Japanese for Busy People I (Japanese for Busy People)(Revised Edition) (Vol 1) [Audiobook] [Audio CD]

AJALT (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 4770019092 | ISBN-13: 978-4770019097 | Publication Date: March 1, 1994 | Edition: 2nd

These discs have been recorded in stereo under studio conditions by native speakers, male and female, with assigned roles. The Japanese is the normal speed or very slightly slower than that heard in daily conversation. Great care has been taken to present the most representative pronunciation of each individual word and to preserve the natural flow of spoken Japanese. In imitating the model speakers, the student should pay close attention to pronunciation, pitch and intonation.

The dialogues, which are most frequently in question-and-answer form, have been recorded so that one person's voice comes from the left speaker and the other person's from the right speaker. If stereo playback equipment is used, the volume on one channel can be lowered, allowing the student to take the part of the muted voice. The student can alternately practice either questions or answers and test himself or herself on mastery of both roles.

For each lesson, the following parts have been recorded: Opening Dialogue (or Text) with Summary Sentence(s) and Vocabulary, Key Sentences and Vocabulary, Vocabulary for the Exercises, and Short Dialogue(s) and Vocabulary. However, Lessons 11, 26 and 30 (Review Reading) and Lesson 21 have only dialogue or text and vocabulary, so the whole lesson is on disc.

To the Student
While listening to the Opening Dialogue, the student should try to imagine the scene being enacted and follow the flow of the conversation. Then after practicing the new words in the vocabulary out loud, he or she should imitate in a clear voice the model speakers on the disc.

The Key Sentences are important grammar points in the lesson, and should be mastered thoroughly before proceeding.

For the Exercises, only the vocabulary is recorded. After learning the new words in this section, the student should use them in his or her oral practice.

The supplementary Short Dialogues are similar to the Opening Dialogues. Once these have been mastered, words and patterns already learned can be put to use in expansion drills.

Having completed the lesson, the student should return to the Opening Dialogue and listen to it again. It is at this time that taking the role of one of the model speakers can be most effective, and the student should practice until he or she can do this fluently.

To the Teacher
Since classroom time is limited, it is important to devote as much of it as possible to drilling students in the dialogues and exercises. The discs can best be employed to augment classroom work, either as preparation before class or as review. As a minimum, students should be expected to practice new vocabulary by listening to the disc while memorizing the meanings of the words. Optimally, they should master the Opening Dialogue, Key Sentences and related vocabulary as soon as possible during review of the lesson.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

THE ASSOCIATION FOR JAPANESE-LANGUATE TEACHING (AJALT) has been recognized as a nonprofit organization by the Ministry of Education since 1997. It was established to meet the practical needs of people who are not necessarily specialists on Japan but who wish to communicate effectively in Japanese. In 1992 the Association was awarded the Japan Foundation Special Prize.

Product Details

• Audio CD: 232 pages
• Publisher: Kodansha USA; 2nd edition (March 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 4770019092
• ISBN-13: 978-4770019097
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 7.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,476,603 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

66 of 66 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Need help? Read this., September 8, 2004

By 

Miguel Lescano Cornejo (Guayaquil, Ecuador) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Japanese for Busy People I (Japanese for Busy People)(Revised Edition) (Vol 1) (Audio CD)

FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO ALREADY KNOW EXACTLY WHAT THIS IS:

If you're buying the book I and are thinking wheter or not to buy this CDs, buy it! They might look expensive, but you're not going to learn how to pronounce correctly unless you hear them. Even if you can read all the hiragana sounds, that doesn't mean you can render the printed kana in the textbook correctly. I have had a lot of surprises comparing the kana writing with actual japanese speech. For example, "gakusei" is actually pronounced more like "gaksee". A lot of times, when you expect a final "u", that "u" is almost erased from real spoken language. And the biggest surprise to me, was to discover that all "g" sounds (ga, gi, gu, ge, go) become more nasal, very close to "n", when they are in the middle of a word. Do yourself a favor and don't waste your time trying to imagine the correct pronunciation and accent without the CDs! Some people complain that the speech is too fast, but I don't think so... perhaps when giving telephone numbers. Just concentrate and let the Force flow...

