Hi eveyone, I was wondering if any of you knew a good way to learn or practice japanese preferably online as I have now time and less motivation to actually do anything outside.
It’s been years since my extended ‘sabbatical’ from school where I learned what japanese I do know. I was wondering if you guys knew a good way to get back into the language that’s hopefully fun so I’ll actually do it.
If not try and help me anyway!
You can try to find those children edutainment software that turns foreign language into a game. I can’t think of any off the top of my head that teaches Japanese though.
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精神 の 神
Well there are books and such that are interesting, but still within the realm of what is considered the basics I am not sure if they would help you or not, and they do involve about a half-hour, at the very least, of work a day.
I think there’s a program called the rosetta stone or something. My dad talked about it before getting deployed overseas, can’t remember too many conversations from april heh.
I just received a book called 25 Traditional Japanese Folk Tales from my friend in Japan. It is a children’s book written almost entirely with kana. The few kanji characters have kana transliteration for easy reference. Something like that might be a good way to reacquire basic reading skills and vocabulary.
For practicing speech, I can recommend the textbook I’m currently using for my Japanese class, Basic Functional Japanese, iSBN4-7890-0372-8. The language drills and dialogs that go with each lesson are available online in MP3 form for download to computer or MP3 player.
quote:
Originally posted by perigee:
I just received a book called 25 Traditional Japanese Folk Tales from my friend in Japan. It is a children's book written almost entirely with kana. The few kanji characters have kana transliteration for easy reference. Something like that might be a good way to reacquire basic reading skills and vocabulary.
Would you recommend this book to those just starting out or not for them yet?
quote:The book is intended to teach preschool children to read kana and learn basic vocabulary, so I think it would be great for anyone just starting out. The subject matter is a little elementary if you don't like fairy tales, but the artwork is very nice.
Originally posted by SCDawg:
Would you recommend this book to those just starting out or not for them yet?
[This message has been edited by perigee (edited 08-10-2004).]
Sounds interesting, now to try to order it, do they ship outside of Japan?
[This message has been edited by SCDawg (edited 08-10-2004).]
quote:That could be a problem since it was only published in Japan last year. The catalog number is iSBN4-06-314657-X. Maybe it could be ordered through an online bookseller. There should be similar titles available at Japanese language bookstores.
Originally posted by SCDawg:
Sounds interesting, now to try to order it, do they ship outside of Japan?
I’d take that isbn and head on over to amazon japan. There should be a good chance they have it and I’m pretty sure they will ship overseas. That’s where I’m getting my LE tenjo tenge vol 12 manga
I was about to suggest to go to your local Japanese bookstore, but I forget that not everywhere has one. I’m so used to living in a heavily Japanese populated area, that I forget that most places don’t have convenient Japanese stores to go to. Like I have the Asahiya bookstore a minute away from me, I’d be going there more often, except I can’t read Japanese and I don’t listen to Japanese music. They have a small CD section there. Everything’s imports so everything’s in Japanese, even the prices are still in yen. When you still have the original Japanese price tag on it, you know it’s really an import.
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精神 の 神
quote:
Originally posted by perigee:
And here's the link to amazon.co.jp, if you're interested...
Thank you.
Yeah, one small problem with living about 2 hours from a big city, in this case Atlanta, is anything like a Japanee bookstore is about 2 hours away, well 6 hours given the traffic around Atlanta any given time of any given day. I am not even sure Atlanta would have one, they probably do, but well worth a check next time.
quote:
Originally posted by Endymion:
I think there's a program called the rosetta stone or something
There is one, but I think it is a tad more expensive because of it's nature, or at least it was the last time I checked into it about a year ago.
quote:
Originally posted by Seishin:
(...) I don't listen to Japanese music. They have a small CD section there. Everything's imports so everything's in Japanese, even the prices are still in yen. When you still have the original Japanese price tag on it, you know it's really an import. [img]http://princess.cybrmall.net/ubb/smile.gif[/img]
I hate to admit it but most of my exposure to Japanese music and songs has been through anime and the games. I am not sure if groups that I do know, like "I've Sound" (only name coming to mind at the moment), sing and play popular, though not traditional, music that mostly appears in games.
[This message has been edited by SCDawg (edited 08-10-2004).]
I’m in love with pizzicato five…
Thanks for all the suggestions! I was wondering however if you knew of more interactive ways to learn?
I know of a few CD programs and one computer program, but as far as interactive even they are mostly repeat in the pause, or pause and repeat. Eventually it is said they will build so you hold one side of a conversation without any guidance on what to say, but so far they are still giving small hints as to what a reply should be to a question.