Japanese Language Lessons - Learn Japanese Using a Simple Online Course

An Alternative Means of Having Japanese Language Lessons

There are some people that need to learn other Languages due to work or travel purposes. One example of it is getting Japanese language lessons. Learning the Japanese language is indeed beneficial and fun at the same time. Yet a lot of individuals cannot afford to have private tutorials or enroll in expensive language schools. This held them back from being able to learn Nihongo - the term for Japanese language - fluently. Fortunately, with the help of technology and the internet, you can now inexpensively and conveniently learn how to speak Japanese. This can be achieved through using Japanese language software.

Compared to the traditional way of learning Nihongo, the language software is priced cheaply. It is almost half the price of hiring a private tutor or getting enrolled in Japanese speaking courses. In addition to that, using the software will not require you to attend daily studying sessions. You can freely manage you time and choose when you want to study.

Learning Nihongo through Japanese Language Software

The first thing you need to consider before purchasing the language software is your purpose of learning Nihongo. The type of software or program you'll get will depend on this reason. If you want to learn Japanese because you'll be travelling in Japan for a short time only, then you don't need to spend a lot on studying their language. You can look for online programs that teach traditional Japanese courses or greetings. This programs often comes in inexpensive prices (some even for free) since you will be studying with them for several weeks only.

On the other hand, if you want to study Japanese language lessons due to work assignment or relocation, then it's best that you purchase fine-quality language software. Good Japanese software will offer you vocabulary, word/phrase tutorials, audio lessons and even culture teachings. You will surely enjoy learning how to speak and understand Nihongo with the software's aid.

Time is also essential when studying a foreign language. You can't just learn a new lingo in a matter of days or even weeks. So better check your free time before you start on your course of learning Nihongo. If you got tons of vacant time, then choose a software that will help you learn the language in a gradual pace and is guaranteed to teach you how to speak Japanese same as the natives.

In case you got a busy schedule and can only spare little time in studying, then look for online crash courses. These programs are intended to assist you learn Nihongo quickly. Though you'll be able to speak Japanese faster, the course will only concentrate on teaching you on a particular subject. For instance, if you chose to only know how to communicate in business matters, you will not be taught about Japan's culture or how common people normally converse.

Speaking Japanese is Now Easy

The introduction of the software has made learning Japanese language lessons simple. You can now break the communication barrier in case you'll be assigned to work in Japan or live there. You might be surprised of how good you can speak and understand the Japanese lingo in just a short time of learning.

Online Spanish Language Course

Anyone can learn to speak Spanish. There are different online Spanish Language courses available and you can enroll in a course that will teach you to learn and read Spanish fast and easy.

Good online Spanish Language courses have intensive audio programs that guide students in the various aspects of the Language such as grammar and vocabulary. In the beginning you will be taught basic vocabulary and correct sentence structure. Later on, you will be taught more complex words and phrases. They also have drills and exercises that help students retain and fully understand lessons. By the end of your chosen course, you will be able to construct sentences and use them in the right situations. This means you will be able to communicate effectively in Spanish with anyone.

What's best about online Spanish Language Courses is they allow students to study the language anywhere they please. It also means they can continue their studies even if they have to travel. You can also study at your own time and move forward at your own pace. You can also supplement the online course with lessons from other materials. This will make the lesson more personalized. In the end, taking an online course can be cheaper and more effective than taking classes.

The downside is, unlike in a class, you won't have that many people to converse in Spanish with, unless of course, other members of your family or your work colleagues speak Spanish.

Many online courses are interactive and provide quizzes and exercises so you can practice. If you combine these exercises with practice, you will learn to speak Spanish in no time. You can practice by reading, watching and listening to Spanish materials. There are many materials available in the market such as dictionaries, audio tapes, magazines, Books and others.

Which is the Easiest Language to Learn? Rating the 14 Most Popular Course Offerings

Which is the best Language to learn? Which is the easiest?

Two different questions, often uttered in the same breath. But that's okay, because there will be only one answer. Whichever Language you wholeheartedly choose to study will be both the best and the easiest. However, here's some help choosing.

The choices.

Here is the Modern Language Association's 2002 list of the most commonly studied Languages at university level in the United States. I have not included ancient languages like Latin, Biblical Hebrew, or Sanskrit, special purposes languages like American Sign Language, or U.S. heritage languages, like Hawaiian or Navajo since the choice of those languages follows a different dynamic:

1. Spanish
2. French
3. German
4. Italian
5. Japanese
6. Chinese
7. Russian
8. Arabic
9. Modern Hebrew
10. Portuguese
11. Korean
12. Vietnamese
13. Hindi/Urdu
14. Swahili

Difficulty, according to Uncle Sam

First, consider some cold facts. The U.S. State Department groups languages for the diplomatic service according to learning difficulty:

Category 1. The "easiest" languages for speakers of English, requiring 600 hours of classwork for minimal proficiency: the Latin and Germanic languages. However, German itself requires a bit more time, 750 hours, because of its complex grammar.

