Learning a new language is not exactly easy, but with the right language learning program, it does not have to be exactly hard either.  Japanese is no exception.  So here are two courses that you should consider if you are planning to take on Japanese.

Transparent Japanese Complete Edition Or Rocket Japanese: Two Programs, Your Choice.

Transparent Japanese Complete Edition:

The people behind Transparent Japanese Complete Edition believe that in order for you to become fluent in the language, you have to utilize of all of your skills- reading, writing, listening, and speaking.  This program is actually called “the complete edition” for a reason- in a way, it’s kinda like the Swiss Army knife of language courses as it is compromised of various learning programs all in one.

Features:

Byki Deluxe 4.0- This is designed to help you build up your Japanese vocabulary making it perfect for beginners. Here you will find games, such as the crossword puzzle.  You will also be able to track your progress by taking tests and quizzes.  Since a big part of learning vocabulary is actually being able to pronounce the words correctly, there is a feature that allows you to record your own voice and then compare it to that of a native Japanese speaker.

The Quick Start Lists make a great base as it contains all of the most useful Japanese words and phrases that are used in everyday situations ranging from the very basics like counting and greetings to ordering in a restaurant and taking a cab.

Transparent Premium Edition- When you have a pretty good vocabulary foundation, then you move on to the Transparent Premium Edition.  Here you will learn basic grammar such as sentence structures and focus more on conversation.  You will have access to native Japanese texts, videos, and even stories that are supposed to help develop your oral and written Japanese skills.

Everywhere Japanese- These are audio lessons that let you continue to learn even when on the go.  This is supposed to be a way to speed up the learning process as you can plop in a CD when driving to work, while getting your daily exercise, or even while doing household chores.

LinguaMatch Japanese- This is a pretty interesting feature.  Here you will be able to explore 30 virtual reality scenarios.  You can learn Japanese words by clicking on the objects, and learn conversation by clicking on the characters.

Rocket Japanese:

The team behind Rocket Japanese believes that the best way to learn the language is through the natural method, the interactive conversational approach.  Simply put, this is based on how kids learn a language, which is through listening and speaking, but is tailored to suit adults.

Features:

Audio Lessons- Rocket Japanese provides you with 31 audio lessons.  With each 20 minute class, you will listen and actually be able to take part in a casual, real to life, Japanese conversation.  You will also get full transcripts in romaji, hiragana and katakana, and even the English translation.

Language and Culture Lessons- Not only will you get 31 audio lessons but you will get 31 language and culture lessons as well.  The language lessons offer a special writing segment that provides you with step by step videos on writing kanji.  The culture lessons are designed to help you understand the Japanese people and their country altogether.  Here you will have access to embedded audio clips, explanations and notes, and further details.

MegaJapanese- MegaJapanese is made of three educational games that are designed to help you learn the language.  You have MegaVocab which will help you learn Japanese words.  You will also get MegaAudio which is supposed to help you with your listening comprehension and pronunciation.  MegaHiragana is actually aimed at improving your written Japanese.

*Although the focus of Rocket Language programs is speaking and listening comprehension, since Japanese characters are totally different from the English alphabet, MegaHiragana and the kanji writing segment are features that are sure to be helpful to any Japanese learner.

Rocket Record- This feature allows you to actually record a Japanese phrase then compare how you say it to how a native Japanese speaker says it.  They claim that this will do wonders for your pronunciation.

Online Teacher- Anytime, any day, for any question regarding the Japanese language, you will have access to a Japanese online teacher.

To Sum Up:

Basically, you have just read the approach, the features, and the tools that each program has.  Remember that finding the right one has to match your personal learning style.  So here are two programs, Transparent Japanese Complete Edition and Rocket Japanese.  What’s your choice?

 

 

Learning a new language can be tough and takes quite a bit of time.  But, with the right learning language program, even one of the hardest languages to learn for native English speakers, like Japanese, can be made easier.  Not that you will have a grasp of it over night.  But by you will be able to speed up the process a whole lot with one that matches your learning style.

So to help you find just the program, here are two courses that are definitely worth checking out.  Tell Me More Japanese Or Rocket Japanese: Which course should you take?

