Japanese language programs

drainer at mpinet.net drainer at mpinet.net
Thu Feb 4 23:00:36 EST 2010


No apologies necessary.

I was not suggesting flashcards, but rather Japanese games like ?? or even 
something like  ??????? (which is a *great* vocabulary builder). Remember, 
these are made for Japanese who are learning vocabulary or kanji; if you 
master all the ?? 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
>>>> >
>>>>
>>>
>>
>


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