As I've been writing these posts I've had to dip into the iPhone app store to find details of the various things I've tried. Last time I ran across a new app which I really like.
Learn Japanese by Mind Snacks
The app itself is based on a series of games that you play with the increasing amounts of vocabulary you learn. It feels very similar to Duolingo in that it has a friendly, cartoony interface and it encourages you to keep learning by setting small goals and giving you points. As you progress you unlock new games and, of the games I've unlocked so far, they aren't just variations on a theme. Different games enhance different aspects of your learning. There are also three different modes of gameplay: Romaji, Kana, and Kanji. This allows you to control your progress even more. If you're doing well you can move up to Kana and, equally you can always go back to your previous lessons and play the games again on Kanji mode (tricky).
In the vocab section, you can tap each word to hear the pronunciation and all the games feature audio so you get a sense of how to speak the language, not just read it.
I really like it. It's great fun. But I'm still in the honeymoon period with it. So I'll see if it keeps my interest. But apart from it being fun, it's helping me to fix vocab in my mind that I'm learning elsewhere.
There's also a lot to be gained by having a few apps and books on the go as they have slightly different perspectives. For example I'd been using okaasan (お母さん) to refer to my mum in conversation and this app uses haha (母) instead. This then sent me off on a google mission to find out when and where the two should be used.
Overall, a really easy to use, fun way to get into learning Japanese.
In the vocab section, you can tap each word to hear the pronunciation and all the games feature audio so you get a sense of how to speak the language, not just read it.
I really like it. It's great fun. But I'm still in the honeymoon period with it. So I'll see if it keeps my interest. But apart from it being fun, it's helping me to fix vocab in my mind that I'm learning elsewhere.
There's also a lot to be gained by having a few apps and books on the go as they have slightly different perspectives. For example I'd been using okaasan (お母さん) to refer to my mum in conversation and this app uses haha (母) instead. This then sent me off on a google mission to find out when and where the two should be used.
Overall, a really easy to use, fun way to get into learning Japanese.
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