DS schooling Japanese students
by James Ransom-Wiley 
{ Oct 24th 2006 at 10:30PM }
These days DS is doing a better job teaching Japanese high schoolers English than their teachers are. Since September, students at Yawata High have been taking advantage of 10-minute touch sessions with Nintendo's handheld. The language software features 1,900 vocabulary words and trains students in both writing and speech. Gotta wonder how many of these kids are sneaking a lil' Mario in on the sly ...[Via DS Fanboy]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
otakucode @ Oct 24th 2006 10:34PM
And yet my desperate pleas for some Japanese learning games for the DS (the touch screen is PERFECT for learning hiragana/katakana and kanji!) go unheard...
Mossflower @ Oct 24th 2006 10:35PM
Lol, this is amazing. There should be a game to teach us Japanese!
Skippy @ Oct 24th 2006 10:36PM
This only reinforces my belief that, in some ways, Japan is the coolest country ever.
Vlad @ Oct 24th 2006 11:01PM
not really surprising imo, seeing how well "English Training" has been selling over there for so long.
So, like #1 and 2 said, when are we going to see releases of other "training" games? I'd really like a "German Training" or "Japanese Training" thing.
btw, can you call this a "game"? A "program"? hmm.
otakucode @ Oct 24th 2006 11:17PM
If MS gets its act together and moves forward with this XNA stuff they've talked about (where is the XNA Framework with the content pipeline? Where are more plans for the Community Arcade? Where is the detailed info about how games will be approved for the Community Arcade and the revenue split?) I intend to put every fiber of my being into some Japanese-language-learning games. Sure, the market is small, and that's probably why big American publishers are too chicken to appeal to the niche, but the market is there and an independent developer could probably have a lot of fun filling that gap.
Colin @ Oct 24th 2006 11:26PM
Meanwhile my kids are told no electronics allowed at school. Freaking unionised teachers scared of a bit of technology.
driven2sin @ Oct 24th 2006 11:29PM
Yes we luv Japan.. and those school girl uniforms featured in the center of that pic.. yummy...time for the next anime con! ;)
Psaakyrn @ Oct 24th 2006 11:42PM
Seriously though, how is this better than using a laptop instead (other than costs)? This may be cheaper, but unless people continue actively developing similar programs for the DS (or Nintendo decides to suddenly invade the PDA market and somehow makes the DS compatable with Palm/WinCE/Linux), a laptop would be far better for multipurpose work usage.
Then again, I don't know much about the computing and software situation in Japan, and such programs may be more common that I suspect..
Ahms @ Oct 25th 2006 12:04AM
As a computer tech at a college, installing educational software on computers sucks. An instructor will mess something up, if a lesson is being done over Netsupport the network will screw up somehow, and just installing it all can lead to suckage too when you have 100+ computers to monitor
Having something you can just plug into a hand held and know it will work without any setup, that a user of almost any tech literacy level can understand (and being able to Link and Mario on it) is awesome! Props to Japan
Psaakyrn @ Oct 25th 2006 12:20AM
to #9 Ahms
Technically, isn't that a problem with the program itself, and not the interface? I remember last time that I had to insert a hard drive, which stores exactly the instructional programs, and nothing more. (Yes, hard drives is a little overkill, but that's not the point here) So there's no installation necessary (except for the poor IT personnel) and works exactly as it is expected to work. Surely by now someone has an equilivant which uses a CD for plug-and-play instead of a whole HD. And that should fix your problems. (along with setting uber-strict administration rights and disabling IP protocols and running of unauthorised software completely) (for ease of installation, a custom OS installation should be sufficient, I'm assuming that there should be a way to do that.)
Firefox90 @ Oct 25th 2006 12:28AM
If there was a Mandarin Chinese and Japanese language game/program for the DS, I would probably finally plop down the cash for one. If someone could properly combine some fun elements into learning languages, it would become a lot easier for me and I am sure many others. Whoever spoke of the XNA + language game/program, go for it! I am game. I've got my 360. If I could plop down in front of the couch and pound out 20-30 minutes of solid language + fun, I would be set. Seriously man, go for it!
