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Rocket Japanese Reviews?

Posted on October 10, 2011 by ハヴネス

I’ll be doing my Friday review at some point, since I was too busy last Friday talking about the poopcycle. Anyway, today I wanted to make a brief point about language-learning software, specifically, products like Rocket Japanese that have affiliate marketers clinging to them and putting up false “reviews”. I’d been considering trying this software and reviewing it myself, but I decided to Google “Rocket Japanese review” first, as I like to get a gist of what the software does before delving in, and the company’s website, while looking promising, yet overpriced and hyped up, isn’t exactly unbiased. Unfortunately, every single review I clicked on was basically the same thing!

Here’s my problem with language-learning software: it’s so easy to get scammed. Most of the good reviews that come from an independent website are made by people who either didn’t use the software themselves or who are relatively not knowledgeable about language learning. Every single site I visited had affiliate links to the software after a “review” that was basically just more crap from the official page.

BEWARE OF HONEST JOHNS!!!

There’s nothing wrong with affiliate links. I use them myself occasionally, and it’s a great way to support your website; and I don’t want it to sound like you can’t trust anyone’s review ever, but spewing crap that you don’t understand just because you want to make a buck is just plain wrong and dishonest, and it makes it easy to scam people. Most of these sites I visited also touted Rosetta Stone as being the best thing since sliced bread. Why? Because they get a big commission from getting people to buy expensive products that shouldn’t cost half as much.

Here’s my beef with language learning software. Most of it is very basic and can be learned elsewhere in a more effective way and for a cheaper price. If you’re an inputter or immersion person, then occasionally these products look good, but you can’t get immersion from a piece of software. You have to modify your surroundings yourself, otherwise the only “immersion” you get is when you sit at your computer, and that doesn’t count. It also get boring very quickly.

It also sounds good, such as being able to watch videos of the hiragana/katakana/kanji being drawn, but you can find such videos for free on youtube, and Remembering the Kanji and Remembering the Kana are much, much better than anything you’ll find in software. In fact, you can learn the kana for free on the Internet, and it’s easy to teach it to yourself. I used Power Japanese, which is a language learning software, but the kana was the only thing it did right, so I actually recommended people torrent it.

Why am I ranting like this? I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking to yourself, “What an incoherent blog post! What’s the point?” Yes, it’s incoherent, but the point is that you should always think twice before accepting someone’s advice to buy software, especially if you’re not sure the person is the real deal. Seriously, I doubt most of these people actually speak the language, and I’m tempted to leave comments in Japanese on their websites and blogs just to see if they can read it and respond.

So, how can you pick out if a review is genuine?

1. Does the review sound biased? This is always your first tell-tale sign. Some reviews just sound terribly biased, and they usually back up their claims with either regurgitated information from the official site, or by “facts” that have no real source or are common knowledge and have no bearing on how well the products performs in relation to these “facts”. Some products are good enough that people praising them sound biased (I’m guilty of this), but when it comes from a blog with only one post, or a tiny little website that does nothing but offer a few reviews, then you can bet someone is just trying to get money.

2. Are there any other product reviews? This is an easy one to spot. Check out the whole site and see what else is being reviewed. If the site is dedicated solely to Rocket Japanese, Rosetta Stone, etc., then that person only has one thing in mind: to make money off you. If all they review are various expensive products (even inexpensive ones, so long as it costs money), and then give out a few “tips” and nothing else, then that person probably doesn’t even speak the language well and just wants to get your money. When you have people recommending both JapanesePod101.com and Rosetta Stone, you know something’s fishy. People who want you to succeed and who are passionate about the language will probably have a whole site dedicated to it, such as this site or AJATT or Tofugu, and not just try and sell you stuff.

3. Does the person reviewing the software tell you a tale that’s hard to believe? I found a blogger blog while looking for a review, actually, and it told a bizarre tale of how Rocket Japanese worked for him. First off, he goes on and on about how amazing the product is, followed by a statement to back up his claims in which he basically says he knows what he’s talking about because he once almost hired a private tutor to teach him Japanese. It was horribly expensive and she (the tutor) said it would take (gasp) 4 months to learn!

Firstly, you shouldn’t come to the conclusion that private tutors, classes, schools, etc. are the only way to learn Japanese! And secondly, what was supposed to be accomplished in 4 months? Conversational fluency? Total fluency? If you want conversational fluency in under 4 months, check out Benny the Irish Polyglot’s site first, then check out everything else. Otherwise, this guy is pulling our legs.

Now, that’s not to say that I dismiss all software. As I said, I slowly get around to checking it out, and I will eventually get to check out Rocket Japanese and give a review of it, but most websites make me not want to. You really have to be careful of some of these “reviews” because they aren’t honest. Please, please, please be careful!