By the way, although the printed textbook says that only the opening dialogues, key sentences and short dialogues are recorded in the CDs, actually all the vocabulary words are there, too, and spoken slower than the same words in the dialogues, so you can better grasp all the sounds. About the presentation, I thought the CDs would be placed in a flimsy plastic thing inside the box, but in fact they were inside a sturdy 4-CD jewel case (like that of Pink Floyd's The Wall), occuping, of course, only 2 of the 4 maximum spaces. You can carry this case with you along with your discman or put it with you other CDs.


FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE NOT SURE ABOUT WHAT THIS IS:

Yes, these CDs are only a complement to the textbook and not an independent course on their own. For a good audio-only Japanese course, try Pimsleur's.

These CDs are part of the famous JFBP series, which is almost the official instrument for studying for the Japanese Language Proficiency Tests (administered by the Monbusho every year).

If you don't have the corresponding textbook and are considering these CDs, buy the textbook. Book I has two versions: The romanized version (this is, representing japanese sounds with English letters) and the kana version (representing japanese sounds with a small set of simple syllabic symbols, very different from chinese characters, which represent ideas and thus are far more complex.) I have the kana version of the Book I, and using these CDs along with the book gives you a double input of information. Very effective. The romanized version must be far easier, but it can mislead you to pronounce words as if they were English. To be able to read the kana version, first learn the kana anywhere else. Perhaps the kana workbook from the JFBP series (along with the tapes), or perhaps a downloadable PC program like Declan's will do the job.

When you've finished all three books (and CDs), you could be able to pass JLPT Level 3! (4 is the lowest, 1 is the highest) If you want to make it to Level 1, go to Japan and read and talk a lot.

FOR ALL OF YOU:

Japanese people talk very fast, and this fact is reflected in these recordings. However, the reading parts and the vocabulary parts are slowed down a lot so you can get your feet on the ground. Just concentrate and you'll identify all the sounds! It's not much faster than Spanish, you know?

33 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent guide for spoken Japanese (with book), April 2, 2002

By 

NYClights4 (New York, New York United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Japanese for Busy People I (Japanese for Busy People)(Revised Edition) (Vol 1) (Audio CD)

One of the many hurdles facing a learner of Japanese is correct and understandable pronunciation as well as adequate listening comprehension of this beautiful, but sometimes frighteningly fast-paced language. Unlike mastering "superiority and deference levels" or learning enough Kanji (symbols) to be literate, however, speaking and understanding Japanese is surprisingly not that daunting a task -- with these CDs, of course!

The CD accompanyment to Japanese for Busy People I features a unintentionally comical English-speaking guide who announces the number of the lesson, etc. in a hilariously monotone fashion as well as a flurry of jumpy, colorful native Japanese speakers. As you would expect of actual Japanese people navigating the chaotically busy streets of Tokyo, these speakers emote, emphasize, and speak very, very fast! Although the velocity of their speech may discourage you at first (as it did me), after a few lessons and repeated listenings you will get a hang of the flow of this language. Upon finishing this excellent CD accompanyment to Japanese for Busy People I, you may not be a Japanese-English dictionary or know the ins and outs of all Japanese grammar, but you will have a priceless grasp on the flow and structure of Japanese speech. For this essential aural and oral facet of Japanese alone, these CDs are well worth their price. Just make sure you have the textbook to follow along with.

22 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Please be aware, February 24, 2003

By 

M. Soltesz (Knoxville, TN USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Japanese for Busy People I (Japanese for Busy People)(Revised Edition) (Vol 1) (Audio CD)

I just got this recently because I am interested in learning Japanese as a hobby.
This is not necessarily material for a beginner. There is no text, just audio CDs that contain Japanese. It would be very effective for drilling and learning with supplemental translated material, but alone, it is not very useful for a beginner. I repeat, there are no translations, all of the material is in Japanese only. The only English on the discs is the voice of the announcer, whom introduces the chapters.