Bob @ Oct 25th 2006 12:27AM
Funny that. I actually imported rakubekijiten DS japanese-english/english-japanese dictionary to use during my Intro Japanese Course I took at college last year. From lik-sang too course, which saddens me as of the recent news. Its actually quite useful in practicing stroke order and even when you need a quick reference. I plan on eventually importing the kanji version once I get around too it. Hopefully from Play-asia, unless of course Sony manages to shut that down too...
I simply love the fact that the DS is region free. I import one game and play it on the lite, and then stick the dictionary in the phat when I need a look-up.
But yeah, "educational" tools sure are great!
Ahms @ Oct 25th 2006 12:55AM
#10-
We use RIS and Deepfreeze :) Most errors come from the user, although sometimes it's just a terrible program design ("EZTest" by Mcgraw Hill...). There are alot of other variables too- whether the system can run it well (like with CAD/art programs), licenses, etc. Even downright retarded stuff: last semester we were told to give the basic profiles full rights "in case an instructor decides to teach from that console." You have to cope with stupidity as well
Overall though it's like comparing an installation of a game on your PC vs. a console. A console you just plug it, that's it, and doesn't require much more than that
Yardarm51 @ Oct 25th 2006 7:13PM
Please keep in mind that this is only being done at one school. I am an English teacher here in Japan and I have never heard of this being done anywhere else. I would imagine this is a private school and they are being used as a "test program" by Nintendo. By donating the units to the school they are getting some more good press. Well done. There are far more issues in the English education system here than this can solve however. Getting some better language training for the instructors would be preferable. There are no professional development days for teachers to learn new techniques etc. This is a fun looking thing but it is simply a diversion from the deeper issues the education system has.
r0Be @ Oct 25th 2006 8:05AM
Forget the PSP....
Leapfrog....PWNED!
Mark @ Oct 25th 2006 9:02AM
They should soooo release something like that in the Americas. If anyone can make learning a second language fun, it's Nintendo.
James @ Oct 25th 2006 11:20AM
now if i can only get them to actually speak english
Vilhelm Smri @ Oct 25th 2006 9:40AM
#9, Psaakyrn:
Japanese junior and senior high schools think a lot about conserving the money and wasting them on laptops doesn't fit into that policy. Also, considering the popularity of the Nintendo DS along with it's low price is a lot more appealing to the japanese than buying a laptop for the minimum amount of 50.000 yen.
Paul @ Oct 25th 2006 9:57AM
Wow, I can provide some interesting perspectives actually being in Japan ATM.
This is ONE school out Japan. Do you realize how many students are in Japan, yeah, you probably do. So don't go ape. There are US schools that use DDR for gym, but that doesn't mean even more than 10 do. It's a *rare* case that any video game would be considered for use in a Japanese curriculumn.
That said, students in my class play on their DS during school, I see at least one person a day playing. Only one PSP though.
And I will admit, I did bring my DS once. Mario Kart for the win.
As far as schooling with a DS goes though, it's one high school. Japan has crazy experimental schools too.
But we can still all love Japan
Zatch @ Oct 25th 2006 11:05AM
Are they officially called "Touch Sessions"?
hehe...
Firegirl @ Oct 25th 2006 11:10AM
Sounds like a great idea to me. The DS is cheap, easy to store, and almost every kid knows how to use one! Good thinking Japan!
Tacoman @ Oct 25th 2006 1:26PM
They have (rough) translation software out in Japan, 旅の指さし会話帳 (Travel's touch and speak phrasebook) for people that travel abroad.
Not sure how helpful it would be to a non-native Japanese (or someone who doesn't speak Japanese), but the interface consists of tapping on what you want to say in Japanese, and having it come out the speakers in the language of your choice. When I was in Japan, they had like Chinese, German, English, Thai, and Korean.
http://www.nintendo.co.jp/ds/aubj/index.html?link=txt