Japanese language programs

Thu Feb 4 23:20:49 EST 2010

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 $B4A8!(B or even
> something like  $B$3$H$P$N%Q%:%k(B (which is a *great* vocabulary builder). Remember,
> these are made for Japanese who are learning vocabulary or kanji; if you
> master all the $B4A8!(B 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
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://mailman.yale.edu/pipermail/kinejapan/attachments/20100204/b682d0a4/attachment.html 