Language Classes?

[saikaro_x]

Recently I've been very interested in possibly pursuing a career in translation/interpretation. Two languages that I would like to learn are Japanese and Arabic. I'm just wondering if anyone knows of any place that offers lessons/classes on learning either language? I know UB has a Japanese language program, but I'm just trying to explore different

Comments

[stoplabelingme]

In the very meantime while you make long term plans, there are a lot of torrents of Pimsleurs courses on tons of languages (including the two you mentioned).

The theory behind the Pimsleur method is learning grammar/vocab/pronunciation at the same time before setting in on writing to avoid developing an American accent when you speak the new language. It's actually used by government agencies to give their employees a crash course in a language.

I'm learning Mandarin and enjoying it. The cds and cassettes cost a ton of money if you buy them legitimately, but that's what internet downloading is for. :)

Good luck!

[saikaro_x]

That's pretty interesting...I guess torrenting comes in handy in other ways than just downloading music. ;)

Thanks for the heads up...I'll definitely be pursuing that. Good luck with your Mandarin. :)

[stoplabelingme]

One thing that helps me with the pronunciation of Mandarin is watching Taiwanese and mainland Chinese tv shows with subtitles. It really helps to see how different people pronounce the same word instead of just the teacher of a lesson. You also learn common abbreviations of phrases that books and lessons just don't ever mention.

www.mysoju.com Has a lot of Japanese tv shows with subs, if you choose to go that route.

[saikaro_x]

Thanks for the link! While I'm sure taking proper speaking and writing classes is very beneficial, I also think just surrounding yourself with the native language informaly such as just being around the people, watching TV & movie shows in the language, listening to songs, etc. can really help too. I remember my friend's grandfather said he became fluent in Spanish and one of the things that helped him a lot was just by listening to Spanish speaking radio stations.