DD wants to learn Japanese any suggestions?

[Prairie~Phlox]

She just turned 13, but has asked for a little while. I have no idea what program would be good.

 

Thanks,

Phlox

[Ravin]

Rosetta Stone

[Barb_]

She just turned 13, but has asked for a little while. I have no idea what program would be good.

 

Thanks,

Phlox

 

Check to see whether your library offers Mango Languages for free. That's a good place to start gaining a feel for the language. My 16yo was ready for something else after about 1/2 through, though. The conversations weren't really relevant to a teen's life and seemed to be geared toward young singles traveling for business or backpacking.

 

After that she began using Adventures in Japanese. I searched out the program College Prep schools used for Japanese study and this is the only program that came up. If you PM SwimmerMom I think she still has a like new set available at a discount. I was going to buy it until I found a screaming deal on the TM and the audio CD's. Since those are the two most expensive components, I didn't want to ask her to break up her set.

 

Jenna LOVES this program. She is older, but she is able to teach herself which should make you feel better about tackling it. Also, it is used for high school Japanese I, but can possibly be used down to late elementary. Maybe grades 5 or 6?

 

Barb

[Cleopatra]

Strangely enough, I came across this while searching for news regarding the disaster in Japan ....... http://www3.nhk.or.jp/lesson/english/index.html It certainly doesn't look comprehensive, but it's free and it might give her a start.

[Guest Renaissance Woman]

Seriously. We've lived in Japan for 6 years now and although my kids can "jabber" to each other (all teens now), only my oldest is semi fluent. Japanese is one of the toughest languages to learn.

 

We've had a private tutor all along and that really made all. the. difference. We used Rosetta Stone at one time, but it's cumbersome. A good start, but not enough to really allow your child to catch a plane to Tokyo and begin to converse with ease.

 

Jen

[GnomeyNewt]

Here is a short list of most of the resources I have used in my Japanese adventures and pieced a lot of it together for my now 7 year old who has been learning along with me.

 

 

Websites with free lessons or previews:

http://www.mangolanguages.com/ (listening/speaking - check your library as it is free at mine!) <-- I use this

http://www.genkienglish.net/genkijapan/menu.htm (free Japanese learning songs and games!) <-- I use this

http://www.textfugu.com/ (online textbook listening/speaking/reading/writing) <-- I use this

http://japanese-lesson.com/index.html (free writing instruction) <-- I use this

http://www.coscom.co.jp/hiragana-katakana/hiraganakatakana.html (listening/writing/reading instruction) <-- I use this

http://www.humanjapanese.com/home.html (software - more like a textbook, lesson guidance on reading/writing) <-- I use this

http://thejapanesepage.com/ (wide variety of resources/community)

http://www.byki.com/ (software - free version and is suppose to be like Rosetta Stone)

http://www.livemocha.com/ (free lessons & I think tutors? I don't personally like this sites format, but your DD might like the format)

 

Textbooks I've seen and used:

Adventures in Japanese

Mirai (This one is a lot of fun & it is geared toward your DD age).

See the above and more Japanese materials at: http://www.cheng-tsui.com/catalog/japanese

Also check out this site for more Japanese materials: http://www.thejapanshop.com/ <-- I've ordered from them several times in the past

 

 

Start with some of those resources (a lot of them are free or parts, especially the first 15-20 chapters/lessons) and if she is getting somewhere and shows motivation, you can look into getting a local speaking coach. Here is a local tutor locating website I've been checking out for a while: http://www.wyzant.com/japanese_tutors.aspx

 

I have never used Rosetta Stone, only seen the prices and demos :c). I haven't seen any Japanese language blog I've read recommend it, as it does not provide any writing instruction and provides sentences/words out of context (which might be difficult latter to translate, as you cannot translate words directly into Japanese from English). For me personally, what has cemented Japanese into my brain has been the writing (and I do speak while I write -- ask my kids!). But as we all know, everybody learns differently!

 

I don't think Japanese is a hard language, but I also grew up around Asian languages so it's normal to my ears & I understand some of it instinctively. Any motivated person, with a reason and desire to learn any language can learn any language they choose to! I am curious what sparked your DD's interest in the language?

[Prairie~Phlox]

Her interest stems from being an avid reader and enjoying Manga. Seriously, she checks out about 70 books at a time from the library.(most are fiction though) I guess I could get her some books on Japan as well from the library. Thanks for the suggestions.

Phlox

[GnomeyNewt]

Her interest stems from being an avid reader and enjoying Manga. Seriously, she checks out about 70 books at a time from the library.(most are fiction though) I guess I could get her some books on Japan as well from the library. Thanks for the suggestions.

Phlox

 

Manga! That is the reason for many teens wanting to learn the language these days. I've met at least 2 other young teens starting to learn Japanese for this reason. The reading/writing resources should help with that need. Goodluck!

[T Baer]

She just turned 13, but has asked for a little while. I have no idea what program would be good.

 

Thanks,

Phlox

 

You also might be interested in Irasshai. The video lesson are free online

http://www.gpb.org/irasshai Also, there's a video check-sheet online, plus if you can order the Teacher's Manual, Student book and workbook at Book Surge http://www.booksurge.com/search.htm?keyword=irasshai

Our local library carries the DVD lessons, but like I said, you can watch them online.

I've been using this with DS11 for the past school year. He actually read his first Japanese word in Japanese (Keshigomu which means eraser) while we were out shopping! It was almost as thrilling as his first English word that he read.

[Mom22ns]

I just bought Irasshai for my ds to use next year. He is dong live mocha now. He switched from Spanish with RS which was working great for him. He wanted Japanese because his favorite video game programmer is Japanese.

Edited April 7, 2011 by Momto2Ns
Fixed typos

[elegantlion]

You also might be interested in Irasshai. The video lesson are free online

http://www.gpb.org/irasshai Also, there's a video check-sheet online, plus if you can order the Teacher's Manual, Student book and workbook at Book Surge http://www.booksurge.com/search.htm?keyword=irasshai

Our local library carries the DVD lessons, but like I said, you can watch them online.

I've been using this with DS11 for the past school year. He actually read his first Japanese word in Japanese (Keshigomu which means eraser) while we were out shopping! It was almost as thrilling as his first English word that he read.

 

This is what we're using. We started this year and realized we had to reprioritize, so we're starting again next year. The teacher is a blast. We did buy the workbooks from amazon.

[Prairie~Phlox]

Oh, I should ad, tonight she informed me that she wants to be a missionary to Japan. I forgot a while back we read a letter that a friend wrote when he went on a mission trip to Japan and also we read a lot about missionaries in general. She just keeps amazing me.