Ultimate Japanese: Basic - Intermediate: Cassette/Book Package (Living Language Ultimate Basic-Intermediate Series (Manual & Cassettes)) (Audio Cassette)

by Living Language (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Learn Japanese at Home or On the Go with the Most Complete, Up-to-Date Program Available!

Developed by the experts at Living Language, this deluxe course has everything you need to speak, understand, read, and write Japanese. Ultimate Japanese combines conversation with grammar and culture in an easy-to-follow, enjoyable, and effective format.

COMPREHENSIVE LESSON MANUAL WITH REFERENCE SECTIONS

40 lessons:

lively, authentic dialogues

vocabulary, grammar, and usage

cultural highlights

Reference sections:

summary of Japanese accents and particles

business and social letter writing

Japanese-English / English-Japanese glossary

EIGHT 60-MINUTE CASSETTES

First learn at home:

immerse yourself in Japanese - listen and repeat with the all-Japanese recordings

follow along with the manual, which includes English translations

learn conversation, grammar, and culture

Then practice on the go:

review and expand upon what you've learned

an English-speaking instructor guides you through each lesson

no reading required with these Japanese/English recordings

learn in the car, at the gym, anywhere

From the Inside Flap
Learn Japanese at Home or On the Go with the Most Complete, Up-to-Date Program Available!

Developed by the experts at Living Language, this deluxe course has everything you need to speak, understand, read, and write Japanese. Ultimate Japanese combines conversation with grammar and culture in an easy-to-follow, enjoyable, and effective format.

COMPREHENSIVE LESSON MANUAL WITH REFERENCE SECTIONS

40 lessons:
lively, authentic dialogues
vocabulary, grammar, and usage
cultural highlights
        
Reference sections:
summary of Japanese accents and particles
business and social letter writing
Japanese-English / English-Japanese glossary

EIGHT 60-MINUTE CASSETTES

First learn at home:
immerse yourself in Japanese - listen and repeat with the all-Japanese recordings
follow along with the manual, which includes English translations
learn conversation, grammar, and culture

Then practice on the go:
review and expand upon what you've learned
an English-speaking instructor guides you through each lesson
no reading required with these Japanese/English recordings
learn in the car, at the gym, anywhere

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: Living Language (April 7, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0609601717
• ISBN-13: 978-0609601716
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 9.5 x 2.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (36 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,350,228 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

64 of 66 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect for the serious beginner, June 1, 2001

By	"broco" (Quebec, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ultimate Japanese: Basic-Intermediate: Compact Disc Edition (LL(R) Ultimate Basic-Intermed) (Audio CD)

This book takes a highly structured approach to teaching Japanese. Each lesson contains a clear and complete explanation of new grammar concepts, a table of new vocabulary for rapid memorisation, and example dialogue. It is positively jam-packed with information; there is not one sentence that will not teach you something new. New concepts are explained one at a time, for easy assimilation and revision. There is an excellent index and table of contents; I still occasionally use the book as a reference.

I didn't speak a word of Japanese when I bought this book, but within the year it took me to finish it, I had a solid understanding of basic Japanese grammar and a good foundation of common vocabulary. The vocabulary is well-chosen, reflecting the concerns of tourists, students and businesspeople. Both casual and polite grammar is shown. The accompanying tapes also complement the book nicely, teaching proper pronunciation. I highly recommend it as a starting point for anyone with the willpower to teach themselves Japanese. I found it far superior to the other beginner's books I have seen. It will not make you fluent -- no one textbook can do that -- but it will turn you into an intermediate-level student capable of learning with real Japanese material.

That said, one thing this book does not put much emphasis on is how to read and write Japanese. Although there are many reading exercises, they are optional and can be skipped over. The Japanese in the book is almost entirely written in romaji (using our letters). The book does not provide an organized framework for learning the kanji ideograms: you will have to buy a specialized kanji textbook such as Heisig's Remembering The Kanji. Using romaji has the advantage of making the first steps much easier for the total beginner, but it means you will have to make an extra effort later on in your studies to learn how to read and write. However, since I was mostly interested in spoken Japanese when I began my studies, this was the perfect compromise for me.

74 of 82 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars This could have been so amazing!, January 16, 2004

By	Jesse D. Watson (North Dakota) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Ultimate Japanese: Basic-Intermediate: Compact Disc Edition (LL(R) Ultimate Basic-Intermed) (Audio CD)

Breaks the heart.

A friend of mine purchased this set and was so psyched about it, and with good reason. It makes some wonderful promises, and it is poised to deliver. It's an exciting compendium of educational bliss, the apple of the eye of anyone who is excited to learn the Japanese language.

However, there is a giant, stinky, malevolent worm in the apple, and there is a sliver--no, a plank--in the eye.

As a few other reviews have mentioned, this system makes absolutely exclusive use of romanji, which is rendering the Japanese language in Roman characters (Latin, English, whatever--this alphabet that I'm typing with right now). While the Roman characters are great for English and every European language, bloody useful, they absolutely suck for Japanese. If you never want to be fluent with the language, fine, romanji is useful for you. But if you're seeking fluency, for the love of God, look elsewhere. It'll screw up your pronunciation and effectively cause you to have to re-learn the language if you ever want to actually READ it, not to mention write it.

What a shame. I'm pretty sure that this would be about the best text/audio combo in existence if it had just gone the extra mile. Come on, Hiroko Storm. Please, do a kana version! What a brilliant tool this could have been!

Try Japanese for Busy People (KANA edition) with the audio CDs instead. Use Pimsleur CDs. And use Remembering the Hiragana to learn the hiragana and keep it. Save romanji for the tourists. Fluency demands competency.

I know this sounds harsh, but trust me; it's just because I'm vastly, hurtfully disappointed. Not only that, but I'm going to have to explain Japanese to my friend all over again when he finally admits that romanji is going to ruin him.

What a bummer.

30 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You need this book, March 26, 2002

By	"cryptinitedemon" (Harrison, Ohio United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ultimate Japanese: Basic-Intermediate: Compact Disc Edition (LL(R) Ultimate Basic-Intermed) (Audio CD)

This is a really good book. After the first lesson I was able to make my own sentences. Limited but I could make them. The book has the Audio cds too which reall help you to get the accent and such down. Makes the vocab really easy to remember.

And what I found suprisin was that at the end of each chapter, there was a quiz to see if you know what you read. There are also cultural notes to help you get into what Japan is actually like.

Everything is explained in detail and the book is great. Japanese actually isn't really that hard to learn if you just put a little time into it. Buy this book