Any good Japanese learning software?

[kevinb]

I really want to learn to read, write, and speak Japanese fluently. I don't have the time for lessons so I'm looking at self teach stuff and I'm wondering if anyone has had any success with stuff like Rosetta stone and the like. Keep in mind I want to be able to read and write on top of speaking.

Thanks

[MasonC2K]

Be prepared to spend a mint. It's around $1000 just to learn to speak and then hundreds more to learn Kanji in a formal setting.

That said, Rosetta Stone and the Pimsler Method are gonna be your best choices as far as software goes based on the reviews I have read. I too want to learn Japanese but I can't afford either of those (Pimsler is cheaper BTW) so I'll stick to learning what I can from raw anime with subtitles. I learned a lot from DBZ and Inuyasha.

[Pampho85]

After reading manga, watching anime, for around 7 years, it's gotten pretty easy for my to understand it. But, what helped me read (Romanized much better than Kanji, Hiragana some too) it and speak it (Quite fluently now!) is Live Mocha.

Didn't have to spend a dime, other than on the anime, and this really quite helped!:
http://livemocha.com/

With some corrections a bit from my Japanese friends, I slowly got that hang of it, and now it's quite easy to speak it!

I find anime that's in English, garbage. You want to get a true experience watching anime, watch it raw or with subtitles. The English just ruins it.

[Adam Chandler]

I've used and like Rocket Japanese.

[kevinb]

Alright thanks guys I guess I'll start speaking before reading and writing. Haha

[Adam Chandler]

Alright thanks guys I guess I'll start speaking before reading and writing. Haha

For reading and writing a good first step is to just get a Hiragana and Katakana chart and memorize each symbol. Once you are able to write each one from memory you'll have taken a big step and will then be ready to tackle some Kanji.

There are a bunch of Hiragana and Katakana charts available on the app stores so you can practice while you're out and about. I like HiKaChan on the Apple app store.

[txcoker]

My kids learned how to speak it from their Judo instructor. It's weird to hear my kids communicating with other people in a different language.

[kevinb]

I started watching some anime recently (bravo girls and initial d) since they kept showing up on my netflix suggestion but they arent in Japanese only english.

[Pampho85]

I don't watch anime off Netflix. I either just buy them, borrow them or watch them online. Trust me, once you watch a few anime, you'll get the gist of it down.

[Anatopism]

You may be able to find a japanese "pen pal" of sorts using Skype. Maybe somebody else can help me out here, because I forget which website I used that helped people trying to learn different languages by connecting through Skype... I met a few people from Germany trying to better their english, and would call - practicing speaking and listening to each language.