If you want an idea of what these kinds of websites look like, click here. Or here’s that blog “review” that didn’t make much sense. I’m not trying to pick on these people, but I want people to see what sticks out in my mind as a biased review. Heck, I saw one website where the reviewer, after allegedly learning Japanese with Rocket Japanese, thought fortune cookies were Japanese, not Chinese. FAIL!

Fluent in 4 months through a few hours a week with a private tutor? Give me a break! That doesn’t even come close to making sense, even from a conversational standpoint! And Rocket Japanese made him totally fluent in under that time? Is that what I’m supposed to believe?

Beware of Honest John, because he’ll sell you to a creepy place like Pleasure Island and ruin your life if it means he’ll get some cash out of it. Now, most affiliate marketers aren’t like this, as I’ve already said, and I doubt those reviewers I linked to are intentionally trying to hurt anyone. It’s just that when it comes to learning a language, you can’t just expect one book, one software, or one website to take you the whole way. Trying to convince people that they’ll get fluent (what a vague word) solely through their program is wrong.

I know I have a lot of links on this site, but I don’t make much money through affiliate sales off of them, and if this website is any indication, I’m only trying to share what I’ve found to have worked. I’m an active language learner myself, and I love Japan. I just want people to be careful and watch out for products that may or may not work because someone put up a site to promote it.

Categories: Insight, Products, Websites | Tags: affiliate, dishonest, fluency, Japanese, language, rocket, Rosetta, scam, software, Stone

Learn Japanese With Audio Online for Almost Free!

Posted on October 6, 2011 by ハヴネス

1 Comment

I have officially found the solution to Pimsleur’s price tag! It’s called JapanesePod101.com, and it’s full of audio files, .pdfs, and all kinds of stuff that makes Pimsleur look really outdated. Let’s face it, the Internet never fails to amaze me, even after all this time. It makes it possible to do so much, and, combined with an iPod, CD Player, or some other portable audio device, it’s possible to learn Japanese online and even while on-the-go, and not necessarily in your car, either. It’s fun, interesting, and provides a lot more information with just the audio portions alone than anything else I’ve come across, either online or the old-fashioned CD player or cassette tape.

Now, I’ve known about this site for quite a while now, and I actually signed up for it a couple months ago. It took me a while because I would see their ads over all these sites, and seeing ads makes me think, “Another Rosetta Stone! Yikes!” However, I’m happy to report that this isn’t the case. JapanesePod101.com, really is a very good way to learn if you don’t want to invest in textbooks and just want something you can listen to in the background, complete with study materials, and all for practically nothing at all.

So, since I already reviewed Pimsleur, what exactly does JapanesePod101.com do that Pimsleur doesn’t? For starters, it actually provides study materials. When you download a lesson, you may also download the lesson notes and even study material for kanji, which is excellent. The lesson notes aren’t long, but rather brief and to the point, as the real meat comes from the audio lesson. Also, anything that includes lessons in writing is good in my book, whereas Pimsleur was pretty much audio only.

I also like that the dialogues at JapanesePod101.com are a lot more interesting than any other audio tape, CD, or even podcast I’ve found yet. Most of them, especially tapes made for being listened to in your car, are very boring. It’s a good way to get in a traffic accident because you’ll almost assuredly fall asleep.

JapanesePod101.com has its lessons set up as a sort of radio program. There’s the English host, named Peter (he’s from New York, so he has a bit of an accent), and then a variety of native speakers who act out the scene and provide valuable insight. There’s a lot of banter and such that goes on so you don’t usually feel like you’re studying.

At the start of each lesson, either Peter will welcome the listeners and introduce the native speakers joining him in the studio and then start the dialogue, or the dialogue will start first and the lesson pick up afterwords. Usually it’s the former, and it isn’t long before you feel like you’re really getting to know everyone there.

I’d like to point out that the skits are usually acted out by three people, sometimes more, sometimes less, which means that they simulate real conversations a lot better than Pimsleur, which had its token male and female speakers reading an obvious script. This style feels more natural and flows a lot better.

The lessons run between 15 and 25 minutes, so while they’re not too long, they’re not too short, either. In fact, there have been times in my listening where I don’t really want the lesson to end! To have used this program for 2 months now and still feel this energized about it, it must be doing something right.

It also takes you a lot farther than I’ve seen virtually anything else. It’s got newbie lessons, beginner lessons, and three different levels of intermediate lessons. Some people complain that there are no advanced lessons, and JapansePod101.com responds by saying that they believe you should learn primarily from native Japanese media (books and movies) than through lessons at that stage. I agree wholeheartedly with this philosophy. It’s possible to learn through media earlier than that, but some people like to get the grammar and such down really well before diving into the real media. And, to be perfectly honest, I’m an advanced learner, and I still enjoy these lessons!

