Pimsleur

[daBigNY]

i am learning japanese using pimsleur. has anyone used this method and what's your opinion? i think it's great and I am very pleased with my progression so far. i do wonder if i were to go to japan knowing what i know from pimsleur how would i make out generally?

[hayashi]

Pimsleur will help a lot. I'm on the 3rd level of it right now. I visited Japan in March and was able to do just fine with basic communication. I would suggest spending some time learning the Hiragana and Katakana alphabets and learn a few Kanji. The numbers in Kanji are fairly easy to master and will help when you go to a restaurant that prints the prices in Kanji! I learned Hiragana and Katakana with the aid of the book "Remembering the Hiragana" and "Remembering the Katakana" by James Heisig.

[himawariluv]

I really like Pimsleur! It makes learning easier. And in paralel I also learn from the book Japanese for Busy people. This is another good one, too. Yes, studying the kanas is very important, too. Good luck!

[lunar_reim]

this pimsluer seems to be effective with learning new languages. i think i'll give it a try. im not sure if it's been asked, but where can i get this program or yeah.....

[hayashi]

You can buy Pimsleur from any number of sources. Just do a Google search for it. Be prepared, though, because it's expensive.

It is also available (cough, cough) through certain Bittorrent sites, if you prefer that route. Just look around.

[Fantt]

Can ya give a quick clue as to where I might find the Bittorrents? For purely academic reasons of course. Bitoogle didn't help. Just some quick keywords or something will point me in the right direction.

<cough><cough>Nevermind...

[cacawate]

*Cough*Try again, because I got many hits on Bitoogle. Make sure to spell it right.*Cough*

[Fantt]

Yeah - I found a good torrent several places - google for "Pimsleur Japanese torrent," but so far none of them will succesfully download - (cough) umm... at least according to my "friends" that is.

[Sariki-san]

yea it takes to damn long people why why why

[Fantt]

Well, my friends said it downloaded ok from Suprnova. They also claimed to have found the Rosetta Stone software which I have used. It's pretty groovy too.

[usis35]

I am doing Pimsleur II lesson 2. I usually repeat each lesson once, and I'm doing well. As textbook I use J for Busy P (it is a good complement to Pimsleur).
I need the Pimsleur transcripts though.
Where can I find them?

[Fantt]

As far as I know there are no easily available transcripts for Pimsleur II and III. There was one that someone did for part I, but I've never found parts II and III. I am planning on eventually creating them myself, but I probably won't get to it until some time next year.

[Jubei-kun]

If you're not already using it -- you should. Pimsleur is by far the best self-study Japanese program around. I also like the Rossetta Stone (software) courses. I purchased both. Set me back a few dollars, but happy with the result. If you're interested in giving them a try, let me know. Now that I have finished the courses, I may be willing to lend them out (short-term) to sincere students.

[dan_j]

yep i'm using Pimsleur
pm me for da current bit torrent

[kidtokyo]

Originally Posted by dan_j

yep i'm using Pimsleur
pm me for da current bit torrent

I'm not too familiar with the rules of this forum, but I'm pretty sure promoting software piracy is not allowed.

[made of stone]

I wonder if any Japanese nationals have heard any of the course, and can comment on it at all?

I ask because I have the audio, but the two native Japanese friends I played some of it to couldn't stop laughing because they said they found it so unnatural. (One of them is from Kobe and one from Saitama. btw.)

As a result, I haven't used it at all since (and as some of you know, it's not cheap!)



Cheers,

mos

[leonmarino]

Originally Posted by made of stone

I ask because I have the audio, but the two native Japanese friends I played some of it to couldn't stop laughing because they said they found it so unnatural. (One of them is from Kobe and one from Saitama. btw.)

I wouldn't worry about it too much!! Sure it is unnatural because it starts with the easiest sentences and it tries to build up a range of possible sentences you can use with the least amount of words. So it might start off with things that native Japanese would say otherwise, but is correct nonetheless.

I actually like the Pimsleur method, and I did level 1 and 2 for Spanish, which has definitely given me an edge over my class-mates. My girlfriend just finished level 1 of Pimsleur English for Japanese speakers, and I must say her pronunciation is very good, and she is starting to understand bits and pieces of English in movies and stuff because the method is very much based on listening.

So I'd say.. Do it!!

[made of stone]

Originally Posted by leonmarino

I wouldn't worry about it too much!! Sure it is unnatural because it starts with the easiest sentences and it tries to build up a range of possible sentences you can use with the least amount of words. So it might start off with things that native Japanese would say otherwise, but is correct nonetheless.

Many thanks for the reply, leonm, especially appreciated as I think i've read you're bilingual.

I think I understand a little of what you're saying - that it helps you to communicate as fast as possible, and correctly enunciate, even though what you say wouldn't 100% natural for a native speaker. Is that correct?

For me, I'm a perfectionist (alas!) and i'd like to learn to speak as flawlessly as a native would. I guess my question is, does the Pimsleur system have any benefits other than teaching good pronunciation, and helping you to learn to communicate quickly (if unnaturally)?

[leonmarino]

Well I think it is very useful in a practical sense because you learn to respond very fast in Japanese conversations.. And it's not that like everything you learn is unnatural. Just one or two things in the beginning are.

[made of stone]

Originally Posted by leonmarino

Well I think it is very useful in a practical sense because you learn to respond very fast in Japanese conversations.. And it's not that like everything you learn is unnatural. Just one or two things in the beginning are.

Thanks for that, LeonM.

Can anyone please give me an example or two of these unnatural things, so that I can understand a little better? (I understand the gist here, but it's hard to really grasp without examples.)

Cheers

[leonmarino]

Sure!! Well, one of the first things you learn is "how are you?", which is translated as "ikaga desuka?", which is technically correct, but I've never heard it as such. "Ikaga osugosi desuka?" would be more natural to me, but is also less common. I would translate "how are you?" as "ogenki desuka?" or something like that, which is quite different..

I can't think of more examples because I haven't done the course myself. But I am planning on doing it, just to accustom myself to speak formal Japanese more often. (My use of Japanese is really informal.. Too informal to be honest..)

[Elizabeth]

Is Pimsleur the program that doesn't always use native speakers ? Well, here's another thread on the subject. And I'm sure there are more because I think I remember reading that somewhere. That would explain a lot of things, such as the laughter...


http://www.jref.com/forum/showthread.php?t=21569

[leonmarino]

Originally Posted by Elizabeth

Is Pimsleur the program that doesn't always use native speakers ?

Hm.. As far I know they do use native speakers..

[Elizabeth]

Originally Posted by leonmarino

Hm.. As far I know they do use native speakers..

Maybe not if the report in ths thread is to be believed. If you have a few minutes to spare it was discussed on, like, page 4.... Either I'm missing something here or there were other posts on Level 1 not being of natives.

The easiest thing would be to ask made of stone's friends : Hey, what are you laughing at ?

http://www.jref.com/forum/showthread...ers#post219844

[leonmarino]

Originally Posted by Elizabeth

Maybe not if the report in ths thread is to be believed.

Hm.. Which report do you mean?! I couldn't find any report.. Sorry about this

Originally Posted by Elizabeth

The easiest thing would be to ask made of stone's friends : Hey, what are you laughing at ?

That would be easiest/quickest/best solution!!