Instant Immersion Japanese Deluxe v2.0

こんにちは!

This review sounds a little harsh now that I'm done writing it, but I'm actually giving it three stars because of the JquickTrans, the Audio CDs, & the fact that they included audio in the dictionary. I think it's actually quite useful if you're already at a certain proficiency level (or if you don't care about learning 2 write!). I'm still debating whether or not 2 return it as, despite my criticisms, it is still useful 4 the price...only, it's just not what I expected.

I feel the first thing you should know about this product is, it does NOT teach you how 2 write, what the letters are, or even how 2 read phonetically. Remember how the selling point is immersion? It seems 2 take a whole-language approach, figuring that just learning the words is enough without knowing the individual phonemes. HOWEVER - this is not too awful, since there are many free resources online - try Googling 4 "Genki self-study room" 4 audio & writing of hiragana & katakana. You will want 2 memorize reading & saying these two charts before attempting 2 use this program; then you will start with the decently helpful Grammar articles & a lot of Glossary checking before moving on 2 the other stuff.　　On the other hand, if you already know hiragana & katakana you will surely benefit from the practice reading & pronouncing them. Kanji is also frequently referenced in "Beginner"-level exercises without any immediate explanation (sometimes it's kind of hard 2 look up if you don't know what it sounds like!) You can go back 2 that Genki self-study room 4 some Kanji help, or you can search 4 a Kanji Java app - I'm not as much help there, since I do not know Kanji myself.

With that out of the way, on 2 the review.

As far as the user interface, the programs are kind of clunky & old-looking. The Instant Immersion product as a whole feels thrown together, as if the company simply bought a series of other tools & tried 2 make a language product out of them. There are two separate programs, Tell Me More CJ & JTrans.

-----Tell Me More CJ-----

The main thing 2 note is there is NO SYSTEMATIC TEACHING. You're literally supposed 2 try the exercises & guess the right answers until you get it down. As a method of learning, it may be effective 4 some, but I certainly prefer 2 try 2 understand the system before learning the stuff that uses it. It really feels like trying 2 add before learning 2 count.

This has a rather low-tech feel 2 it; was it really made in 2005? They still haven't figured out how 2 use InstallShield 4 the setup. The interface is a little annoying; you're presented with a goofy backstage filming set & you're supposed 2 click on different parts of the set 2 do things. It took me a couple minutes 2 figure out where the exit was (it's the door in the back). The main things 2 remember are the question-mark Help button, & the Previous arrow in the lower-left corner (so you can use the Glossary in the middle of a lesson & then come back instead of having 2 go through the whole interface all over again!)

The options panel (the sound panel in the goofy interface) lets you set some options, such as the difficulty level & your preference 4 Romaji or Furigana. This last option unfortunately does not effect all levels of the program; some exercises give you Romaji no matter what; this program's reliance on Romaji is something 2 note 4 those, like me, who wish 2 learn the actual letters.

The glossary's good (click the books in the interface); & you can have Furigana here. Additionally, it tries 2 be intelligent - if you click on the Reference icon while in the middle of a lesson, it will *usually* jump 2 the relevant word. There are some human errors in some of the words, such as forgetting 2 include furigana or repeating it twice. The words are alphabetized by Romaji instead of the standard Japanese system. There's also a collection of articles about grammar - but annoyingly enough, the programmer's designers have decided 4 you what your reading speed is! If you wait about 10 seconds, it will move 2 the next page. If you want 2 pause, you can "Click 2 pause", but as soon as you go 2 the next page (click the flap) it will start up again!

The pronounciation system (click the hanging mic in the interface) looks useful at first, until you realize there's only focused practice 4 the five basic vowel sounds (a, i, u, e, o) & not 4 each consonant-vowel pair. Furthermore, there are only two or three words 4 each one! Now if you go 2 the word level, you can pick words 2 practice, but there are only so many. (It makes me wonder, why didn't they pair this with the dictionary, which has audio 4 each word?) Going 2 the sentence level seems more useful; you get 2 learn 2 read quickly & you can practice conversational flow a little bit. This system is much better with a good headset - 4 the pronounciation rating 2 be useful, you need 2 not have background noise.

Go 2 the Exercises (the writing pad) & you'll be dumped in front of a picture & given four words 2 choose from, & mostly kanji too! THIS PRODUCT IS NOT GOING TO TEACH YOU NEW WORDS. You're going 2 have 2 go 2 the dictionary & look each one up if you want 2 know what they mean. AN IMPORTANT NOTE - The Romaji may be confusing 2 a lot of you. Many of us are used 2 seeing aa, ii, uu ei, ou 2 indicate long vowels, but this program uses ?, ?, ?, ?, ?. If you type ou into the Romaji parts of the exercises, it won't recognize it as the correct word. Instead you'll have 2 click on the thoughtfully provided icon 4 ?.

In the Dialogue (the guy in the middle) you will hear some sentences spoken & then the system will wait 4 you 2 read one of the two or three choices back 2 the computer. Again, this is really only useful if you either know the words already, or at least can read them pretty quickly - you won't know what's going on in the dialogue, but at least you can practice the pronounciation.

