Basic Japanese Complete Course: Cassette/Book Package (LL(R) Complete Basic Courses) [Audio Cassette]

Living Language (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 16, 1998 | ISBN-10: 0609602780 | ISBN-13: 978-0609602782 | Edition: Cas & Book

Speak Japanese with confidence in just 6 weeks!

Living Language Japanese Complete Course is a step-by-step guide to the basics of Japanese conversation and grammar. This revised course uses the highly effective speed-learning method developed by U.S. government experts to teach foreign languages to overseas-bound servicemen and diplomats.

40 lessons on two 90-minute cassettes
Begin with simple words and phrases and progress to more complex expressions. Just listen and repeat after the native speakers. Only Japanese is spoken on the recordings, so you learn naturally, the way you learned English. The accompanying Japanese Coursebook includes the English translations.

Japanese Coursebook
The pocket-size book contains all the translated phrases from the recorded lessons, plus additional vocabulary, detailed explanations, and quizzes.

The book also features verb charts with all tenses included and a comprehensive summary of Japanese grammar.

Japanese -English/English-Japanese Dictionary
More than 20,000 words are defined.
Idiomatic expressions and common phrases show how words are used in everyday conversation. The dictionary doubles as a phrasebook.
1,000 of the most frequently used words are highlighted for easy reference.

The best-selling language course that really works--revised, updated, and expanded!

For Beginners or Those Who Want a Thorough Review

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

Speak Japanese with confidence in just 6 weeks!

Living Language Japanese Complete Course is a step-by-step guide to the basics of Japanese conversation and grammar. This revised course uses the highly effective speed-learning method developed by U.S. government experts to teach foreign languages to overseas-bound servicemen and diplomats.

40 lessons on two 90-minute cassettes
Begin with simple words and phrases and progress to more complex expressions. Just listen and repeat after the native speakers. Only Japanese is spoken on the recordings, so you learn naturally, the way you learned English. The accompanying Japanese Coursebook includes the English translations.

Japanese Coursebook
The pocket-size book contains all the translated phrases from the recorded lessons, plus additional vocabulary, detailed explanations, and quizzes.

The book also features verb charts with all tenses included and a comprehensive summary of Japanese grammar.

Japanese -English/English-Japanese Dictionary
More than 20,000 words are defined.
Idiomatic expressions and common phrases show how words are used in everyday conversation. The dictionary doubles as a phrasebook.
1,000 of the most frequently used words are highlighted for easy reference.

The best-selling language course that really works--revised, updated, and expanded!

For Beginners or Those Who Want a Thorough Review

Product Details

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: Living Language; Cas & Book edition (June 16, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0609602780
• ISBN-13: 978-0609602782
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 4.7 x 2.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,851,179 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #26 in Books > Books on Cassette > Languages > Japanese

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars It's Useful for the Very Basics, but..., December 25, 2001

By 

Wendy Peacock (Orlando, FL United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Basic Japanese Complete Course: Cassette/Book Package (LL(R) Complete Basic Courses) (Audio Cassette)

This is the book set I started with a year ago when I started learning Japanese. I have since looked at many basic grammar books, and I hesitate to say that this is the very best. It starts out slow and teaches the very basics of Japanese grammar very well, but once you get into topics like conjunctions, conditional phrases, etc., which I consider to still be basic grammar topics, the book starts to lack.

It starts introducing conjuctions and particles as footnotes, instead of giving them proper treatment in a lesson. It introduces some speech patterns without explaining them at all. I was getting frustrated with the lessons, until I got to the real meat of the book, Lesson 40, which calls itself a grammar review, but introduces and explains many things that were not explained at all earlier in the book.

I did learn from this book, so I will give it 3 stars, and I still use the last lesson for reference, so it's not all bad. Just expect to graduate for this book still having the need for a more in-depth coverage of the language. I recommend the Power Japanese books for a number of more advanced topics.

As for writing, as others have mentioned, it does have an introduction to hirigana and katakana, and writing charts, but never actually uses it in book examples. This book actually never claimed to be designed for learning written language; I practiced by writing vocabulary and examples from the book on my own.

The dictionary included is somewhat small, but not terribly so; I still find it very useful. The CDs are okay, but I also listened to Japanese radio stations through the Internet to practice picking out words I knew and didn't use them too much.

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You must study, March 24, 2000

By 

Steffan Piper (Palm Desert, CA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Basic Japanese Complete Course: Cassette/Book Package (LL(R) Complete Basic Courses) (Audio Cassette)

I purchased this book and have gone through every page. I didn't think about reviewing it, until I realized my own ability in another language. First, there is a lot of material in this package. The Cd's are worth the money, no question. The workbook though, all by itself is the best aid i've seen in hepling you to learn. I try to keep this with me at all times for standing in line etc., but usually my hands are way to full in some places. Most language texts are convuluted and distorted and actually interfere with the process. I enjoyed this very much. What more can you say about a text book?