Anyone else doing Japanese as FL for High School?

[Closeacademy]

Just wondering if anyone else is doing Japanese as the foreign language for high school.  My children have the most interest in this one so I decided why not.  I'm wondering what other people are using to teach it.

 

Currently we're playing with Rosetta Stone, various books we've picked up and just watching anime and Japanese dramas.  They've picked up quite a bit doing that and so have I.

 

We're looking at buying White Rabbit Kanji cards and Genki's Elementary Japanese books. 

 

I'm also wondering if anyone else has experience with the JLPT? 

 

Thanks.

[elegantlion]

We're finishing up our second year of Japanese. We're using a variety of materials including Irasshai, Beginning Japanese, and Genki. I like them all for different reasons. Because ds wants to study or live in Japan, we're taking our time to create a good foundation. 

 

I've looked into the JLPT and may go that route, but the nearest testing site is 5 hours away. 

 

Another thing you might do is contact your nearest Japanese consulate, they sent us a lot of information just for the asking. 

[Closeacademy]

Thanks.  I'll look into those things.  I'll have to contact the consulate.  We do have a local group for Japanese people living in our community and I've thought about contacting them but it is mostly business people who manage the Japanese manufacturing plants in the area. 

 

Our closest testing site is about 3 hours away and we could stay with family so it is doable for us. 

[Mom22ns]

Ds did two years of Japanese using Irasshai and a little Rosetta Stone. He really enjoyed it. From there he took two semesters of Japanese at the local state U. They used Ghenki for a textbook which he hated, but he enjoyed the interactions and improving his ability to actually speak the language.

[PinkyandtheBrains.]

We are planning on it.

 

I've been teaching hiragana while I figure out what program to use.

[Closeacademy]

Thanks.  I noticed that Genki looked a bit dry but there doesn't seem to be anything else out there.  We've also used the videos from the Japanese language society on youtube to help with hiragana. 

[elegantlion]

Thanks.  I noticed that Genki looked a bit dry but there doesn't seem to be anything else out there.  We've also used the videos from the Japanese language society on youtube to help with hiragana. 

 

Irasshai is a 3 year program put together by GPB. There are text and workbooks available through Amazon. 

 

Beginning Japanese is published by Tuttle and either needs a motivated student or a knowledgeable teacher. I believe there are a few places online that teach from this text. 

 

From our use, Irasshai stays with romaji too long, but love the teacher and instruction is solid. I think it's a good place to start to gauge interest. 

 

Beginning Japanese jumps in with hiragana and katakana in chapter 1, also introducing kanji right away. The website has teacher helps (which I acquired access to without issue), and I like the story line layout. It's easier to feel overwhelmed with this text. 

 

We've been pulling other lessons from Genki - which I don't have a real good feel for yet. 

 

This video series is done by a young lady with a real enthusiasm for Japanese. We watch her videos from time to time. 

[Closeacademy]

Beginning Japanese looks very interesting and less boring than Genki.  I've already printed out the hiragana cards and worksheets.  My daughters have been working on learning that alphabet first and we plan to start working with the katakana in June and start introducing more kanji at that point.  We've been working on 1-10. 

 

Thanks.  This is so helpful.  I knew we we're alone. 

 

My daughters' actual goal is to be able to watch anime without subtitles and be able to play some games that haven't been translated and released in the states.  My youngest would like to live and work in Tokyo one day as a mangaka.  I'm thinking that since they've wanted to study it for years and are motivated at least they could be more marketable with Japanese as their second language especially since my oldest wants to go into a math/science career.

[Elise]

Dd2 has been studying Japanese for three years now.  We began at home with Irasshai (I think it is a great intro!), but after about a year we decided to go with a tutor.  I just couldn't keep ahead of her anymore.  Her tutor used the Genki series (just completed it last month), and they will be working toward taking the AP test next spring.  Right now they are working on some lessons in Adventures in Japanese books 3 & 4, as well as reading children's books.  Dd has taken the SAT2 in Japanese, and she wants to retake it this year to improve her score a little.  I'm a little concerned about her attempting the AP test this year, just because so many native speakers take it.  Maybe I should check into the JLPT! 

[Closeacademy]

I'll have to check out the Adventures in Japanese books.  We looked at the local high school but they are all or nothing and the Japanese teacher didn't seem to want to tutor because he couldn't believe that children would actually want to learn on their own.

 

The JLPT has a website with test locations and such. 

[Elise]

That's too bad about the local teacher!  I bet his average students aren't as motivated as yours. :001_smile:   Maybe you could win him over.  We really lucked into our tutor.  She teaches Japanese at the middle school nearby, but we know her through a koto group that dd1 performs with.  Is there a Saturday Japanese school nearby, by chance?  That could be another good option down the road.

[Muttichen]

My son used Adventures in Japanese and we really liked it!  

[Closeacademy]

There is a Japanese school about an hour north but I don't do interstate driving and our budget is a bit limited.  I think that once we have a year or so of study under our belt, I'll try harder to find a native speaker in the area who would be willing to tutor us.  There is actually a rather large Japanese population in our town.