Clicking the clothes set will let you choose between two different lesson sets 4 the Dialogue & the Exercises. From reading the Help file, it seems the interface was designed 4 more than two choices but they didn't have enough material.

You can click the globe 2 go online, where all you'll see is club.auralog.com, which is basically a naked attempt 2 sell you tutoring & translation services.

Clicking the trophy gets you a lesson report, telling you your scores so far.

There's a Camera that's disabled; apparently that's 4 the Platinum version they haven't made yet.

-----JquickTrans-----

VERY USEFUL. I like it a lot. You're supposed 2 be able 2 type in Romaji, English definition, or Japanese characters. Unfortunately there's some conflict between this product & my Windows 2000 Japanese IME; if you type out some Japanese characters all you'll get is a bunch of question marks & the search will not succeed. Maybe you will have better luck with this, but you can still copy & paste the Japanese from another document (ie, go 2 Wordpad, type out some Japanese, & copy & paste it into JTrans).

Here's a breakdown of the CDs.

-----Tell Me More Lessons-----

#1 - Tell Me More - Beginner Japanese
I'm amused at their definition of Beginner. If you just wander around clicking stuff you're gonna get pretty bewildered, so you'll have 2 be pretty self-directed & motivated 2 benefit from this. And it's worth pointing out again that there's NO LESSONS ON LETTERS/KANJI. You should either get this program & some workbook or software supplement 4 learning 2 write, or buy another program altogether.

#2 - Tell Me More - Intermediate Japanese
As others have noted, there's a bit of a jump from Beginner 2 Advanced - suffice it 2 say, at my level of Japanese, the jump's a bit high (the Beginner CD won't take you 2 this level by itself, so you'll want other resources) but I was still able 2 make some use of the materials there.

#3 - Tell Me More - Advanced Japanese
I'm not proficient enough 2 review it, but I will say they all use the same basic exercises; they just ratchet up the difficulty.

-----JquickTrans CD-----

#4 - JquickTrans
See above about JquickTrans.

-----Audio CD Lessons-----

#5 - Alphabet; Sounds; Pronounciation.
This partially fills in the letters gap mentioned above by going through the alphabet & teaching you how 2 say each sound. VERY GOOD - but, this would be more useful in a computer environment where you could see the letter flash on the screen. You can make your own flash cards, but by then you'd pretty much know the letters already.

#6 - Greetings; Introductions; Jobs
Audio CD - does exactly what the title says.

#7 - Telephone numbers; Age; Time/hours
Audio CD - does exactly what the title says.

#8 - Shoppings & asking questions; Colors
Audio CD - does exactly what the title says.

I hope this will help you understand your needs & make an informed decision about buying this product. My decision was not as informed, but maybe I can save you that trouble :). さようなら!

Much Better than the previous versions..

However, it seems like some of the characters are slightly squashed (either horizontally or vertically) in some sections of the software. I'd say that this is a rather annoying problem. The characters are certainly readable, but you sure wouldn't want 2 learn 2 write them like that!!!

Further, this software runs at fixed resolutions.
1024x768 @ 32 bit color is the maximum it goes on my laptop.
But my laptop has a widescreen & runs at 1280x800.
Result? Annoying black borders on the sides of the screen.
Note that the squashed characters happens on both my desktop AND on my laptop. So its not a problem with my laptop's widescreen.

Don't buy this software without buying a good quality headset first! You're going 2 want one anyway. Talking 2 Japanese people on Skype is also great practice.

Also note that this software doesn't put you in a baby stroller & take you places. It seems like some people purchase the software & expect that. Its up 2 you 2 realize what you need 2 study. You CAN'T learn a language like Chinese or Japanese by relying on one educational source alone. Some people just seem so clueless about this. An example is that you won't learn much about the latest Japanese Pop music or about Akira Kurosawa in a college level Japanese language class. Yet, things like these are VERY important. You MUST use other sources when you're learning any language if you want 2 truely understand anything. I'm currently teaching myself Chinese & Japanese.

I have a Japanese dictionary (Kodansha Furigana), I also have a Japanese Pen Pal, Japanese people 2 talk 2 on Skype, Dozens of Japanese movies, a bajillion bookmarks 2 Internet websites which have some good articles about the Japanese language, Japanese Manga, Japanese fansubbed Anime, a Japanese character workbook (practice writing), a Japanese dreamcast with Japanese games 4 it, & now I have some Japanese Software that actually works reasonably well. Do I stop there? Heck no...

I still search regularly 4 other things which can supplement my Japanese learning. Having more sources makes things easier. Its all about a very active approach 2 learning. Learning Japanese, Chinese, or Korean (all of which I've studied 2 some degree) is not 4 lazy people. This software should be treated as just another learning source, & not as a definitive solution 2 learning Japanese.

Your first class journey 2 a new ready 2 commence, with Instant Immersion Japanese Deluxe v2.0, the multimedia learning collection on CD-ROM & audio compact disc. Start your Japanese instruction at your computer with Talk 2 Me Japanese offering