The Approach:

The language experts have created and developed Tell Me More Japanese strongly believe in what they call the PRIME approach.  P stands for Progressive.  They claim that with this program, you will be able to improve your Japanese no matter what level you begin in.  R is for Real World.  Here you will only learn phrases and what not that you will actually hear and use in real life scenarios.  I is for Interactive.  All of the activities and lessons are designed so that you do not just listen but you actually take part.  M means Motivating.  With the various activities that are offered, you will constantly be challenging yourself.  E stands for Effective.  Well, there is supposedly a 94% success rate behind this course.

Rocket Japanese, on the other hand, takes the natural, interactive conversational learning approach.  This means that they have based their methods on how we have learned how to speak naturally back when we were children but integrated with a few tolls here and here that are designed for adult learning.  As a child who is leaning a language or the first time, he will first develop his listening, comprehension, and speaking skills.  Reading and writing will follow much later.

However, since we are dealing with Japanese, the Rocket team has especially designed a couple of writing classes to help you understand the Japanese characters- but speaking and listening are still the main squeeze.

The Tools And Features Of Tell Me More Japanese:

Interactive Conversations and Dialogues:

Tell Me More Japanese gives you the chance to partake in Japanese conversations that are found in each of the 18 lessons that you will get with the package.  These are the kind that are used every day in the streets of Japan, the kind that you will actually hear and use.  You will be able to focus on over 1500 Japanese words and phrases that are used in these dialogues.  Also, they are supplemented by around 400 pictures that give you a look into the rich Japanese culture.

Word Glossary:

You will be able to build up your Japanese vocabulary with the glossary that covers over 8000 of the most useful words.

Grammar:

Tell Me More Japanese gives you the chance to consult 60 key grammar points of the language.  Each of these points are presented to you in a very simple manner so that it will be easy for you to understand, yet, at the same time, it is also very concise.

Writing:

Since the Japanese have their very own alphabet of sorts, you will also have a couple of classes on Hiragana and Katakana.  Tell Me More Japanese offers 46 animated demonstrations on these characters.

S.E.T.S.:

S.E.T.S., Spoken Error Tracking System, is one of the more innovative features of this program.  Having one of the best speech recognition systems on the market, not only will you be able to improve your pronunciation through the visual aids that show waveform and pitch but the S.E.T.S. will actually be able to detect when you make a mistake in pronunciation in individually spoken sentences.

Japanese Language and Culture: an introductory manual

So that you will truly be able to understand Japanese, not just the language but the culture as well, you will also get an introductory manual that is supposed to give you better insight on this Asian country as well.

The Tools And Features Of Rocket Japanese:

Audio Lessons:

Rocket Japanese comes with 31 interactive audio lessons that are 20 minutes long and cover casual, everyday, Japanese conversations.  Along with this, for each class, you will also get the full transcripts in romaji, hiragana and katakana, and even the English translation.

MegaJapanese:

You will also have full access to three games that are supposed to make learning the language fun.  MegaVocab is supposed to help you build up you vocabulary.  MegaAudio is supposed to increase your listening comprehension as well as your pronunciation.  MEgaHiragana is supposed to cover the written area of the language.

Language and Culture Lessons:

You will also have 31 language and culture lessons.  The language lessons offer a special writing segment.  Here you will become more familiar with Japanese characters as you will even have step by step videos on writing in kanji.  The culture lessons let you take a deeper look into the history, traditions, and culture of Japan.  Both come with embedded audio clips, explanations, notes, and details.

Rocket Record:

This feature is aimed at improving your Japanese pronunciation.  Here you will be able to record a Japanese phrase or sentence then actually compare how you say it to how a real native Japanese speaker does.

Online Japanese Teacher:

If you have any concerns or questions regarding the Japanese language, you will also have full access to your very own private Japanese teacher that you can reach online 24 hours a day 7 days a week.

Tracking:

You will also be able to see just how much you have learned with all the quizzes and tests that Rocket Japanese has to offer.

A Final Word

Basically, to sum up, these are two great language learning programs, but it really does all boil down to what you want and what you need.  So, when it is a question of Tell Me More Japanese or Rocket Japanese, which course should you take, only you have the answer to that.

