New Japanese games at the LRC

Recently I have been working with David Shultz and John Beals at the Language Resource Center to expand our range of available software for Japanese language practice, and one of our plans has just come to fruition. The LRC has just ordered four Nintendo DS game systems. Legend of Zelda anyone?

Seriously, though, why DS? Well, for one thing DS software is non-region specific, so software purchased in Japan can be used on a device purchased in the US. For another, the DS is HUGE in Japan so there is lots of available software. Also, the input system for the DS is a stylus you use to write on the screen, meaning you can write kanji, etc. directly onto the screen and have it be recognized. And finally, Japan is years ahead of the US in using game systems in innovative ways, creating software for non-gamers, etc. The range of software available for the DS in Japan is massive, including everything from cooking instruction, to readings in world literature, to home finance... to Japanese practice.

Yes, even Japanese people have to practice their Japanese and their kanji too. Among the dozens of “kentei” official certification exams every year are the Nihongo nôryoku shiken (“Test of Japanese Proficiency,” aimed at foreign speakers of Japanese), the Nihongo kentei (“Goken” – “Certification Test of Japanese Language,” aimed at native Japanese speakers and focused on proper language usage) and the Nihon kanji nôryoku kentei (“Kanken” – “Certification Test of Japanese Kanji Proficiency”), each with multiple levels from Novice to Expert. You don’t take a standardized test and get a certain score, as with the SAT or ACT, but rather you attempt a certain level of the exam and either pass and then move on to the next level, or fail and try again next year (much like Japanese university entrance exams). Sometimes these tests are used in the same way the SAT or ACT tests are used in the US, as a test of ability in certain fields that is independent of individual schools (even going down to elementary school level). And sometimes they are a requirement for certain professions. But sometimes, people just take them to see how good they are... and that’s lucky for us, since there are hundreds of DS games available to practice for them. Most of them are aimed at native speakers so they tend to be a bit high level and assume a certain level of Japanese (such as some kanji readings) that may not be there for second language learners, but I think they’ll be both helpful and fun. Here are the ones we’ve purchased for the LRC:

Tadashii Kanji Kakitori-kun: Kondo wa Kanken Taisaku Dayo!
(“Correct Kanji Writer kun – This time the challenge is Kanken!”)
The first Tadashii Kanji Kakitori-kun DS game was aimed at elementary school students, and focused on the “general use” kanji. This follow up is, as the name suggests, expanded to help users practice for the Kanken, the Kanji certification test. The game has levels to help study kanji appropriate for the Level 10 exam (1st year of elementary school) all the way up to Level 2 (high school graduate level kanji). It helps the user learn the correct way to write the kanji and then tests using quizzes, mini-games, etc., with the user writing in the correct kanji directly with the stylus. The program checks both the kanji itself as well as the proper stroke order, something which is often lacking in second-language learners but which is REALLY important to making your kanji look right. I couldn’t find a review of this new version, but a review of the old one is here.

Kanken DS2
Not as creative a title, but the same basic aim as the one above. This is one is much more oriented toward the exams themselves, and are divided up into the same types of categories that the test is, including reading, writing, radicals, and on/kun readings. This game also includes a kanji dictionary, and since even unknown kanji can be written using the stylus it can be easier to use than our other dictionaries, though it only includes the 1,945 “general use” kanji and is thus not as complete as a full dictionary. There’s a review of it here and you can watch the Japanese TV commercial for it on YouTube.

Hissatsu Kung Fu: Kanji Dragon
All the excitement of an old kung fu movie, combined with the thrill of kanji acquisition. As the son of a martial arts master, you must use your family’s secret weapon, the Kanji Fist, to defeat those who would destroy your dôjô. Defeat your foes by writing the correct kanji, the correct reading of a kanji, a synonym or antonym of a given kanji, the proper radical, etc. The kanji get harder as the foes get stronger. This might be a game that’s better suited to kanji review rather than learning new kanji, but the game system should keep it interesting. The main promotional site is all in Japanese, but it’s interesting and here’s a review in English.

Nihongo kentei DS
While the other three above are focused on kanji, this one is more general, as a preparation tool for the Test of Japanese Proficiency (Nihongo kentei). It does include kanji, but also grammar, vocabulary, definitions, formal speech, etc. Like the Kanken study tools, it is also divided by level, from the Level 6 exam (mid- to late- elementary school level) up to Level 1 (college graduates). The questions are quite challenging but hey, isn’t that why you’re studying? I haven’t found an English review of this one, but you can take a look at the Japanese official site if you like.

Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
What, you thought I was kidding when I said we should play Legend of Zelda? Well, it’s not quite that easy of course. This is the Japanese version. And if you want to get through this Zelda, you’re going to have to do quite a bit of Japanese reading. Luckily, the game includes an automatic kanji lookup, which lets you view the reading of any kanji. Check out this video of how it works. Even if you’re just wandering around the world confused, at least you’ll be improving your language... hmmm... just like living in Japan.

For now we’ve ordered four devices and four copies of each game. And for now, I won’t be trying to integrate them into the curriculum... they’re just for extra practice. But please try them out, and let me know what works, what doesn’t, what you like about them, etc. If it turns out they’re useful, we may start expanding the collection.