When I first suggested in this column using Internet resources for learning kanji in 2001, a Yahoo search yielded 12,700 hits for "kanji learning." That number has now reached a staggering 1.4 million. New, sophisticated online kanji self-study resources are increasingly enabling foreign kanji learners to take charge of their own learning at home.
Belgian Web designer Fabrice Denis has created the Web site Reviewing the Kanji, an online community for devotees of James Heisig's controversial best-selling kanji learning textbook "Remembering the Kanji." Why controversial? Well, Heisig advocates a divide-and-conquer approach, and he recommends learning the shapes and meanings of all 1,942 joyo (general usage) kanji before tackling their myriad pronunciations. (To learn more, view the first 125 pages of his textbook gratis online. "Reviewing the Kanji" offers a virtual flashcard program.)
The program remembers your errors and creates personalized reviews of the flashcards based on how many times you have got them wrong. You can also cut and paste any Japanese text onto the site and all the kanji you've added flashcards for will appear in a different color.