|
 |
Japanesepod101 - usefulness? | ||
Tags: Usefulness | ||
Share with:
| ||
 Language Learning Forum : Language Programs, Books & Tapes |  | |
| dampingwire Bilingual Triglot Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 4663 days ago 1185 posts - 1513 votes  Speaks: English*, Italian*, French Studies: Japanese | Message 1 of 5 23 May 2012 at 9:21am | IP Logged |
|
I'm thinking about getting a subscription to Japanesepod101. I've seen various comments
floating around here but spread all over the place and I'm having difficulty getting a sense of what it really might be like. I've tried the free lessons and they seem quite good (which, I guess, is what you would expect). I'm just about to complete Pimsleur Japanese III and I'll need some new (comprehensible) audio material for my commute in the car. Will JPOD provide that? Assuming I work through all the lessons, where would that get me (A2, B1, nowhere?). Obviously I'll not be relying on JPOD alone, I don't even expect it to be my main source of grammar. What I do want is plenty of comprehensible audio (with a transcipt, if possible). Any and all reviews gratefully received. 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Arekkusu Hexaglot Senior Member Canada bit.ly/qc_10_lec Joined 5379 days ago 3971 posts - 7747 votes Speaks: English, French*, GermanC1, Spanish, Japanese, Esperanto Studies: Italian, Norwegian, Mandarin, Romanian, Estonian | Message 2 of 5 23 May 2012 at 5:00pm | IP Logged |
|
I love Japanesepod101! Try them, you can't go wrong. I haven't been using them lately, but I should. When I began, I really enjoyed them and they provided an excellent introduction to the real language.
If you work through all the lessons...? I don't think that's possible, there are so many! It would get you to C1, I'd say. At least potentially. What you do with that information depends a lot. 2 persons have voted this message useful | |
| jdmoncada Tetraglot Senior Member United States Joined 5032 days ago 470 posts - 741 votes Speaks: English*, German, Spanish, Finnish Studies: Russian, Japanese | Message 3 of 5 23 May 2012 at 5:19pm | IP Logged |
|
I have opinions, and I hope I can make them concise.
I have used the 3 phases of Pimsleur Japanese, and it did me well to get speaking. It's really a great jumping off point. I started the Innovative Language Learning podcasts with JapanesePod101. It's the flagship podcast, and in my opinion it is the best one they offer. I also use/have used their podcasts for Spanish, German, French and Russian. Though all the podcasts have the same basic format, I feel the Japanese ones are just better than the rest. With the other languages I study, I am often so utterly frustrated with the native English speaking hosts that I want to throw things. Perhaps they are trying to be charming and demonstrate the typical questions a learner would ask. Instead, they can seem to be bumbling idiots instead of competent hosts who can help me learn a language. (Yes, I'm looking at you, some of the people from the French and Russian podcasts!) In contrast, the Japanese speaking hosts (native and non) all seem to have a great rapport with each other, and none of the native English speakers behave in ways that are particularly annoying or idiotic. The podcast will help your listening comprehension. It does use real day to day language examples of friends talking, and not just formal language. It will teach both and let you know which situations demand which level of respect. If you want to pay to get the PDFs, that can help your reading comprehension. That is assuming you already recognize hiragana and katakana, as well as some kanji. The reading is not necessarily essential since the focus is listening and speaking. You could use the voice recording tool to help yourself with your accent (comparing wave forms). That only comes with the paid service. You could get something like that in other places, though, so I wouldn't pay just for this. The thing about this podcast is that to succeed with what it gives you, you must seek out ways to actively use the knowledge. It would seem to be the nature of all podcasts, since they are inherently exercising passive language skills. Your choice of how you actively use it depends on your preferred ways of study and interaction. I personally did not get a subscription. The cost is not expensive, but I was tight with my money. I had been buying from Audible audiobooks that included all the pdf files. Then I later got a free one week subscription where all the archives are open and downloaded everything I didn't already have. Now I keep up with it, still for free, by using Google Reader. (It can also be done by iTunes, too, if you use that.) 2 persons have voted this message useful | |
| g-bod Diglot Senior Member United KingdomRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5980 days ago 1485 posts - 2002 votes Speaks: English*, Japanese Studies: French, German | Message 4 of 5 23 May 2012 at 7:39pm | IP Logged |
|
I think it's a good resource let down a bit by a ridiculous marketing strategy. It is definitely worth paying for a one month basic subscription and taking a look at what is there. The podcasts are not DRMed so you don't lose anything you download once the subscription is up.
It has a massive library of podcasts and I think if you tried listening to them all you'd end up spending too long on basic material, so make sure to move to the next level as soon as you start feeling a bit too comfortable. I also think that the quality of the podcasts varies according to when they were made. The oldest ones are naturally rather rough until found their feet, e.g. the first few episodes in Beginner Season 1 or Intermediate, although both of those seasons end up developing into pretty good offerings. They did seem to hit a bit of a sweet spot a few years ago with some very good podcasts but I have been disappointed by the more recent ones. 3 persons have voted this message useful | |
| Arekkusu Hexaglot Senior Member Canada bit.ly/qc_10_lec Joined 5379 days ago 3971 posts - 7747 votes Speaks: English, French*, GermanC1, Spanish, Japanese, Esperanto Studies: Italian, Norwegian, Mandarin, Romanian, Estonian | Message 5 of 5 23 May 2012 at 7:44pm | IP Logged |
|
jdmoncada has a point that the hosts' interaction can be a bit annoying at times. And very annoying at others. However, it's hard to know how dense the information would be without it.
g-bod also has a point that their marketing can be a bit off-putting. Another negative is that, at least when I last looked, they had so many lessons and seasons that it's hard to navigate. Just pick a season and so be it. 4 persons have voted this message useful |
If you wish to post a reply to this topic you must first login. If you are not already registered you must first register
|  | 
Printable version
|
| Copyright 2024 FX Micheloud - All rights reserved No part of this website may be copied by any means without my written authorization. |
