I'm studying abroad in Japan right now and my commute is about 2 hours both ways to school. I want to do something like study with a spaced repetition system on the train, but I'm wondering what I should get.

I was considering an iPod touch, since then I can get both Anki and a free version on wwwjdic on the same device, and it's quite portable (I can use it in the palm of one hand while using the other to hold the handhold).

However, would a real denshi jisho be a better purchase? I'm afraid that wwwjdic will become insufficient, and I'll need a more hardcore dictionary. However, I haven't heard of any denshi jishos that have a build in spaced repetition system.

What are your suggestions?

There are pro dictionaries on the appstore for ipod touch/iphone too.

With an iPod touch you will easily be able to upgrade your dictionary app once you outgrow it. There are hundreds of J-E, E-J and J-J dictionaries on the App Store, and some are reviewed in threads here, for example: http://forum.koohii.com/showthread.php?tid=4297

I personally think iPod touch or iPhone are a perfect language learning companion device - there is just so much flexibility in the wealth of apps in the App Store. It's also a great way to interact with Japanese content on the go, such as anime, music, games, newspapers, etc.

I don't have one, but an iPod/iPhone is definitely the way to go. Especially because of all the other stuff you can do with it, as well.

You could also get a Nintendo DS too, if you wanted, and do some homebrew stuff with it. It's nowhere near as good as an iPod/iPhone, but if you've already got a DS, you might consider looking into it.

Start up conversations with cute girls to get some speaking practice in.

bodhisamaya Wrote:Start up conversations with cute girls to get some speaking practice in.

This.

"I'm surrounded by native speakers for 2 hours every morning and evening. What sort of software can I plug myself into in order to get in some real learning during this time?"

I'd say go with an iPhone or iTouch though the iPad may be an even better choice assuming the following work:

1. Anki - Damien is creating a non-Jailbreak version. Great chance to review.

2. iBunko - Imagine having ANY book at your finger tip. Great way to spend time during a long commute. Can be used without Jailbreak.

3. iComic - Imagine reading ANY manga at your finger tip. Great way to spend time during a long commute. Can be used without Jailbreak.

4. 大辞林 - All the benefits of any 20,000 yen electronic dictionary at 1/10th the cost.

5. Movies/TV shows - Imagine watching ANY Japanese show at your finger tip. Combine with a subtitle app to increase the learning pleasure.

In addition, I've been looking for a subtitle app that can be used in conjunction with playing audio. Now, it's not for lyrics to songs. I want it so subs will play for the audio I ripped from various dramas. If such an app exists (or gets made) you have one more cool reason to get an Apple product.

Don't forget, read Manga and Japanese books on the commute. Practice your handwriting on the train also. Don't forget to strike up conversations with Japanese ladies (well, ok, you can talk to guys too).

Nukemarine Wrote:2. iBunko - Imagine having ANY book at your finger tip. Great way to spend time during a long commute. Can be used without Jailbreak.

I kind of want to get an iPad just for the iPad-specific version of iBunko. Aside from the fact that it just plain looks beautiful, you can, at any point, select a word from a text and instantly pull up a Google, Wikipedia, or Yahoo! 辞書 search on it. And it works as a comic viewer now.

Nukemarine Wrote:5. Movies/TV shows - Imagine watching ANY Japanese show at your finger tip. Combine with a subtitle app to increase the learning pleasure.

How do you do this?

Almost every movie/drama/anime I have is an AVI and Handbrake can't handle it.

Mcjon01 Wrote:

Nukemarine Wrote:2. iBunko - Imagine having ANY book at your finger tip. Great way to spend time during a long commute. Can be used without Jailbreak.

I kind of want to get an iPad just for the iPad-specific version of iBunko. Aside from the fact that it just plain looks beautiful, you can, at any point, select a word from a text and instantly pull up a Google, Wikipedia, or Yahoo! 辞書 search on it. And it works as a comic viewer now.

Yes, it is a beautiful text viewer. Black text on a yellow background is just a mellow feeling, probably one of the reason I like reading posts on this forum (thanks Fabrice). Hell, I'm sure there's a way to let it view text horizontally for non-Japanese based texts making it an even better choice all around.

By the way, what are the steps to select texts to look up definitions? I've got it set to access the various dictionaries, but I'm not able to highlight texts.

@Seth,

There are a few video to iPhone converters out there in addition I think there are some subtitle apps that can be used in conjunction with the video after it's on the iPhone/iTouch.

sethg Wrote:

Nukemarine Wrote:5. Movies/TV shows - Imagine watching ANY Japanese show at your finger tip. Combine with a subtitle app to increase the learning pleasure.

How do you do this?

Almost every movie/drama/anime I have is an AVI and Handbrake can't handle it.

If you're on a Mac you can use the free iSquint to easily convert to iPod/iPhone formats...
http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/19769/isquint

Or there's Videora, for Windows and Mac: http://www.videora.com/en-us/Converter/iPhone/

Nukemarine Wrote:By the way, what are the steps to select texts to look up definitions? I've got it set to access the various dictionaries, but I'm not able to highlight texts.

Hold your finger down on the screen, it will bring up a box which allows you to use arrow buttons to select the beginning and end character of the word/phrase to look up. Hit the google/wikipedia/external app link you've set in the settings to switch to that app. It works really well with iDict+ and Daijirin.

bflatnine Wrote:

bodhisamaya Wrote:Start up conversations with cute girls to get some speaking practice in.

This.

"I'm surrounded by native speakers for 2 hours every morning and evening. What sort of software can I plug myself into in order to get in some real learning during this time?"

You'll be lucky, pretty much only schoolkids speak on trains here (In Tokyo anyway).