They also do a lot more than teach you words, phrases, and grammar (not to mention written Japanese), but they also teach you how to get through customs, provide cultural insight, and go the extra mile in general so that you feel confident about going to Japan.

I’d also like to point out that they also do video lessons sometimes! Sure beats watching those old NHK tapes!

It’s also very affordable – more so than any other program I’ve come across. The basic membership is $4/month, which is practically free. You get access to all the audio lessons and notes, not to mention the kanji lessons, which worth a lot more than the $4 they ask of you, and I doubt you’ll find a deal like that anywhere else.

The premium membership is only $10/month, which is still very affordable, and it’s what I use. You get everything in the basic, obviously, but you also get to use their dictionaries, grammar checker, take quizzes, see the dialogue translations side-by-side, get the bonus tracks, and a ton of other stuff. I recommend this membership the most, just because there’s so much content it’s mind-blowing.

The last type is premium plus, which is $26/month and contains a lot of one-on-one stuff, which I won’t slam by any means, but I haven’t upgraded to this membership type. I tend to dislike one-on-one tutoring, especially when their regular lessons are so well done.

Like all sites, there’s some bad about this one, too. In a lot of their ads, you’ll see, “Learn Japanese – Free” or something similar. This is a bit misleading. You get a 7-day premium trial after which you have to pick a membership type, so to use phrases like “free lifetime account” is gross misrepresentation, and due to that, many people who could greatly benefit from this website believe it’s a scam. Heck, even I had to do further research on it first, because when my trial ended, I was all like, “What the heck?” So be careful of that little snag.

Also, it bombards you with emails. I had to send the stuff to the junk mail and spam folder, as it was just horribly annoying. If there’s one thing I can’t stand, it’s massive amounts of emails sent by a single company. I even set up a separate email account just for when I register to sites, because I don’t trust them a lick. Be prepared to put them on your spam list because they’re horribly annoying.

It can also be hard to figure out where to start once you sign up. I think if you’re completely new to the language, you’re supposed to start at Newbie Season 2, then go through Newbie Season 3, then Beginner Season 4, as those all build on each other. The other seasons are stand alone seasons, and while they all seem to be very good, the sheer amount of them is overwhelming, and they don’t all use the same characters and stories. I highly recommend you browse the seasons when you first start and find the one you like the most and are learning the most from. Or just start on the massive 100+ Beginner Season 1 lessons and jump to Lower Intermediate after that.

The only other thing I can think of is that the forums are a bit slow, but there are so many good forums for learning Japanese that I can forgive this one.

All in all, it’s an excellent website and I highly recommend you check it out. If you’re an academic type of person, you might want to use a supplement with the site, but for inputters, a lot of this site is good as-is. By the way, if you learn through input (or are a ‘natural’ learner as some like to call inputters and outputters), then you should sign up for the basic membership as opposed to the premium. At least, I think you’ll get the most out of the basic.

Happy learning!

Categories: Products, Websites | Tags: audio, Japanese, japanesepod101, learn, online, Pimsleur, Rosetta, Stone

Review for Rosetta Stone

Posted on January 20, 2010 by ハヴネス

7 Comments

I told you I wasn’t gone for good! Today I’m going to be mostly bashing Rosetta Stone’s language learning software. This review goes for Rosetta Stone whether you’re learning Japanese or any other language that this software purports to teach. It purports to teach because Rosetta Stone is particularly bad at teaching anything, except how to look at pictures and repeat words. It’s aimed mostly for travelers, but doesn’t really get you conversing, and it’s expensive to boot. Really, there’s only a couple things it does well, but this isn’t enough to make up for all the failing this software does. If anyone from Rosetta Stone actually reads this, please use the criticism to improve your software!

You probably already know that Rosetta Stone teaches you language easily, right? I mean, that’s what the advertisements always tell us! What Rosetta Stone tells us and what it actually does are like night and day, but if you really don’t know much about Rosetta Stone, here’s what allegedly does: Rosetta Stone sets out to teach you a language in the same way that we teach our children. Think Pimsleur or that Muzzy series. The difference between Pimsleur and Rosetta, however, is that Pimsleur actually does this quite well, whereas Rosetta Stone, despite its even more expensive price tag, doesn’t do this too terribly well.