 

 

When it comes down to Rocket Japanese VS Pimsleur Japanese, here are a couple of things that you should know about each language course before you make the decision on which one is best for you.

Rocket Japanese:

The Approach

The approach that Rocket Japanese takes is the natural method, also known as, the interactive conversational approach.  This method is based on how we all first learned how to speak- which pretty much came before us learning how to read, let alone write.  Children pick up a language simply by listening, understanding, and speaking alone.  With the help of certain features and learning tools, that is how Rocket Languages claim to be able to teach you Japanese.

However, since the Japanese characters are totally different from English, a quick writing class is also provided to help you out.

Features and Learning Tools

Audio Lessons-  With Rocket Japanese, you will get 31 interactive audio lessons.  Each lesson basically covers a casual, everyday, Japanese conversation focusing on topics like simple greetings and small talk or ordering in a restaurant.  By listening and actively taking part in these 20 minute lessons, your Japanese conversation skills are supposed to improve.  Plus, since you will also have the full transcripts of the lessons in romaji, hiragana and katakana, complete with the English translation, you will also actually start on building your Japanese reading and writing skills at the same time- even if they are not the focus of the course.

Rocket Record- This features is supposed to give you a chance to practice your pronunciation and eventually improve it.  You basically record your own voice, then you compare what you have said to how a native Japanese speaker would say it.  You have the option to repeat this process until you have a perfect match.

MegaJapanese Games- Currently Rocket Japanese offers three educational games that are supposed to help you learn the language while having fun at the same time.  MegaVocab is designed to help you retain words that you have already encountered and learn a couple others too.  MegaAudio focuses on improving your listening comprehension.  MegaHiragana, as they claim, is supposed to help you written Japanese.

Language and Culture Lessons- You will also get 31 Japanese language and culture lessons.  With the language lessons, you will get detailed explanations on the characters plus you will even have a step by step easy to follow video guide on writing Kanji.  The culture lesson will give you a better insight into the whole country itself- from the culture to the traditions to the history.  You will also have embedded audio clips, tips, and notes.

Quizzes and tests- you will also be able to keep track of your progress with the numerous quizzes and tests that you will have access to.

Personal Japanese Teacher- You will also have access to a 24/7 online Japanese teacher that you can contact about all of your questions regarding the Japanese language.

Pimsleur Japanese:

The Approach

The Pimsleur Japanese method is actually quite similar to that of the one of Rocket Japanese except with this course, it’s pure focus is on listening and speaking.  There won’t be even a little bit on the written side of the language.

Basically, this course was developed with two main principles in mind- Graduated Interval Recall, which pretty much means that as soon as you forget a Japanese word or phrase, you will be instantly encouraged to remember it, and Principle of Anticipation, which means that you will be given a short time to anticipate the right answer before you actually hear it.

These two main principles are backed up by two key factors- Core vocabulary, which is a list of selected important Japanese words that will serve as your foundation, and the organic learning concept, which means that as you learn common Japanese phrases, you will actually also be learning other important parts of the language too, like vocabulary, pronunciation, and grammar.

Features and Learning Tools

Another thing that makes this program different from Rocket Japanese is that it does not offer a lot of features and tools.  Since the focus is pure oral skills, basically audio is all you will get.

 

Audio Lessons- Pimsleur Japanese offers 30 minute audio lessons that come in three different levels with 10 classes each.  Since the Japanese language is a very respectful on, all of the conversations you will hear will use polite Japanese terms and phrases, no matter what level you take.

The first level focuses on the basics.  This covers simple conversations, like good morning and good night with a little small talk here and there, asking for directions, and understanding answering and asking questions.  The second level will expand on what you have learned in the first one.  The third level should be able to turn any beginner to an intermediate level Japanese speaker.

Cultural Notes- You will also have one full hour dedicated to cultural notes.  This is supposed to help you understand not just the Japanese language but the country on the whole.

To Sum Up

Both of these language learning programs are great for people who want to learn the language –FAST for casual conversational purposes.  However, if you want to learn a little bit of writing and have access to various features, then Rocket Japanese is the better choice.  But if you want to keep things simple and really do only want to focus on speaking, the Pimsleur Japanese is most likely your best bet.