Learning Another Language, the easiest way?

[Ayane]

So, I'm sure the other Jammers here would love to learn how to speak Japanese, Mandarin, or Korean. How exactly do you plan to do it, or are doing it now?

I think that self teaching isn't the best way, seeing as languages are a communication thing....I think a small class would be the way to go...not like high school classes like the do for Spanish, which sucks...>>; Though I personally would love to have a tutor! :3

I asked my mom and she says depending on the price, she would get me a tutor from Berlitz ( www.berlitz.us ) who would teach me Korean or Japanese(can't choose...I would like German or Italian too ;D), which would be awesome, 'cause they do like, EVERY language and if I want to learn them all I could! xD They also do after school teaching...which I think is free, correct me if I'm wrong....D:

[13th_hr]

hmmm, how much would it cost approx. to learn a language from berlitz?
are they all the same price? or does a more popular language cost more?

[Ayane]

The problem is that I don't know about the prices yet.
My mom says she'll call about it soon, though.
I would think that after school program is free and most likely sponcered by other companies, seeing as lots of people like the thought of kids in America actually knowing other languages instead of staying home watching The Hills. xD

[EDIT] - W00T 100th post! ;D

[Ayane]

I got an e-mail from Berlitz and here's the information I got!

Berlitz Virtual Class Semi-Private Instruction

* Only $1549 (For all Languages)
* Meets twice a week for 2 ¼ hours for 10 weeks
* Monday’s & Wednesday’s from 6:00 p.m. to 8:15 p.m. or Tuesday’s & Thursday’s from 6:00 p.m. to 8:15 p.m.
* Small groups of 2 to 4 students at your level

E-learning Online Instruction

* Only $299
* 400 Hours of Online Instruction
* Levels 1-4

Individual Instruction options:

Berlitz Level I

* $3675
* Meets on 2 times per week for 2 & ¼ hours for 7.5 weeks
* Intensive schedules are available
* Includes materials & Registration fee

Berlitz Levels II +

* $5950
* Meets on your schedule for 2 1/4 hours 3 times a week for 10 weeks
* Includes materials & Registration fee

Immerse & Converse

* $3325
* One week of Immerse & Converse Monday through Friday from 9:00 - 4:30 p.m. with a 45 minute intermission for lunch.
* Other schedules are available – Monday – Thursday 4.5 hours each class for 2 weeks.
* Program must be finished in two weeks to receive optimum results.

Berlitz Levels IV +

* $10450
* Meets on your schedule for 2 1/4 hours three times a week for 20 weeks
* Intensive schedules are available
* Includes materials & Registration fee

Total Immersion®

* $ 10,550
* Two weeks of our famous Total Immersion® (Monday through Friday from 9:00 – 5:15 p.m.)
* Berlitz Total Immersion® programs are scientifically proven to build language fluency in a short amount of time through intensive individual instruction, seven and a half hours a day for two to six weeks. The focused study builds skills quickly for students to think and speak in a new language.
* For part of each day, the Total Immersion student works simultaneously with two instructors to experience three-way conversation. The student handles rapid-fire question and answer drills from both instructors to develop fluency and comprehension of native speakers talking at a typical speed.
* Periodically throughout the week, the student will engage in telephone role-play to experience conversations without the benefit of seeing the speaker.
* Total Immersion® graduates can feel secure that they have undergone the most effective language training possible, and take on whatever new challenges lie ahead with confidence.

[Kitti~]

O: that's so much money though. =/
I hope my mom will do that for my birthday or something.

[rin_catgrl]

Currently I am learning Japanese in high school (we have this special program where you can learn it for the whole 4 years - Takes one period and half of lunch) and since i'm a sophomore, it's my second year already. *Woo*

When I was still in middle school, I tried learning it by myself, but the farthest I got was to learn the basic writing systems and then like 4 words or something from watching anime/reading manga.

In the classroom, the teacher is a woman actually from Japan *born and raised*, she's working here on a working visa. This REALLY helps with learning someone else's language.

I personally think that if you choose on getting tutoring or taking a class (Highly recomended) you should definitely get a native speaker. Language is part of culture, and if you don't get the full package, you don't really understand the full picture. Learning the culture will probably interest you and help you be more motivated to learn the language more, it's quite interesting...

Note: Don't freak out so much if you don't get it at first, because once you catch on to another language, trust me, it gets pretty easy!

[Yuri]

^ thats so awesome that your school offers japanese! im stuck with spanish.. but its definitely true what you said about getting a native speaker. i take a language course each summer in japan and its amazing how much faster you pick up stuff when youre surrounded by it. learning is so much more fun when you incorporate the things you enjoy. self teaching can only get you so far and a class or tutor is a must!