What it does is it shows you a picture of something, such a Japanese woman on a street, says the word for “woman” and, hopefully, after it shows you this picture often enough, you’ll learn a new word, despite not being given an English translation and the fact that the native speaker says the word at the normal speed for a Japanese person to say it (fast!). You can also view the vocabulary words and sentences in romajii, kana, or a combination of kana and kanji, despite the fact that most people who start this program don’t actually know kana or kanji.

One of the things that Rosetta Stone does do well, however, is advertise! This isn’t so great for those of us who love learning languages, but it is a good business example. The bulk of that $500 price tag goes towards marketing the product even more. This is why everyone has heard of Rosetta Stone, but not as many people have heard of similar products.

I mean, think recently at the Olympics in Beijing, China. Rosetta Stone was all over that! In fact, some Olympic competitors accredit Rosetta Stone for helping them get along whilst in China. Now, if you follow the money trail (there is always a money trail), these people were paid to say these things, but you get the idea. Rosetta Stone knows how to look for great opportunities and doesn’t let them fly by.

Now that you know where your money is going, you might ask, “Do I get anything in return?” Here’s the other thing Rosetta Stone does exceptionally well: pronunciation. This isn’t so much of a problem in Japanese, but when you’re taking Mandarin, French, Finnish (there is no Rosetta Stone for Finnish as of yet), Norwegian, or any of those kinds of languages, pronunciation can be quite difficult. In fact, I avoid learning French at every turn because I can’t pronounce it worth a darn! However, with Rosetta Stone, this might become possible, as the software matches your pronunciation up with a native speaker and provides immediate feedback. Rosetta Stone, unlike a book or a tape, is able to provide feedback whenever you do anything and it’s able to compare you to a native speaker. Because of this, Rosetta Stone is like a virtual teacher.

This is also the reason why so many people start out liking Rosetta Stone. They instantly know if they’re doing something wrong and can correct it. Other language programs should try and incorporate this kind of instant feedback and interaction in their products, because, quite frankly, this asset alone isn’t worth the price tag.

However, despite its interactive qualities, it doesn’t do much else. As long as I’m mentioning the price, I’m going to strike this out as a negative thing. I said in my review of Pimsleur that it was an insanely expensive product and that the Stroll Learning Company pretty much demands a burnt sacrifice. However, Pimsleur is a.) not as expensive as Rosetta Stone, and b.) actually teaches you to communicate in a foreign language. For its price tag, Rosetta Stone certainly doesn’t do a whole lot that can’t be done somewhere else.

Pimsleur is a pretty good teacher when it comes to pronouncing words correctly, and there’s a ton of books that can do this well, too. Those NHK tapes are excellent and get you communicated effectively for even cheaper, and JapanesePod101 gets my highest recommendation as far learning via video and audio go! Rosetta Stone doesn’t do much other than show you pictures and hope you can figure out which part of the picture the vocabulary word relates to.

On that note, I said at the beginning of this review that Rosetta Stone teaches by showing you a picture, the word (or words) that relates to that picture, and expects you to memorize it and automatically know how it’s used in a sentence. It really doesn’t teach you how to say anything! I could go to Japan using nothing but Rosetta Stone and know that “zou” means “elephant” and that “kuruma” means “car”, but this isn’t really going to do anything for me while I’m there! I need to know how to actually speak with people to do anything. Other language programs focus on effective communication while Rosetta Stone focuses on vocabulary and assumes that you’ll pick up the finer points of grammar on your own. At least Pimsleur provides some explanation for what you’re saying, despite having the same basic philosophy as Rosetta Stone.

The final thing I’m going to slam is its unwillingness to teach any amount of Japanese writing. If you’re learning a language that uses a different alphabet or writing system (think of the Asian languages, or Russian or Greek), and if the ability to turn on this system is in the software, then you’d think that, for $500, Rosetta Stone would actually attempt to teach you how to read it! As such, you can turn it on, but there’s no guarantee that you’ll be able to read what it says. What does this mean? It means that, while you can probably learn the kana on the Internet, you’ll have to pay for a good kanji book on top of the software, which is a blatant rip-off.

So, what do I ultimately think of Rosetta Stone? I don’t recommend it. Not at all. Just about every good thing Rosetta Stone offers can be found elsewhere and for a much cheaper price. Heck, you can take a class for cheaper than you can buy Rosetta Stone! Not to mention, you’d get a heck of a lot more out of it! All in all, stay away from this software. It’s expensive, doesn’t teach you much at all, and is downright ineffective at everything except for getting you to pronounce this correctly. Not to mention, for every several hundred dollars you spend on Rosetta Stone, someone else will see the advertisement you paid for and think, “Wow, that looks like a good software!” Nothing could be further from the truth.

Categories: Products | Tags: review, Rosetta, Stone

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