Japanese language programs

Fri Feb 5 11:06:03 EST 2010

There was an article in the NYTimes just the other day about Rosetta  
Stone--
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/28/technology/personaltech/ 
28basics.html?scp=1&sq=rosetta%20stone&st=cse

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.

On Feb 4, 2010, at 11:20 PM, Benito Cachinero wrote:

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

Bruce Baird
Assistant Professor
Asian Languages and Literatures
University of Massachusetts Amherst
Butô, Japanese Theater, Intellectual History

717 Herter Hall
161 Presidents Drive
University of Massachusetts Amherst
Amherst, MA 01003-9312
Phone: 413-577-4992
Fax: 413-545-4975
baird at asianlan.umass.edu

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