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There was an article in the NYTimes just the other day about Rosetta Stone--<div><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/28/technology/personaltech/28basics.html?scp=1&sq=rosetta%20stone&st=cse">http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/28/technology/personaltech/28basics.html?scp=1&sq=rosetta%20stone&st=cse</a></div><div><br></div><div>I've never used it and I don't know if something has changed, but it apparently worked for someone going from Farsi to English. Whether it is as good at going away from english is another question. </div><div><br></div><div><br><div><div>On Feb 4, 2010, at 11:20 PM, Benito Cachinero wrote:</div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><blockquote type="cite">Sorry, I just think Rosetta Stone is a scam geared towards dilettantes. Maybe something miraculous happened to the software, but when I tried it 10ish years ago it was a laughable collection of mini-games.<br><br>Your other suggestions are good, though. I wish I had had KanKen games when I was coming up...<br> <br>Benito<br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Thu, Feb 4, 2010 at 11:00 PM, <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:drainer@mpinet.net">drainer@mpinet.net</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;"> <br> No apologies necessary.<br> <br> I was not suggesting flashcards, but rather Japanese games like 漢検 or even something like ことばのパズル (which is a *great* vocabulary builder). Remember, these are made for Japanese who are learning vocabulary or kanji; if you master all the 漢検 games you will be well beyond a scholar's grasp...<br> <br> Textbooks, of course, are also great, but I believe in following all of the paths, and I think that media, especially television, is the way to fluency. It worked for me well beyond Japanese...<br> <br> -d<br> <br> <br> ----- Original Message ----- From: "BC" <<a href="mailto:pencileraser@gmail.com" target="_blank">pencileraser@gmail.com</a>><div class="im"><br> To: <<a href="mailto:KineJapan@lists.acs.ohio-state.edu" target="_blank">KineJapan@lists.acs.ohio-state.edu</a>><br></div> Sent: Thursday, February 04, 2010 10:36 PM<div><div></div><div class="h5"><br> Subject: Re: Japanese language programs<br> <br> <br> <blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;"> In case you are considering doing something stateside, you might try the<br> Monterey Institute of International Studies in California or the Middlebury<br> programs in Vermont (though these might be geared towards younger people? I<br> don't know much about Middlebury). I believe that Cornell also does<br> something similar.<br> <br> Some years ago when I was starting out I did an intensive Japanese program<br> at Stanford's summer session, and it was exceedingly good because there were<br> only two of us in the class!<br> <br> But if you can manage to get to Japan to do it, by all means go that route.<br> <br> I wouldn't under any circumstance recommend Rosetta Stone. Textbooks<br> (usually of 1970s-80s vintage are best) will get you up to speed in no time;<br> as a PhD candidate I assume you have no qualms about reading! It will help<br> you in the long run more than fun graphics and flashcard drills will. (With<br> apologies to previous poster.)<br> <br> Barring all of these options, you can have your own intensive program by<br> hiring a tutor privately. This may hurt your pocketbook, but Tachibana<br> Takashi seems to agree that you can learn something 10x faster when you do<br> it alone; group classes lessen the cost, but also the learning potential.<br> <br> Benito Cachinero<br> <br> <br> On Thu, Feb 4, 2010 at 10:30 PM, <<a href="mailto:drainer@mpinet.net" target="_blank">drainer@mpinet.net</a>> wrote:<br> <br> <blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;"> Hi Robyn,<br> <br> Unfortunately that seems to be the requirement for most formal<br> institutions, though I think there could be placement tests. Perhaps others<br> on the list could give you better advice on specifics.<br> <br> Cornell University also has a good program (FALCON) designed for<br> beginner/intermediate/advanced students, though the costs are a bit<br> prohibitive.<br> <br> There are many intensive language schools in Japan, some good, many bad.<br> There is an institute which keeps costs low--the name escapes me, anyone<br> remember it? I think it is somewhere in kansai and starts with an Y, though<br> I am not sure at all....<br> <br> Your best bet would be an intensive course at a university in Japan for one<br> or two semesters, though I am not sure if you have the time as you are a<br> focusing on the PhD.