Rosetta...thief?!?!

[Unbreakable Will]

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?

[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.

[Fynn]

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!

[The Summoner of Leviathan]

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.

~~~

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.

[Unbreakable Will]

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.

[Roogle]

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

[Breine]

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.

[Jessweeee♪]

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

[Rebellious Eagle]

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?

[rubah]

(SPOILER)torrents

[Mo-Nercy]

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 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.

[Freya]

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, , 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.

[Chris]

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.

[qwertysaur]

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.

[black orb]

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