[felinius]

For Japanese, I've taken it throughout middle school and high school and some college. Having course after course after course of basically some of the same stuff compounded the basics of Japanese for me. Now I'm just self-learning off of what I learned before and I use a journal program to help.

For Korean, I tried going to Korean school but that plan fell through. haha. I'm self learning with the help of some random Korean ppl in chats, but I'll probably find myself a Korean tutor to help me if there aren't any classes nearby.

[kii-chan]

In any language, classes would be good for reading, writing, and grammar. However, I learned conversational Japanese independently through watching Asian dramas since I was 14. I can speak Japanese fluently on the colloquial level ( but no intelligent conversation...^^; sadly... ). I've found that it helps, if you watch the Dramas with English subtitles. And it also helps a bit if you have a basic knowledge of Asian grammar structure (because they're less likely to word things in the order of which the subtitles actually say it in).

[Rutt]

I think the easiest way to learn is to take lesson at a school!
I'm taking Japanese lessons in school as well, and I'm getting better and better.
You can also teach yourself a language! It's really hard, but it actually works.
I taught myself most of the French I know today. I also took lessons in school, but I missed TOO much. So I had to learn everything myself >__<. My French is still very bad, but I'm able to communicate now. My marks could be better, though ^_^;.

[Kittymutt]

Sorry Kind of revived an old thread. (^_^ ; )

Well, I think taking a class would be the easiest way. Even though I didn't have very good teachers or class,(very loud, didn't get much done) I still remember a lot of Spanish. They like to ingrain it into your head. (Especially when most of your class doesn't get it)

However, for the other languages (as in Japanese and German) there aren’t any classes available where I live. (Actually, I think there is a German class you can take outside of school, but being the busybody that I am, I wouldn't be able to make it to the classes anyway.) I have found that doing language exchange is a good option. Or perhaps a pen-pal of the language you are learning. They can correct you and you can correct them. It is fun!

[wangll08]

For learning mandarian, I can share with you a good website, if you don't mind learning online. http://www.chinesehour.com/, where you can learn by yourself with multimedia courseware for free, of get one-on-one native Chinese teacher as your tutor, there is free trial class, you can judge by yourself.

[artisanden]

I guess there's no easy way

But I did attend to FUN nihongo classes with a real jap prof for months and I put audio lessons in my ipod

[suho3588]

I learn languages on my own.
I download lesson clips and put it in my ipod and carry a small notebook with me all the time.
When Im bored I just randomly Listen to the clips and take notes.
It helps alot.
Then to learn how to write, I usually re-write the words over and over until I get sick of it and tell myself I already know this haha
But yeah easiest way for me to learn

I do this for both Korean and Japanese language.

When I had japanese class, I didn't really focus v_v

[.:SD ♥ss]

I downloaded a fat pack of videos for Japanese, has about 45 videos that are 30 minutes long, and it is great!, also comes with the script...

First lesson.. Watashi wa - desu, sore wa, kore wa, and stuff, and they repeat stuff from each lesson in another lesson so it sticks in your mind and there are skits with full japanese to help you.

[St. Bubble]

Immersing yourself in the language. Watch dramas and/or animes without subs, listen to japanese music, read manga or books, only go to sites in japanese, play japanese video games and basically don't speak in your native language unless absolutely necessary. If you want to get native-fluent, that is. I tried classes and they didn't work for me because I was always stuck in the pace of the class (if half the class was doing badly, then we'd have to wait for them to catch up.) and alot of the students were usually erm....anime fantards who were horrible at pronounciation and practically everything else, yet thought they knew everything. It's not exactly the best enviroment to learn a language in. Youll save money and time just lby learning on your own, though you have to be really dedicated to it. You 'll have to practice every single day, every hour of the day to get really good, and not slack off for or give up when it gets a little difficult. I know this sounds extreme, but it gives very good results...

I also found it easier to just do kanji first because there's so much to memorize and learn that it can be really overwhelming. It's best to just get it out of the way and then do the kana.

This site is helping me alot.

http://www.alljapaneseallthetime.com/blog/

[babyT]

i took German my first two years of college & i'm a bit rusty from having not spoken it recently but i'm sure if i was blindfolded & dropped off in Berlin, I could survive.
As for Korean & Japanese, I'm learning myself and my friends help me also...but I would LOVE to take a Korean class if only it was offered here!
I think the best way is to get a tutor or actually go to the country and immerse yourself in the language.