<br> <br> To be honest, I would even recommend Rosetta Stone, if you've got the time<br> and patience and can get it through your department. It's not the greatest<br> learning tool in the world, but it works well enough for an intermediate<br> learner or someone adept at listening.<br> <br> I did not take three semesters of Japanese at university, so I had to learn<br> on my own (and trust me, I never studied). In my experience, listening is<br> the key...the hardest part is bridging the gap between intermediate and<br> advanced...after that, just get a Nintendo DS and some Kanji learning games!<br> <br> <br> -d<br> <br> <br> <br> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Robyn Citizen" <<a href="mailto:rc1434@nyu.edu" target="_blank">rc1434@nyu.edu</a>><br> <br> To: <<a href="mailto:KineJapan@lists.acs.ohio-state.edu" target="_blank">KineJapan@lists.acs.ohio-state.edu</a>><br> Sent: Thursday, February 04, 2010 9:55 PM<br> <br> Subject: Re: Japanese language programs<br> <br> <br> Thanks! I checked into IUC but the it seems that I have to be somewhat<br> <blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;"> more proficient in Kanji (500-700 characters) then I currently am and need<br> to have three semesters of university courses in Japanese.<br> <br> Robyn Citizen<br> PhD Candidate<br> Cinema Studies<br> New York University<br> alternate e-mail: <a href="mailto:ladykaede1221@gmail.com" target="_blank">ladykaede1221@gmail.com</a><br> <br> <br> <br> "I'm giving her all she's got Captain!" - Scotty, Star Trek 2009<br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> ----- Original Message -----<br> From: Lindsay Nelson <<a href="mailto:lrnelson@usc.edu" target="_blank">lrnelson@usc.edu</a>><br> Date: Thursday, February 4, 2010 9:45 pm<br> Subject: Re: Japanese language programs<br> To: <a href="mailto:KineJapan@lists.acs.ohio-state.edu" target="_blank">KineJapan@lists.acs.ohio-state.edu</a><br> <br> I second IUC Yokohama, have heard great things from friends who did it--I<br> <blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;"> did a one-year intensive program at Sophia that was really helpful (I<br> think<br> they've also got a summer course now, <a href="http://www.sophia.ac.jp" target="_blank">www.sophia.ac.jp</a>), and I applied<br> for a<br> similar program at Waseda.<br> <br> On Thu, Feb 4, 2010 at 6:40 PM, Eija Niskanen <<a href="mailto:eija.niskanen@gmail.com" target="_blank">eija.niskanen@gmail.com</a><br> >wrote:<br> <br> > Hi!<br> ><br> > This one, IUC in Yokohama, is a good one. I studied their 1-yr<br> > program, but they have summer courses as well.<br> ><br> > <a href="http://www.stanford.edu/dept/IUC/" target="_blank">http://www.stanford.edu/dept/IUC/</a><br> ><br> > Eija<br> ><br> > On Fri, Feb 5, 2010 at 11:37 AM, Robyn Citizen <<a href="mailto:rc1434@nyu.edu" target="_blank">rc1434@nyu.edu</a>> > wrote:<br> > > Hi all,<br> > ><br> > > I was wondering if anyone on the list could recommend a good<br> program or<br> > school in Japan for intensive short-term (summer) Japanese lessons.<br> > ><br> > > I've been learning Japanese informally and through weekly Japan > ><br> Society<br> > classes for a couple of years now and have decided that at 30 and<br> with a<br> > natural ineptitude when it comes to grammar, I probably need to<br> invest in<br> > the immersion experience if only for a brief period.<br> > ><br> > > Ideally, this will put me on the right track to being able to watch<br> > Japanese movies without subtitles - which is necessary since I can<br> only find<br> > certain films like KIKU TO ISAMU, without them - and read the<br> original text<br> > of film reviews and analyses by Japanese critics.<br> > ><br> > > Thanks much,<br> > ><br> > > Robyn Citizen<br> > > PhD Candidate<br> > > Cinema Studies<br> > > New York University<br> > > alternate e-mail: <a href="mailto:ladykaede1221@gmail.com" target="_blank">ladykaede1221@gmail.com</a><br> > ><br> > ><br> > ><br> > > "I'm giving her all she's got Captain!" - Scotty, Star Trek 2009<br> > ><br> > ><br> > ><br> > ><br> > ><br> ><br> ><br> ><br> > --<br> > Eija Niskanen<br> > c/o Fujita<br> > Kichijoji Honcho 4-12-6<br> > Musashino-shi<br> > Tokyo 180-0004<br> ><br> <br> </blockquote> <br> </blockquote> <br> </blockquote> <br> </blockquote> <br> </div></div></blockquote></div><br><br clear="all"><br>-- <br>Benito Cachinero<br><a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/benitocachinero">http://www.linkedin.com/in/benitocachinero</a><br></blockquote></div><br><div> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; 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