Rosetta...thief?!?!

I've been wanting to learn Japanese for some time now, and I would actually dedicate a vast amount of spare time towards learning it if I found a good way to do so. I checked out Rosetta Stone after several people recommended it (rich or well-off or even mummy-holds-the-money people mind you, im poor). And it's around $206-230 depending on how you order it. ;~; I'm a college student, poor and jobless! I don't have that kind of money, not even my family does and they have jobs!!!

Does anyone know a good free/affordable way to learn Japanese?

Have you learned a second language? How did you do it?

I took a class for a semester and it was awesome. I learned to read hiragana quite well and a bit of katakana, and some basic conversation skills. I miss taking it.

I'm taking a course as well. We mastered both of the kana in the first semeter, now we have regular kanji tests and lots of grammar and speaking, so yeah, it's quite effective and cheap! :)

There's quite a few ways:

Self-teaching, colllege/university courses (see if yours offer any), online courses, language exchange/conversation buddy, studying abroad, text books, etc... You can use one method or combination of them all. As far as learning kana (hiragana and katakana) is concern, you can really do it yourself within two weeks. They are dead simple and become almost second nature the more you read.

Just remember that at first you'll be reading at an elementary kid level. I mean, you could read stuff aimed at an older audience but it will take a lot more time, be much more frustrating and in the end might discourage you.

Also some notes on the methods I mentioned:

Self-teaching: there's tons of resources for learning Japanese online if you want a few that I've come across, hit me up and I will share!
Also, check out this thread.

Conversation buddy: what this entails is finding a language partner, someone who knows a language you want to learn (Japanese) and wants to learn a language you know (English). While this might be hard in your area, there's a really cool online resource that uses Skype to overcome this boundary: The Mixxer

Text books: a word of caution, text books can be hit or miss. Each use different methods for teaching. My prof in university would at times correct the text book or say when something was not as common to use. In general they are good, but they are not perfect.

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As for other languages: I am technically bilingual, though my French is a bit rusty. I did the Early Immersion program since Grade 1. Also, my paternal grandmother's family is bilingual (for the most part). Gender in French still smurfs me over every time though.

Oh and took two years of Japanese in university. Not such amazing marks, but was more because I didn't hand in my homework most of the time and didn't study hard enough before my tests. BAD STUDENT IS BAD.

Thanks SoL, thats actually really helpful. :) I've been trying to find things online myself but I'm having no luck so I may PM you soon.

I learned a little bit of Portuguese with Rosetta Stone. I certainly wouldn't recommend spending any money on the product.

My room mate has an entire series of "Learn Japanese" tapes, and we've been talking about playing them around the apartment just for the heck of it xD

She's also beginning a two-year Japan Studies class this summer, where she's going to learn Japanese. I'm tempted to take that class myself one day.

I was gonna change my minor to Japanese, but I'm gonna have to put that off now that I'm gonna be suspended xD

I agree! When I found out how much the Rosetta Stone program cost I almost fell over. I used it for Spanish and it was pretty effective. I'm taking Japanese school next year at a local college. Maybe you can find local courses or tutors around your college campus?

(SPOILER)torrents
:p

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Originally Posted by Rye

I took a class for a semester and it was awesome. I learned to read hiragana quite well and a bit of katakana, and some basic conversation skills. I miss taking it.

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I did this too. And since I'm able to read some Chinese, that's helped me with kanji (or at least, deciphering the meaning of the character). It was only for about a year that I did it formally in uni, but I continued on my own for a little while with a borrowed textbook.

I've since stopped now.. I don't really have much initiative or motivation to press on because I don't really have a need to know Japanese in my life. Also, I feel pretty learning new languages considering I can barely speak my native one anymore.

Yeah what rubah said :P

I did 3 and half years of German in highschool and went to Germany but since then I've started to forget it all. So I, acquired the rosetta stone program in german, :shifty:, and it has helped me at least reinforce what I already knew that I was forgetting since not being in classes in highschool. It's really good with basics and pronunciations so if you can acquire it... then do so at least the first bit.

Otherwise it's always great to talk to someone else who is learning it. That way you're both on the same level so you both know about the same amount of the language and it'll help you to remember words. It's also great to find someone who does speak the language so they can help correct your mistakes.

