Customer Reviews

Fast and Easy Japanese (Living Language)

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I was somewhat disappointed with this title... With ZERO knowledge of japanese, this title was not very helpful, sure some key phrases and words are useful, but without basic syntax and grammar, they are next to useless... I would recommend this book to someone who would like to increase an existing knowledge of japanese, and help memorize important words, numbers, days of the week, months, etc... If you would like a great truely beginners self study japanese set, I would recommend the Pimsleur Japanese Basic... In less than 15 mins (or half way through the first lesson), you are already speaking the most important japanese phrase, "I do not understand Japanese")... ;)

As a person who is quickly trying to learn Japanese before going over to Japan to teach, I have tried everything. This program is one of the worst approaches I have seen. It is way too fast and very intimidating and frustrating. It works alright if it is only way part of the learning process. There are many computer programs and tapes that do a much better job.

If your intent is to be able to fully understand Japanese with just one resourse, this is not it. This doesn't even provide enough information or words for a foreigner to survive a couple days in Japan. However, as listening suppliment, I've found it very useful. Use a book to learn the basics of understanding the language. Then use this to get a feel for what it's really supposed to sound like. Like the name, it's fast and easy. There's no unneccessary fill so it's perfect for just listening, and it's simple, common words.

You won't learn to speak Japanese just by listening to this tape. Instead, you can try to memorize the phrases in the booklet and consider the tape a guide to how it's pronounced. It's still useful, because it has a great basic set of words and phrases.