Category 2. Medium, requiring 1100 hours of classwork: Slavic languages, Turkic languages, other Indo-Europeans such as Persian and Hindi, and some non-Indo-Europeans such as Georgian, Hebrew and many African languages. Swahili is ranked easier than the rest, at 900 hours.

Category 3. Difficult, requiring 2200 hours of study: Arabic, Japanese, Korean and the Chinese languages.

Will you get a chance to practice this language?

Now, consider another important factor: accessibility. To be a successful learner you need the chance to hear, read and speak the language in a natural environment. Language learning takes an enormous amount of concentration and repetition, which cannot be done entirely in the classroom. Will you have access to the language where you live, work and travel?

The 14 most popular courses according to a combination of linguistic ease and accessibility.

1. Spanish. Category One. The straightforward grammar is familiar and regular. It is also ubiquitous in the Americas, the only foreign language with a major presence in the insular linguistic environment of the U.S. Chances to speak and hear it abound. It is the overwhelming favorite, accounting for more than fifty percent of language study enrollment in the MLA study.

2. French. Category One. Grammatically complex but not difficult to learn because so many of it's words have entered English. For this vocabulary affinity, it is easy to attain an advanced level, especially in reading. It is a world language, and a motivated learner will find this language on the internet, in films and music.

3. German. Category One Plus. The syntax and grammar rules are complex with noun declensions a major problem. It is the easiest language to begin speaking, with a basic vocabulary akin to English. Abstract, advanced language differs markedly, though, where English opts for Latin terms. It values clear enunciation, so listening comprehension is not difficult.

4. Italian. Category One. It has the same simple grammar rules as Spanish, a familiar vocabulary and the clearest enunciation among Latin languages (along with Romanian). Italian skills are easily transferable to French or Spanish. You might need to go to Italy to practice it, but there are worse things that could happen to you. It is also encountered in the world of opera and classical music.

5. Russian. Category Two. This highly inflected language, with declensions, is fairly difficult to learn. The Cyrillic alphabet is not particularly difficult, however, and once you can read the language, the numerous borrowings from French and other western languages are a pleasant surprise. It is increasingly accessible.

6. Arabic. Category Three. Arabic is spoken in dozens of countries, but the many national dialects can be mutually incomprehensible. It has only three vowels, but includes some consonants that don't exist in English. The alphabet is a formidable obstacle, and good calligraphy is highly valued and difficult to perfect. Vowels are not normally written (except in children's Books) and this can be an obstacle for reading. It is ubiquitous in the Muslim world and opportunities exist to practice it at every level of formality.

7. Portuguese. Category One. One of the most widely spoken languages in the world is often overlooked. It has a familiar Latin grammar and vocabulary, though the phonetics may take some getting used to.

8. Swahili. Category Two Minus. It includes many borrowings from Arabic, Persian, English and French. It is a Bantu language of Central Africa, but has lost the difficult Bantu "tones". The sound system is familiar, and it is written using the Latin alphabet. One major grammatical consideration is the division of nouns into sixteen classes, each with a different prefix. However, the classes are not arbitrary, and are predictable.

9. Hindi/Urdu. Category Two. The Hindustani language, an Indo-European language, includes both Hindi and Urdu. It has an enormous number of consonants and vowels, making distinctions between phonemes that an English speaker will have difficulty hearing. Words often have clipped endings, further complicating comprehension. Hindi uses many Sanskrit loans and Urdu uses many Persian/Arabic loans, meaning that a large vocabulary must be mastered. Hindi uses the phonetically precise Devanagari script, created specifically for the language. Predictably, Urdu's use of a borrowed Persian/Arabic script leads to some approximation in the writing system.

10. Modern Hebrew. Category Two. Revived as a living language during the nineteenth century, it has taken on characteristics of many languages of the Jewish diaspora. The resultant language has become regularized in grammar and syntax, and the vocabulary has absorbed many loan words, especially from Yiddish, English and Arabic. The alphabet has both print and script forms, with five vowels, not normally marked. Vowel marking, or pointing, is quite complex when it does occur. Sounds can be difficult to reproduce in their subtleties and a certain amount of liaison makes listening comprehension problematic. It is not very accessible outside of a religious or Israeli context.

11. Japanese. Category Three. Difficult to learn, as the vocabulary is unfamiliar, and the requirements of the sound system so strict that even the many words that have been borrowed from English, French and German will seem unrecognizable. With three different writing systems, it is forbiddingly difficult to read and write. Also, social constraints may impede useful interaction.

12. Chinese. Category Three. Whether your choice is Mandarin or Cantonese (the MLA survey does not make a distinction, oddly enough). It is the most difficult language on this list. It includes all of the most difficult aspects: unfamiliar phonemes, a large number of tones, an extremely complex writing system, and an equally unfamiliar vocabulary. Personal motivation is absolutely essential to keep the student on track. On the positive side, it is easy to find, since Chinese communities exist throughout the world, and Chinese language media, such as newspapers, films and TV, are present in all these communities.

