This article is the fourth part of a series dedicated to the different software for the Nintendo DS to learn the Japanese Kanji.
Kanji kentei - Kanji examination
The Kanji-kentei is the official test of the knowledge of th Japanese Kanji. There are 12 different grades (from 10 to 1 and two intermediate levels) with progressive difficulty based on the japanese education system. The software 200万人の漢検 とことん漢字脳 “Kanji examination for 2 millions, Kanji brain non-stop” was the first software available on the Nintendo DS to prepare for the Kanji kentei (or Kanken in short) (november 2006, IE Institute). It features 7000 questions covering all the levels of the Kanken, from the easiest 10級 “10th grade” to the expert level of the 1級 “1st grade”. Note that the pre-1st grade and the 1st grade are mixed into on category in this software. Also, a new version titled 250万人の漢検 “Kanji examination for 2 millions and 500 thousands” featuring a Kanji dictionnary and 47000 questions has been released on november 2007. In this article, we will review the first version of the Kanken series.
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Posted on 22nd December 2007
Under: Language, Technologies, Practical |
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This article is part of a series dedicated to the different software for the Nintendo DS to learn the Japanese Kanji.
Kanji exercises for Adults
Among all the Kanji learning software for the Nintendo DS that I own, なぞって覚える大人の漢字練習 "remember by tracing, Kanji exercises for Adults", published by Now Production is the one that I prefer. This time there is no seal of approbation by some authority like it was the case for Tadashii Kanji Kakitori Kun or for Tsukawa Shiki Kanji Kioku Jutsu. The sales pitch is a simple idea that consists in tracing the Kanji by following a model like in the invaluable Kanji to Kana I and Kanji to Kana II books. Let’s see what’s in it for us.
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Posted on 1st December 2007
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This article is part of a series dedicated to the different softwares for the Nintendo DS to learn the japanese Kanji.
Tsugawa method
Since the unprecedented success of the Brain Age game, being endorsed by an authoritative person is almost a requirement for any Nintendo DS software with an educational purpose. This is the case of Kanji Kakitori Kun that we reviewed before. つがわ式 “Style Tsugawa” 漢字記憶術 “Kanji Kiokujutsu (Kanji + memorization + art)” (ERTAIN production, developed by Lukplus, released on June 28th, 2007) follows this rule as it is based on the つがわ式記憶法 “the Tsugawa memorization method”. It is the method that 津川博義 “Mr Tsugawa Hiroshi”, of the Colombus Institute, a 塾 “after hours class bussiness”. Learning the japanese Kanji with this method consists in marking the difficult parts of the Kanji with a red pen. You can then focus only on these parts to visually memorize the Kanji. The software received a lot of positive buzz when it was released because the press conference consisted in trying the method with 12 members of the AKB48 band, 48 young japanese ladies band composed of three teams (A, K and B) that have a permanent review in their own theater at Akihabara. But let’s forget the J-POP and the Japanese girls in school uniform for a moment. Grab a red pen and let’s see if the miracle that happened for 12 baby stars will also happen for us 外人 “gaijin“.
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Grille d'évaluation de la méthode Tsugawa:
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Posted on 20th November 2007
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This article is the first part of a serie dedicated to the different softwares for the Nintendo DS to learn the japanese Kanji.
Kageyama method
The software 正しい漢字 かきとりくん “Tadashii Kanji Kakitorikun” was developed with the cooperation of 陰山英男先生 “professor Kageyama Hideo”, the vice-director of a primary school and honorary member of the special governmental commission in charge of the national education reform. He is known for 陰山メソッド “the Kageyama method”. It is mostly based on a healthy life style (breakfast, sleep early and wake up early, no exercise late at night) and on a regular practice with reading, writing and calculation ???? drills. The 百ます計算 “10 by 10 calculation table” is the quite famous in Japan because of the software version of the drill for the Nintendo DS. You can read this article on the Kageyama method to understand all the details. For now, let’s dive into Tadashii Kanji Kakitorikun for the Nintendo DS.
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Posted on 8th November 2007
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Recent earthquakes in Japan