What's the huge fascination with learning Japanese? My brother's Japanese, and he doesn't even speak it. xD

I would love to learn how to speak Farsi. It's a beautiful language, and quite handy these days. But, I'm afraid I don't have the patience for learning an entirely new language.

To learn a language the best way is to use it while you learn. Right now I'm learning Chinese so I have an E-Mail conversation that has been going on for a couple months now with my teacher just for the practice. It's a lot of fun too, Chinese is really easy once you break into it and get over the initial shock of no alphabet. :p

>>> I`ll learn japanese when they change all their retarded Kanas and replace them with normal letters..:luca:

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Originally Posted by rubah

(SPOILER)torrents
:p

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Did this years ago. Have yet to make use of it. But I have like 15 languages available now, and a ton of space eaten up on my external hard drive :} For when I'm in the mood to learn a new language

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Originally Posted by Chri$

What's the huge fascination with learning Japanese?

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he asks, on a board dedicated to JRPGs. Furthermore, half of us are anime-addicted otaku

Besides, swearing in Russian just isn't as satisfying as letting out a good "kuso" or "shimatta"

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Originally Posted by Citizen Bleys

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Chri$

What's the huge fascination with learning Japanese?

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he asks, on a board dedicated to JRPGs. Furthermore, half of us are anime-addicted otaku

Besides, swearing in Russian just isn't as satisfying as letting out a good "kuso" or "shimatta"

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Truer words have never been spoken. Kuso is one of my favorite curse words of all time. xD

You could keep killing yourself until you’re reincarnated as a Jap.

Yeah. Rosetta Stone is expensive. Lucky me I get it for free. Military benefits are on occasion freaking awesome.

Anyways, I suggest along with listening aids, which can be (SPOILER)torrented, use livemocha.com

Livemocha is a pretty cool site based out of Seattle. It has lessons set up for you to do, and it is all graded by native speakers. The lessons include reading, writing, and speaking. It is an awesome site. I am using it myself to brush up on my German.
Best part, it is completely free. :D

I downloaded Rosetta Stone off Demonoid. It's pretty pimp. I finished the first thirty lessons before going to Japan, and it's been useful. You will have to supplement if you want to build your vocabulary faster, and I recommend studying kana separately and learning hiragana and katakana quickly.

I have a list of free resources in the most recent post in my blog, which there is a link to in my sig. I'd be cool and just link them here but I'm on a little netbook in Tokyo and EoFF is kinda slow from here, heh.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Citizen Bleys

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Chri$

What's the huge fascination with learning Japanese?

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he asks, on a board dedicated to JRPGs. Furthermore, half of us are anime-addicted otaku

Besides, swearing in Russian just isn't as satisfying as letting out a good "kuso" or "shimatta"

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I ask, because it goes way beyond this tiny little board. But like you said, I blame anime for the epidemic.

My mother speaks Japanese, and personally, I don't think it's a particularly interesting language, but I guess people have their reasons for their obsession. :D

[Q=Citizen Bleys]
Besides, swearing in Russian just isn't as satisfying as letting out a good "kuso" or "shimatta"[/Q]
I work with a Russian chef, and his rages are the most awesome and frightening things I have ever witnessed.

Record one, maybe I'm just doing it wrong.

All of the "diermo" and "na khuy" in the world doesn't take the place of one well-placed English swear word.

God smurfing dammit, bleys.


yeah, that felt pretty good~

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Originally Posted by Citizen Bleys

Record one, maybe I'm just doing it wrong.

All of the "diermo" and "na khuy" in the world doesn't take the place of one well-placed English swear word.

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I've heard that in all of the languages of the world, there isn't one equivalent to the phrase "bull:bou::bou::bou::bou:", which is why you often hear people curse in their language and then suddenly throw that in the mix. My grandfather would mix Italian with that, apparently. XD

I'm majoring in Japanese right now.

Don't spend money on Rosetta Stone. It goddamn expensive and you will never be fluent with it. I'd recommend it if you were trying to brush up or were traveling there for a very short period of time, but still not worth the money.

You could try self-study. Depending on your determination and ability to understand what you are actually learning, you could succeed. My best recommendation is meet people who already know Japanese (preferably as their native language). Practicing it in actual situations will make you better at it.

Thanks guys! I've found a really good site (i think) it has some nice people and quite a few resources and native speakers. If anyone wants to check it out it's: Study Japanese