In this week’s Fun Friday Podcast I talked with my good friend Niko who is the creator of Nihongo Shark, a website for learning Japanese. Niko is a Jedi master of online language self-study techniques which he developed while trying to teach himself Japanese. If you were ever frustrated with your Japanese studies, Niko understands, as he used to struggle too. And that’s what makes him such a great teacher and Nihongoshark such a great Japanese language learning resource. His philosophy is about teaching people how to teach themselves Japanese more effectively and quickly. This is opposed to wanting to curl up in a ball and cry every time you see a Japanese textbook. Niko is a prolific creator of great online Japanese lessons and some pretty hilarious blog posts.  His website has a wide variety Japanese lessons, advice on language learning, a newsletter and language courses for motivated Japanese students. In the podcast I talked to Niko about his recent travels in Thailand, his experience and advice about language learning and of course how to suck less at speaking Japanese. For more Japanese language learning podcasts visit http://learnjapanesepod.com