Japanese II, Comprehensive: Learn to Speak and Understand Japanese with Pimsleur Language Programs [Audiobook] [Audio CD]

Pimsleur (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 16, 2004 | ISBN-10: 0743528832 | ISBN-13: 978-0743528832 | Edition: Abridged 2nd

Japanese is spoken by about 130 million people, 122 million of whom are in Japan. There are also speakers in the Ryukyu Islands, Korea, Taiwan, parts of the United States, and Brazil. Pimsleur's Japanese teaches a polite level of Japanese, which is appropriate for use in most situations in Japan.

Comprehensive Japanese II includes 30 additional lessons (16 hrs.), which build upon the language skills acquired in Level I. Increased spoken language ability. Also includes a Culture Booklet Level II will double your vocabulary and grammatical structures while increasing your spoken proficiency exponentially. Upon completion of a Level II, you will be able to:

• engage in fuller conversations involving yourself, your family, daily activities, interests and personal preferences,
• combine known elements into increasingly longer sentences and strings of sentences,
• create with language and function in informal situations,
• deal with concrete topics in the past, present, and future,
• meet social demands and limited job requirements.

Note: In order for the Pimsleur Method to work correctly, you must first complete the Level I language program before proceeding to the Level II language program.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Dr. Paul Pimsleur devoted his life to language teaching and testing and was one of the world’s leading experts in applied linguistics. After years of experience and research, Dr. Pimsleur developed The Pimsleur Method based on two key principles:  the Principle of Anticipation and a scientific principle of memory training that he called “Graduated Interval Recall.”  This Method has been applied to the many levels and languages of the Pimsleur Programs.

Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: Pimsleur; Abridged 2nd edition (June 16, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743528832
• ISBN-13: 978-0743528832
• Product Dimensions: 13 x 11.6 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #554,431 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #12 in Books > Books on CD > Languages > Language Instruction > Japanese

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent language method, November 9, 2006

By 

Cyril Godart (Tokyo Japan) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Japanese II, Comprehensive: Learn to Speak and Understand Japanese with Pimsleur Language Programs (Audio CD)

That's the second installment of the Pimsleur Language Program Japanese.

There are two very strong points to the method. One, that distinguishes it from anyother is the fact that everything is done orally. I thought I could only memorise by reading. This method proved me wrong. And with nowdays technology, from the ipod to any PDA or Pocket PC, this turns into a huge advantage as you can practice while being in the taxi, the tube or department stores.

The complementary quality of the method is the excellent choice of vocabulary. I have reach lesson 25 of Japanese II and I still do not know how to say the dog in Japanese, which pretty much any other method would teach you in lesson one. They teach you how to count, to express temporal and spatial concepts, to manage schedule, to speak about your family and they insist on collocial expressions. This proves to be the most useful vocabulary for the average corporate person and most of modern citizens. Well done.

5.0 out of 5 stars pimsleur II review, June 6, 2011

By 

J. Meegan "celticcross" (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Japanese II, Comprehensive: Learn to Speak and Understand Japanese with Pimsleur Language Programs (Audio CD)

I lived in Japan for two years and may be going back for a visit next year, which is why I purchased Japanese language CDs. I didn't know anything about Pimsleur before I made my purchase but overall, I'm really pleased with the lessons.

The strong points are: lots of repetition and review, but it's in the context of ongoing narrations/conversations, which is a bit more interesting than someone simply saying, "Okay, how do you say ...(x)?"

I really like that, unlike many foreign language learning materials, the lessons are not necessarily geared towards university students. The orientation, at least to me, seems to be more for business purposes, ie, a person working in Japan who needs to know some basic grammar and vocabulary in order to get by in daily life and be able to make a bit of small talk with co-workers. Pimsleur does cover some "student" vocab too, throughout the CDs, in the context of talking about someone's children being high school or college students and studying at this or that school/university.

One thing that surprises me a bit is the emphasis on using the "irassharu" form when speaking to others, eg, "dokode hataraite irasshaimasuka." The occasions on which I heard "irassharu" used in verb forms like this when I lived in Japan were very few and far between (although of course one hears, "irasshaimase," everytime one walks into a store). It seemed - to me anyways - to be very acceptable simply to use "imasu," even when addressing others. That said, I worked in schools - maybe it's different in the business world.

As for vocab, I think it could be introduced at a faster rate, quite honestly, although at the same time, vocabulary is probably the easiest part of a foreign language to study on one's own - maybe the idea is that since vocab learning can be self-directed, there's no need to spend too much CD time on it? Whatever the reason, it's not a huge drawback.

The only thing I really don't like about this series: it's very distracting when the male Japanese actor uses a strange voice to sound like a different character in the narration!

Overall, very happy with this purchase.

7 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the more I listen, the more I like :), August 15, 2007

By 

Sparks (United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Japanese II, Comprehensive: Learn to Speak and Understand Japanese with Pimsleur Language Programs (Audio CD)

I didnt particulary care for Pimsleur I (limited set) when I first started using it last Christmas but after using other CDS (and CD ROMS) Ive come to appreciate the Pimsleur approach much more. Pimsleur II price was reduced and there was free 2 day shipping so I thought what the heck I'll give it another go and Im very happy. Some stuff Ive learned so far in the first 5 lessons:

a) not yet

b) are you familiar with ---

c) how long are you going to stay in ---

Overall it's a very effective way to learn b/c the narrator forces you to participate. Each time I repeat a lesson, I pick up something I missed the first time. A bit pricey though.