If you can get a seat then you can use a netbook quite easily. I have a denshi jisho but don't use it for anything other than looking up words. Otherwise reading manga / books is good and WRP kanji flashcards. In fact the few times people have spoken to me on trains has been about the flashcards/learning kanji

caivano Wrote:

bflatnine Wrote:

bodhisamaya Wrote:Start up conversations with cute girls to get some speaking practice in.

This.

"I'm surrounded by native speakers for 2 hours every morning and evening. What sort of software can I plug myself into in order to get in some real learning during this time?"

You'll be lucky, pretty much only schoolkids speak on trains here (In Tokyo anyway).

Exactly. As someone who had a 45 minute commute, I got on the train every morning at 7:30am and it was dead silent. Not a word out of anyone. Trying to start a conversation with the person next to me would have been extremely out of place. The maybe 2 times in a year that I heard someone talking it was grandmas that happened to get on the train together. Though I suppose the the two people that spoke in sign language almost every day together kind of count...

I tried to read manga/books or listen to music. Additionally you can use Handbrake to rip movies for your iPod, which I also did. To be honest, in the morning I often slept- like everyone else.

I start up a conversation with someone on the train almost every day and so far have only met with enthusiasm from Japanese people. Scan the area as you get on the train for someone who would be most open to a chat. College students or anyone with an English textbook in their hand seem to be the most enthusiastic respondents. Most Japanese people do just remain quiet on the train sleeping, reading or typing on their cell phone, but if you scan the train for someone with a positive vibe, then sit or stand next to them, they (for me so far anyways) generally seem over-joyed with having a conversation with a foreigner who knows a little Japanese.

Blahah Wrote:

Nukemarine Wrote:By the way, what are the steps to select texts to look up definitions? I've got it set to access the various dictionaries, but I'm not able to highlight texts.

Hold your finger down on the screen, it will bring up a box which allows you to use arrow buttons to select the beginning and end character of the word/phrase to look up. Hit the google/wikipedia/external app link you've set in the settings to switch to that app. It works really well with iDict+ and Daijirin.

Thanks, I'll do a little searching to see if I can get it to work with Kotoba also. I tried @s#@r and search?text=@s#@r for kotoba but so far can only bring up the app without the word being sent. Worst case scenario is I ask the developer what's the best way to query the program.

Thanks again. My iTouch has become much more useful in the last 6 weeks than in the last year. Sigh.

bodhisamaya Wrote:I start up a conversation with someone on the train almost every day and so far have only met with enthusiasm from Japanese people. Scan the area as you get on the train for someone who would be most open to a chat. College students or anyone with an English textbook in their hand seem to be the most enthusiastic respondents. Most Japanese people do just remain quiet on the train sleeping, reading or typing on their cell phone, but if you scan the train for someone with a positive vibe, then sit or stand next to them, they (for me so far anyways) generally seem over-joyed with having a conversation with a foreigner who knows a little Japanese.

You live in Kansai, don't you? Very different vibe from the trains in Tokyo...
Wonder where the original poster is living.

sethg Wrote:

Nukemarine Wrote:5. Movies/TV shows - Imagine watching ANY Japanese show at your finger tip. Combine with a subtitle app to increase the learning pleasure.

How do you do this?

Almost every movie/drama/anime I have is an AVI and Handbrake can't handle it.

Try ffmpegX (on OSX). It's slightly fiddly to set up, but works well.

avparker Wrote:

sethg Wrote:

Nukemarine Wrote:5. Movies/TV shows - Imagine watching ANY Japanese show at your finger tip. Combine with a subtitle app to increase the learning pleasure.

How do you do this?

Almost every movie/drama/anime I have is an AVI and Handbrake can't handle it.

Try ffmpegX (on OSX). It's slightly fiddly to set up, but works well.

ffmpegX is the best video conversion library by far. For linux too (ffmpeg). Videora uses ffmpegX and makes it look pretty.

Haha, my commute is like おばあさん and salary man only. Also, it's rush hour, so it's really packed. I never see anyone talking to anyone else. I don't see how I could start a conversation without it being really awkward (this is coming from a guy who always tries to talk to every Japanese person he sees at サークル, clubs, etc.).


If I buy an iPod touch here in Japan, will there be any problems when I bring it back home?

MeisterLlama Wrote:If I buy an iPod touch here in Japan, will there be any problems when I bring it back home?

Yes, people with lesser devices will envy you. Other than that, no.

I use my commute to do most of my Anki reviews, I can focus much better and generally go through them faster than on my computer. It frees up a lot of time that can be spent on other stuff or learning.

You would probably get the wrong power plug, so you'll have to rebuy that if you really want your iPod on a dock. Otherwise you can just use the USB cable to charge it with your computer, like most people do anyways

I would buy a netbook and install anki on it.

Rekkusu Wrote:You would probably get the wrong power plug, so you'll have to rebuy that if you really want your iPod on a dock. Otherwise you can just use the USB cable to charge it with your computer, like most people do anyways

iPods haven't come with AC adaptors for many years, ever since they lost firewire support (and possibly before).

ocircle Wrote:I would buy a netbook and install anki on it.

I'd like to see someone trying to use a netbook while standing on a packed train, or while standing at all really. Battery life is also pretty poor compared to iPod/iPhone, they're heavier, they can't be easily pulled out of a pocket for a few seconds of reps and put away quickly, they're more expensive, and they can't really do much extra that you'd want to do on-the-go.

It's like buying a backhoe to drive to work every day. Yeah it has more functions than a hatchback, but do you really need them and is it worth all of the downsides?

Probably the only pro that netbooks have is that they support more than just mp4 for video. Batch converting video is pretty simple (and automated) if that's something you're interested in though.