Gaming My Japanese Coach - What's Your Opinion?

[Raiser]

Alright, let's discuss My Japanese Coach.

This DS "game" came out in the US just a couple days ago and I thought that maybe we should share what we thought of it.
Personally, I think it really helps with memorizing words and how to pronounce them.
But writing the characters, eh, doesn't help too much. Also, the game doesn't really explain how to combine words and why certain words are used to combine, such as "no". An example of 'no' being used would be "Midori no shoes" (XD don't know how to say shoes.)
The game tells us to use "no" when the color is a noun (in Japanese) and is being addressed to another noun. But why no? Is it always no?

Still, I think the game is pretty good. What do you guys have to say about it?

 

[mrSmiles]

basic not meant to go in-depth regarding those kinds of details, its a game for those that are interested with and have no knowledge of the Japanese language, it just gives the basic material

 

[lookout]

I have tested it on Japanese girl she just laugh at me however at 'the' end she when out with me....

 

[Raiser]

I have tested it on Japanese girl she just laugh at me however at end she when out with me....

=O You serious?
That's cool. xD

Yeah, I agree how it's meant to be basic and not go in-depth too much.

*Didn't know there was a topic in this game already* >.

 

[lookout]

Yea, she told me it better if you speak to one to one then trying learn Japanese on your own...
I suggest she right, plus you could pick some girls

 

[Raiser]

Yea, she told me it better if you speak to one to one then trying learn Japanese on your own...
I suggest she right, plus you could pick some girls

Well, the game will help you memorize the basics, but yeah, you should really just talk to people. ^^
I actually memorized numbers, days, colors and stuffs after 1 day of playing. =O

 

[aznvienna]

think u could play a ds game with this?

 

[Raiser]

think u could play a ds game with this?

Unfortunately not. This game helps you memorize and learn how to pronounce words, but no so much when it comes to reading and writing. However, I haven't gotten very far in the game yet, so there may be more that does indeed go into the japanese characters.

 

[mysticwaterfall]

It's an amusing begining tool. I took beginning Japanese like hmmmz.... 10 years ago now, so it was a nice refresh.

It's certainly not the "I'll learn Japanese overnight and be playing untranslated games/anime/etc" game a lot of people think it is, but it's a great effort... nice way to get your feet wet before you dive into full on classes or what not.

 

[esoterica]

Honestly, even if you study a language hardcore (with no prior knowledge of it), you're not going to speak it at the level of a native speaker. You won't completely understand it unless you're forced to live in an environment where you HAVE to speak it. You can go through the dictionary and learn every single word. But that doesn't mean you will know how to carry a good conversation. Grammar, reading, plus all that extra slang that books usually don't teach... anyways, my point is, being fluent in a language is a difficult task that takes lots of time, patience, and mostly, experience. But it doesn't hurt to have some knowledge.

 

[delta123]

it great to get interested in the language. anything that does that is good in my books.

 

[Dylan]

I think its great! First DS release in a while I have spent more than 10 minutes trying. Gets me interested to learn the language. Does worry me where to go after the game ends though.

 

[Gogg]

Most of these games really don't take you far. I'll play this game to get a grasp on the Japanese language, but I won't expect to be able to do anything that's not translated. I remember a while back they released a Spanish Coach game, which is the same thing, but you learn Spanish. At that time, I had been studying Spanish for one year from my school. What surprised me is that the placement test placed my near the end of the game, so you really can't expect to learn a language with these games.

 

[paul3100]

What was everyones beginner score? i got 35 out 0f 50 so not bad i thought.

paul

 

[Sticks]

It's 'ok'. I'm fast forwarding through most of it since there's no kanji use apparently until lessson 30. Kinda lame imo.

50/50 for beginners score, i think. Might've been 48 or 49. @_@

 

[Novelsito]

ichi
ni
san
yon
go
roku
sichi
hachi
kyuu
juu

 

[llatnik]

I'm quite enjoying it, even if parts of it are too easy for you. It will pick up any basic areas you are lacking in, like if your listening is great but your hiragana and katakana look like drunken hyroglyphs or the other way around.. and hell if it can make learning kanji... ANY kanji more enjoyable then i say we build it a bloody temple

also for those wondering where to next once you finish this game and master it, the french coach they brought out earlier now has a second one that continues on from the first, since i imagine it sold particularly well. this one may as well if the market responds well

lol... this puts me in a wierd position, I'm actually going to go out and buy a legit copy of this game, not because i want to play it... but because i want to play the sequel

 

[mysticwaterfall]

48/50 here on the placement test... I screwed up the colors at the end. But then, it has been 10 years...

@esoterica: Totally agreed that immersion is ultimately the best way to learn how to actually use a language, but everybody has to start someplace. And for that, like I said before I think it's a great way to get your feet wet and then you can move on from there.

 

[itsRANDELL]

Ahh. It's so hard that I can't pass Lesson 6! >.

 

[GeekyGuy]

I have tested it on Japanese girl she just laugh at me however at 'the' end she when out with me....

Have you tried the My English Coach?

Anyway, I've tried this title, and I like it a lot. I wouldn't call it a game, so much as...well, a coach. I can't, of course, comment on its accuracy as a Japanese trainer, but I think they have a good format for teaching people. I was able to retain a lot of the basic stuff they throw at you in the beginning. I'll have to be in the mood for it to utilize it, but it's going to stay on my card for a while.