/?lang=E
Dictionary:  

 
 Reading Chuuta:  You can get glossary for kanji (kana readings and meanings) and Japanese words.  http://language.tiu.ac.jp/tools.html

Apps: 
Imiwa for I-phone
JED or Obenkyo for Android (Japanese English Dictionary)

To convert Kanji (漢字) and Websites to Romaji or Hiragana (and translate Japanese to English, too).  

 http://nihongo.j-talk.com/

http://www.goo.ne.jp   (Dictionary)  and    http://www.hiragana.jp/ (Help on how to read kanji)
Click here to learn how to use it.  (Click here to learn how ton use the above two sites)

http://www.alc.co.jp/ is the host site of the above dictionary.

http://www.suteki.nu/translator  (Another dictionaryu as a backup but not as good as the above)

Rikai: Pop up dictionary   http://www.rikai.com/

You can also use Google Translate.  Go to Google and click on "More" to see a drop down menu and choose "Translate."

Choose "Japanese" to translate into English.  Copy and paste (or type) the word or phrases you want to translate.  If you want to listen to how to pronounce a ward, click on the icon on the lower right.  The other icon on the lower right tells you the phonetics.
 

Kanji learning site

http://kanjidamage.com/.  This is a very helpful kanji site that will show kanji, pronounciation, and little tricks to remember how to read it.  The only thing it will not show is stroke order.

Kanji Mnemonic stories to make kanji easier to remember.  You can submit your ideas, too!http://tell.fll.purdue.edu/KanjiWiki/

http://www.polarcloud.com/rikaichan/.  this is a plug in for Firefox, but i think there is an IE version as well.  It gives readings of kanji when the curser of the mouse is over it.

To see how to write kanji:

http://www.saiga-jp.com/cgi-bin/dic.cgi?f=0&start=1&sid=1266384642_82980
This site is a kanji dictionary with stroke orders and vocabularies. 

This site is a calligraphy site.  You can see a stroke orders.
    1. Go to the calligraphy page at  http://www.nisk.jp/search/
    2. Find the kanji search box (the left bottom box).  Do a search by typing the reading of kanji in hiragana, katakana, or even in Romaji and click the blue
(実行)button right next to it. 
    3.  You will see the selections of kanji which reads as you type in the search.  Select the kanji you want to see how to write.
 

Reading practices Here is a Japansee folk tale site. 
Click on any of the story on the left meny (you see numbers and titile of the story.) Upon clicking the title, first you see the story in English but click "Japanese" around the top of the page to change it to Japanese writings.
http://www.geocities.co.jp/HeartLand-Gaien/7211/  Change broswer if Japanese does not show up correctly.  As of Sept. 2015, Chrome worked fine but Fire Fox did not show Japanese correctly.

I recommend the following site (Reading Tutor) to help you read kanji and its meanings. 
Reading Tutor. http://language.tiu.ac.jp/tools.html   
To get vocabulary glossary and Furigana readuing of Kanji (from Japanese to English) 

Copy and past the Japanese words/sentences, which you want to know the readings and/or meanings, on to the first box (upper left) and click on the second button from the left ( ) .    You can get glossary for kanji (kana readings and meanings).  It is not always accurate but it creates a good glossary for your reference.
Anything about Japan and Japanese language learning sites:

 

Learn Japanese by Tae Kim: http://www.guidetojapanese.org/learn

Anything  about Japan-related sites are listed here.
http://www.sabotenweb.com/bookmarks/

A lot of cultural information: http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e691.html

 

Good site for grammar and Hiragana, etc.:  
http://www.guidetojapanese.org/index.html#contents
http://www.guidetojapanese.org/hiragana.html

 

Grammar site.
http://www.guidetojapanese.org/learn/grammar

Good summary of Japanese grammar with images   http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/columns/0002/

 

Nihongo Library

(Japan Foundation)

http://www.jflalc.org

You can check out Japanese video, audio, books for pleasure and learning from this organization and its Nihongo Libraray http://www.jflalc.org/?act=tpt&id=292
.

Translation:

 

There is no good translation programs yet but this is a better one.
http://translation.babylon.com/  (I like this one better)
http://www.excite.co.jp/world/text/
Typing in Japanese  

Here is a free site where you can type in Japanese without installing anything into our computer.  http://ajaxime.chasen.org/   (Turn on IME to type in Japanese).

 

Click here for the key sequences for some letters.

 

Mac:  Click here

 

Speaking practice Here are some sites that you can find a native Japanese to talk with and practice some Japanese.  They want to practice speaking in English so it is an exchange.  You will speak in Japanese and in English. Enjoy!

  iTalki    https://www.italki.com/
  Lang 8  http://lang-8.com/
  WeSpeke   http://wespeke.com
Association of Teachers of Japanese (ATJ)  

UNCW has an exchange program with Nagoya Gakuin University in Nagoya, Japan for you to study one or two semesters in Japan but if you want to find scholarships to go to Japan and a Study Abroad programs in Japan, you can also find different programs at:
http://www.colorado.edu/ealld/atj/Bridging/abroad.html

http://www.studyjapan.go.jp  This is an comprehensive guide for study abroad in Japan.

Japan National Tourist Organization:

 

 

http://www.japantravelinfo.com  This organization will send you travel tip guidebook, maps, etc if you say that you are going to visit Japan.  http://www.jnto.go.jp

More references for Learning Japanese language Click here for references

Click here for technology check to be ready for JPN201 and/or JPN202

JPN202 Project on Wilmington  

http://people.uncw.edu/kanoy/jpn202/project/

The UNCW students enrolled in the fourth semester Japanese created a web site about Wilmington and clothing fashion comparison between U.S. and Japan.

Teaching English in Japan (JET Program) and others  

If you are interested in teaching English in Japan after you graduate, look at this site.  This one is to teach as an assistant teacher.  http://www.jetprogramme.org/
If you want to teach independently (In JET program, you become an assistant teacher, which may be nice if your main teachers are good; otherwise, it may not be so fun and they send you remote/rural locations), you can also look into private English schools called AEON, ECC, Geos, etc. to have an experience of living in Japan by teaching English in Japan.  Their schools are located in cities.  You can do a search on Google for those private schools. Although, JET program does pay better, you need to think about what you want to do in Japan.

Also, you can find English teaching job and more in Japan as well as in the world at a web site such as:
Dave's ESL Cafe    http://www.eslcafe.com/search/Jobs/Asia/Japan/index.html
Japan Career site     http://www.japan-career.jp

Other ALT (Assistant Language Teacher) program:  https://www.teachaway.com/blog/teach-english-japan-programs

INTERAC:  http://www.interacnetwork.com/recruit/global.html

ALTIA CENTRAL: http://recruiting.altmoot.com/
ECC: https://eccteachinjapan.com/

Converters Currency :http://www.bloomberg.com/analysis/calculators/currency.html
http://www.x-rates.com/calculator.html#

Metric: http://www.worldwidemetric.com/metcal.htm

Earthquake Tsunami Relief to Japan

Japan America Society of Georgia        Click here for  Donation form

Obirin Gakuen Foundation of America 

ABC News - Japan Earthquake: before and after
 

on-line Japanese Japan Foundation e-Learning Minato   https://minato-jf.jp/AccountRegist
Japanese practices for short trip to Japan Short trip to Japan