13. Vietnamese. Category Three. This language belongs to an unfamiliar family of languages, but it does borrow much vocabulary from Chinese (helpful if you already speak Chinese!). It has six tones, and a grammar with an unfamiliar logic. It's not all bleak, however, Vietnamese uses a Latin derived alphabet. The chances of speaking this language are not high, though there are 3 million speakers in the USA.

14. Korean. Category Three. Korean uses an alphabet of 24 symbols, which accurately represent 14 consonants and 10 vowels. However, the language also includes 2000 commonly used Chinese characters for literary writing and formal documents. Speech levels and honorifics complicate the learning of vocabulary, and there is liaison between words, making them hard to distinguish. The grammar is not overly complicated and there are no tones. It borrows many Chinese words, but the language is unrelated to other languages of Asia.

The most important factor of all: personal motivation

The third, most important factor is up to you. The easiest language to learn is the one that you are most motivated to learn, the one you enjoy speaking, the one with the culture that inspires you and the history that touches you spiritually. It is useless to try to learn a language if you are not interested in the people who speak it, since learning a language involves participating in its behaviors and identifying with its people.

So, consider all three factors: motivation, accessibility and linguistic ease, in that order, and come up with the final list yourself. The bad news is that no language is really easy to learn, but the good news is that we humans are hard wired for a great amount of linguistic flexibility, as long as we know how to turn on the learning process. If the rewards and benefits of the language are clear to you, you will be able to get those rusty language synapses sparking in your head and start the words rolling. Bonne chance!

Arabic Language Course - The 3 Best Arabic Language Courses Compared

Deciding to learn Arabic is one of the best decisions that you can make. Not only will you be able to experience a Middle Eastern holiday in the way that most people could only dream of, but it will open up huge business opportunities and/or make you infinitely more employable. Everybody learns new things in different ways (Languages in particular) so deciding what Arabic Language course to use can determine your success in learning Arabic, so read on for an in-depth comparison of the most popular Arabic courses today.

1. Pimsleur Arabic

Pimsleur Arabic's method of teaching Arabic is to focus exclusively on teaching you to speak - as opposed to read and write - Arabic. The Pimsleur Arabic language course makes extensive use of repetition, which may be a good or a bad thing depending on your learning style. For me, I found the repetition to be a bit taxing on my "self-discipline tank", but I also will admit that I can recall every word I was taught in Pimsleur Arabic with ease.  Using Pimsleur was a great choice for me, but it's by no means perfect. If you want a full understanding of Arabic, which of course includes being able to read and write, it may be best to look elsewhere.

Good For:

Beginners
Motivated & self-disciplined students
Learning on the go
Not Good For:

Beginners on a budget (costs $800+ for all 3 levels new, cheaper second hand/Ebay)
Anybody who wants to read/write Arabic
People with low self discipline
Intermediate Arabic students
2. Rosetta Stone Arabic

Rosetta Stone's method of teaching languages involves showing you an image and then telling you the word associated with that image. Then it will show you slightly different images to show you the relationship between them, which mimics the way in which we all learned our first language. This is ultimately Rosetta Stone's goal - to teach you Arabic the way in which you learned your first language. Having used Rosetta Stone for a number of languages, I can attest to its quality - it's quite enjoyable and I've learned a lot. A couple of nitpicks: Rosetta Stone is by no means cheap - the entire Arabic course costs $500US dollars and you are limited to using Rosetta Stone on your computer only, you can't transfer any files to your iPod or pop a CD in your car. Still, Rosetta Stone is always a solid choice for learning the Arabic language.

Good For:

Beginners
Visual Learners
Not Good For:

Beginners on a Budget (full course costs $500)
Learning on the go (you're stuck to your computer)
3. Rocket Arabic

Rocket Arabic is the recently released Arabic language course from Rocket Languages, a relatively new company that is very popular online. Rocket Arabic combines elements of both Pimsleur and Rosetta Stone to create a hybrid of sorts - you will learn through audio lessons (ala Pimsleur) and flashcard software games (like Rosetta Stone). Neither aspect of Rocket Arabic's package could be called as comprehensive as Pimsleur or Rosetta Stone, but it doesn't really need to be; it's a well rounded and quite fun way to learn Arabic, which is perfect for beginners.

Good For:

Beginners on a budget (downloadable course costs $100)
People who are bored easily
Learning on the go
A solid foundation of Arabic
Not Good For:

Intermediate Arabic students
People with dialup (downloadable course is a couple hundred megabytes)

Language course in Malta: Designed For You

It's a fact that in today's world, English Language has come to stay and let us face the reality; English is indeed the foremost Language in the world, which serves as a common Language. You need English in almost every step of life. If you are desirous of learning English, it is indeed the best time to act accordingly.