Complete Japanese: The Basics (CD) (Complete Basic Courses) [Large Print, Unabridged] [Hardcover]

Living Language (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 12, 2005 | ISBN-10: 1400021480 | ISBN-13: 978-1400021482 | Edition: Unabridged

The top-selling Complete series has been fully revised, with all new supplemental material and a bonus wallet phrase card for travelers. Each program contains everything a beginner needs—a coursebook with 40 lessons, three hours of recordings on three CDs, a quick-reference learner’s dictionary, and an all-new indispensable wallet phrase card, all in a convenient and compact package.

The courses still use the popular and effective conversation building-block method, but all content has been thoroughly updated and now includes e-mail essentials and internet resources for each of the eight languages in the series. In addition, 18 supplemental vocabulary sections, covering such topics as “Family and Relationships,” “On the Job,” “Sports and Recreation,” and “Around Town,” are now included. As an added bonus, the new handy wallet phrase card with 300 essential words and phrases is the perfect reference for on-the-go learners, travelers, and businesspeople.

With a fresh look, great new features, and the same rock-solid approach to language learning, the best-selling Complete series is better than ever!

Product Details

• Hardcover: 223 pages
• Publisher: Living Language; Unabridged edition (July 12, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1400021480
• ISBN-13: 978-1400021482
• Product Dimensions: 5.1 x 2.2 x 7.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,753,101 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Helpful but not perfect, October 2, 2005

By 

Timothy Daiss, M.A. (Metro-Manila, Philippines (Atlanta, GA USA)) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Complete Japanese: The Basics (CD) (Complete Basic Courses) (Hardcover)

I am in the process of studying Japanese to prepare for living in Tokyo next year. Learning Japanese through the Living Language series is helpful but also has some drawbacks. The biggest drawback is that the writers fail to include pronunciation helps in the text itself, however they do indeed provide native Japanese speakers to help in the accompanying three CDs. Also, they spend the first four or five lessons on various grammatical topics, which can actually be a little confusing when trying to learn a new language. Other language series jump into learning words and phrases by repetition, citing the fact that to really learn any new language you must practice repeating it over and over out loud and not worry at first about grammar and syntax. That being said, I will seek to finish the 40 lesson in this course and hope it better prepare me for my year that will be spend in Japan.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good place to start..., October 16, 2006

By 

Simon Magus (Japan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Complete Japanese: The Basics (CD) (Complete Basic Courses) (Hardcover)

When I was preparing to leave for Japan this was the first book I picked up to help with my language preparation. Imagine how surprised I was to find out when I got there and use some of the phrases on my new Japanese friends they said "Yes, we understand what you want to say but that's not what real Japanese people say." Later on in my study, my Japanese friend found the book, got a pen, and started changing the phrases around to suit a more natural style.

In short; this book is a good starting off point for learning Japanese but in no way should be considered modern or comprehensive.

IMPORTANT NOTE! If your are going to get this book, make sure you are getting the CD's too. Japanese in a language where the vowel sounds are totally different from English and a long vowel sound can totally change the meaning of a word. (EG. The words "hospital" and "hair salon" in Japanese have VERY similar pronunciation, you need to hear the words spoken it to produce it correctly.)

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good book for beginners, July 23, 2006

By 

saa (Mass) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Complete Japanese: The Basics (CD) (Complete Basic Courses) (Hardcover)

I started this course book and cd collection and I really like it. Unlike most tutorials it starts off with the basics of grammer: understanding vowel and consonant pronounciation. Starts off with everyday words for each, very short lesson to show you how to pronounce all the vowels and consonants and then you listen to the CD after every lesson to hear exactly what you are reading. Just like learning our own native language it teaches everyday words first, just like we learned apple, Monday, dollar etc first and then sentences. It also explains syllabary. I've picked up many tutorials trying to learn Japanese and so far this has been the easiest to understand and relate to. It's not repition from a tape/CD it's actual learning how to understand and speak it. THEN you can go on to learning kana, kanji,writing etc. Some complaints I read is that it doesn't use the Japanese characters or real-world sentences and situations. Well this is like learning in elementary school. You learn letters, then the words, then the sentences and essays and so on. You don't just jump into writing long words and sentences when you don't even know how to read yet. My only complaint is that with this and all the tutorials is that it's difficult for me to hear some of the words so I have to keep playing back the entire lesson just to replay one word that I have trouble with (on a CD).