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Did you ever used games to learn new languages?
- Thread starter justiceiro
- Start date
FingerBang
Member
I did not use any specific game to learn a specific language, but as a child in a non speaking county, I was initially forced to play many games in English since localization wasn't a bit thing until the late 90s.
I remember not only playing games, but also downloading/printing guides from GameFAQ.
I also played a ton of games in Japanese when living there. Most of the Yakuza games from 3 onwards. Not something I'd recommend as a learning experience tho
I remember not only playing games, but also downloading/printing guides from GameFAQ.
I also played a ton of games in Japanese when living there. Most of the Yakuza games from 3 onwards. Not something I'd recommend as a learning experience tho
頑張れ！
A.Romero
Member
As many have described my brother and I both learned English through video games.
Eventually I went to live to an English speaking country but my brother never traveled. By playing counter strike he achieved such a good handle on the language that he became an interpreter/translator and lived out of that for several years.
The dude is a genius. Too bad he is a victim of ADHD and it has made very difficult for him to exploit his full potential.
Eventually I went to live to an English speaking country but my brother never traveled. By playing counter strike he achieved such a good handle on the language that he became an interpreter/translator and lived out of that for several years.
The dude is a genius. Too bad he is a victim of ADHD and it has made very difficult for him to exploit his full potential.
Unfortunatecookie
Member
Well I can already speak multiple languages, but Japanese games — thanks to Sony and Nintendo — didn't really motivate me to learn Japanese.
The future of linguistics is really just live-translation through an app/service. So as bad as this might sound, we're strolling into a world where we don't have to learn another language.
The future of linguistics is really just live-translation through an app/service. So as bad as this might sound, we're strolling into a world where we don't have to learn another language.
Bartski
Member
I learned English on the Amiga 500 and in a way it saved my life.
It started with the C64 really, but after moving to the Amiga I got obsessed with point-and-click games and finished every single one there was on the platform, till about '96. I mean all of them. My biggest loves were Lucasfilm and Sierra, and I vividly remember having two giant dictionaries open at all times, trying to figure out quests as walkthroughs only came in paper mags, which were often impossible to get. My parents took notice and got me taking lessons (I was around 10 y/o). Fast forward to high school, I was always the best in class and a "country language school olympics" finalist 4 times in a row. That actually saved me from getting kicked out of school, as I was a hippy smoking and selling pot, getting into all kinds of trouble, also with the cops. So my headmaster's dream was to get rid of me, but he couldn't, as such contests had a big role in school ranking and money from the MoE, which made me too valuable for their stats. Without the Amiga I would likely never have gone to college and would probably be dead by now, slinging dope or worse.
It started with the C64 really, but after moving to the Amiga I got obsessed with point-and-click games and finished every single one there was on the platform, till about '96. I mean all of them. My biggest loves were Lucasfilm and Sierra, and I vividly remember having two giant dictionaries open at all times, trying to figure out quests as walkthroughs only came in paper mags, which were often impossible to get. My parents took notice and got me taking lessons (I was around 10 y/o). Fast forward to high school, I was always the best in class and a "country language school olympics" finalist 4 times in a row. That actually saved me from getting kicked out of school, as I was a hippy smoking and selling pot, getting into all kinds of trouble, also with the cops. So my headmaster's dream was to get rid of me, but he couldn't, as such contests had a big role in school ranking and money from the MoE, which made me too valuable for their stats. Without the Amiga I would likely never have gone to college and would probably be dead by now, slinging dope or worse.
Dazraell
Member
Yeah, I'm not a native speaker and when I was a kid majority of games were available only in English. One of my favorite memories of learning the language was playing point'n'click adventure games and checking the English dictionary what specific words means to solve puzzles lol
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Toots
Gold Member
Used Xenogears to learn english actually. I had my french/english dictionnary next to me, and just searched for the words i did not know.
Best way of learning ever and i was much more efficient in english than those pesky top students that memorized the lessons. They could not understand i had better grades than them when i was middle of the class in most other subjects and it pissed them off endlessly
Best way of learning ever and i was much more efficient in english than those pesky top students that memorized the lessons. They could not understand i had better grades than them when i was middle of the class in most other subjects and it pissed them off endlessly
Kusarigama
Member
I learned English mostly from movies, tv shows and video games.
I remember when my English was still very poor, I got stuck in Harry Potter and chamber of secrets for PS1 as I did not know what I was asked to do by Ron Weasley's mother.
I remember when my English was still very poor, I got stuck in Harry Potter and chamber of secrets for PS1 as I did not know what I was asked to do by Ron Weasley's mother.
Viruz
Member
It's hard when you start with games like this.Yes , used games yo learn English , started with this :
Therefore My English sucks
Valonquar
Member
Learned a lot of Japanese playing PS1 RPGs. The absolute worst was getting most of the way through Breath of Fire III and mis-translating "Patience is a Virtue" that was part of one of the final dungeons. You were supposed to just stand there and not press anything when the message appeared on the screen. If you did ANYTHING, a trap opened and dropped you into a pit with lots of high level enemies and it was a long trek back up.
Most JRPGs were very playable since all the menus were essentially in English once you could read Katakana.
The toughest to translate was Brave Fencer Musashiden. Nearly everything was in Kanji.
Most JRPGs were very playable since all the menus were essentially in English once you could read Katakana.
The toughest to translate was Brave Fencer Musashiden. Nearly everything was in Kanji.
struggler_guts
Member
mother 1 helped me learn a lot of new vocabulary in Japanese 
Euler007
Member
The games were part of it, but I learned english reading Nintendo Power, PC Gamer and PC Magazine. I basically scored near perfect grades throughout high school in my english class and was with native english speakers in my post secondary classes (not sure why they let the Australians in though).