Like Duolingo for Asian languages?

[Desert Strawberry]

We started Duolingo today, but we were disappointed that the languages are all European. We are looking for Japanese and Mandarin. Is there something similar?

[maize]

I'm not aware of anything, but I think duo lingo may be working on developing them.

Edited December 9, 2015 by maize

[Tsuga]

http://langreviews.com/assimil-language-review/

 

I don't know duolingo. I really like Assimile. I believe it's an excellent program. Online I think is only for French speakers, though.

 

They do have Chinese for English speakers though.

[waa510]

Duolingo is working on Japanese right now but due to its using non-roman characters it's been a little difficult to figure out an effective way of going about it in their format . (according to their forum) I agree that this is a really great format for kids and wish it would just come out already!!

 

 

For now the kiddos use memrise, Tuttle Flashcards and the Mindware Japanese app for vocabulary, Dr. Moku's app for recognizing hiragana/katakana and the Tako Japanese app for learning how to write and read hirgana and katakana and I think it has about 300-450 common Kanji (like the ones you'd see a lot on street signs, newspapers, train stations, toilets etc).  It splits Kanji into 3 at a time that are similar (up to 34-35 lessons at each level like N5 or N4)

 

The blog Hiragana Mama has a lot of leads on free sites and stuff for Japanese. My kids also do My First Japanese Kanji book when they feel like it. We also speak conversationally to our Japanese neighbors behind us and out and about to Machida or Ebina  (although they usually want to speak English to us *sigh*). There are a ton of sites online like italki.com that help find native speakers to converse with too. Youtube is great too for language learning. 

[Arcadia]

My kids tried Mango Languages on and off. Most libraries subscribe to it so library members get access free.

https://www.mangolanguages.com/libraries/available-languages/

[Laura Corin]

For Mandarin, I highly recommend working with a native speaker in the first instance.  The tones are not intuitive to speakers of European languages and they are not optional: the sound 'ma' means 'horse' 'mother' 'to scold' or 'hemp', depending on how you 'sing' it.  If you learn the language without getting the tones at the beginning, it's very, very hard to retrace your steps.

[duckens]

 

For Mandarin, I highly recommend working with a native speaker in the first instance.  The tones are not intuitive to speakers of European languages and they are not optional: the sound 'ma' means 'horse' 'mother' 'to scold' or 'hemp', depending on how you 'sing' it.  If you learn the language without getting the tones at the beginning, it's very, very hard to retrace your steps.

:iagree:  I cannot speak for Japanese, but Chinese has some quirks that have only made sense to me with the explanation of an in-person teacher.

 

Chinese resources online (in no particular order):

1) PetraLingua offers video lessons with dorky little songs and follow-up (online) quizzes.   We have listened to them over the lunch hour.  It is NOT like Duolingo, but it is good for little kids.

Warning: the quiz for the first lesson is difficult to understand.  DO NOT let it stop you.  Breeze through it an move on to the next lesson.

 

2) LearnYu is a startup that is trying to create a DuoLingo-like Chinese program.  There is not a speaking element in it.  You pay ~$20 through paypal if you want to access more than the first lesson.  dd9 says this program is the most helpful to her.

 

3) Memrise has Chinese vocabulary lessons.  I have not used them much, but I see there is also a Japanese course.

 

4) Digital Dialects -- We have used these in the past.  They are good for basic vocabulary.

 

In-person options:

5) We are lucky enough to live in a college town with a big enough Chinese population that there is a local Chinese language school (for the children of the grad students in-town).  I emailed them a few years ago to ask about options.  This is now our third year of taking the Parent/Child classes there.  It is ~$160/semester, but that covers both dd and me (and all supplies) for a two-hour lesson once a week. 

 

6) The local Chinese community have let me practice on them.  They are very kind and very patient as I accost them at parks, stores, and in the street.  I have two acquaintances that have offered lessons to me (and my children), and countless others (friends and strangers) have edited stories I wrote, dictionary lists, and general homework assignments.  I am humbled by the open and willing help they give to me.

 

7) My Language Exchange will find you a language partner to practice with.  IT IS NOT A DATING SITE, BUT THE ALGORITHMS ARE VERY SIMILAR.

 

--You can make a profile for free, but you must pay to make contact with others. 

--Once you find a match, you do not pay any more, but you communicate with your partner through Skype.

--You can pick a partner who is male or female, what language they speak, and which age range (if you prefer).  You can pick what country they are located in.  For example, one of my partners was in China, and the other was in Australia.

 

Disclaimer: Do not leave a minor unattended with ANY stranger online.

 

Advantages: affordable, convenient for me, it worked.  For me, it was a very positive experience.

 

Disadvantages: your partner may live on the other side of the world: the "jetlag effect."  For me to practice, I had to get up at 5-6am to practice.  My guys were just finishing their classes (at university) and coming home.  This worked for me, because I could practice Chinese while the kids were still in bed, but it may not work for everyone.  See if you can find a partner within the U.S. (or the Western Hemisphere) if your flexibility is less than mine.