learning a foreign language via video games?

[skykiii]

So I learned recently there's a few video games whose stated goal was to help teach people foreign languages (in my case, of course I'm focused on Japanese).

But it sounds like all the ones that exist are kind of a mixed bag. Too many of them feel like they're just vocabulary builders, while what I would like is something that actually forces you to read full sentences.

Has anyone ever found an actually good language-learning game?

 

[AnsemSoD1]

Not a video game, but German via Professor Pericles from Mystery Incorporated

 

[LongForgotten]

You mean just learning the language? Pick a series like Yokai-Watch that has kanji with their kana readings. Do not waste your time with Pokemon or any game series that does not utilize kanji, because reading Japanese in pure kana and extracting meaning is extremely annoying.
Actually, I think most games by Level-5 could be useful for this, and they got some good variety in their catalog so maybe you'll find one you want to actually play through.

 

[Dagoth AMOGUS]

you can learn a few words as long as there are subtitles. And honestly that’s a fantastic idea because of how many kids are on the dang vidya all day

 

[#1 Hot Sauce of Kiwi Farm]

I tried looking for a game that could give you a stepping stone and I found Learn Japanese RPG: Hiragana Forbidden Speech which looks to be fairly good as it starts you off with Romaji to Hiragana.

 

[Towoman]

if all you are willing do to is play games to learn a lang then you might aswell not its a waste of time
if you are fine with studying in addition then go ahead but your progress will be dependent on your studytime(woah...)

 

[tetraterezi]

https://store.steampowered.com/app/438270/Learn_Japanese_To_Survive_Hiragana_Battle/

https://store.steampowered.com/app/554600/Learn_Japanese_To_Survive_Katakana_War/

https://store.steampowered.com/app/554600/Learn_Japanese_To_Survive_Katakana_War/

personal faves.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/274980/Influent_Language_Learning_Game/

my friend liked influent.

 

[Smaug's Smokey Hole 2]

I learned (broken) english from NES games and PC parsing games, so it's possible.

 

[Idiotron]

The "educational" games blow duck.
Real games can work just as well if not better.
Personally, I've learned English spelling from the PS1 Final Fantasy games.

 

[invisibult plus+]

I've been studying through reading and video immersion more. However, there's a game called Wagotabi that's about learning Japanese through immersion. It has a Pokemon-based style but it's designed to ease you into the language.

Do not waste your time with Pokemon or any game series that does not utilize kanji, because reading Japanese in pure kana and extracting meaning is extremely annoying.

Whichever you pick, you absolutely need the kanji. Trying to make out what words actually mean with so few syllables and so many homonyms is a pain. You can make out meaning most of the time if you have context (あめ), but kanji makes it so much clearer.

 

[Sloppy Party Bottom]

i learned hebrew by playing the fappy games on steam.

 

[Sparkletor 2.0]

GTA: San Andreas. That's how I learned to talk nigger. Now Sparkletor always down to put in work for da set.

 

[User names must be unique]

Maybe for learning grammar, for learning words flash cards are undefeated AFAIK.

 

[Tate McRae]

Just play one of the foreign language Pokemon ROMs like in French or Spanish.

 

[SIMIΔN]

Has anyone ever found an actually good language-learning game?

Cyberpunk 2077
It has a Japanese dub (and many other languages).
If you have the interface in Japanese too, then it's a challenge picking the right option.

 

[The Cheese Aisle]

I don't know of any games that teach languages, specifically, but this youtube channel- and this specific video- is a pretty good resource for learning Japanese via games.

 

[SSj_Ness (Yiffed)]

I thought about it, but I don't know how effective it'd be. You'd probably at least need to grasp the basics first through traditional methods, then you can hone it through gaming.

 

[Metallic Blood]

I did learn English by playing Final Fantasy Tactics enough times as a kid. So idk, it's possible.

browsing English forums with an archaic Google translate also helped quite a lot too.

 

[MercuryDrinker]

The best way to learn languages is through exposure. Movies, books, music, news, video games, twitter posts, doesn't really matter. It just takes willpower to make it a routine. You won't learn if you don't force yourself everyday to get into contact with the language. That's what stops most people from learning a language. As for what video games would be best in order to learn a language, I would argue that text heavy games (RPGs, Text adventures, VNs, ect) are among the best. Not only do you see how the words are written and can easily check them out, if they are voiced you can hear how they are pronounced. Also, don't turn on english subtitles. Taking time to check a word you don't understand, will make it easier to memorise.

 

[Aesthetic Liminal Pool]

Maybe for learning grammar, for learning words flash cards are undefeated AFAIK.

There's always both, looking up words you find ingame (along with a screenshot of it for context) and then making an Anki deck for them. I think it worked for me as I started spending significantly less time looking up/trying to remember the word when I encountered it again, your mileage may vary though.