Living Language Japanese, Platinum Edition: A complete beginner through advanced course, including 3 coursebooks, 9 audio CDs, Japanese reading & ... online course, apps, and live e-Tutoring

Description

For over 65 years, millions have learned with Living Language®. Now it’s your turn. Based on the Living Language Method™, Platinum Japanese gives you, the flexibility to fit language learning into your life. You choose where, when, and how you learn. • 4 BOOKS: 46 lessons, additional review exercises, culture notes, study tips, and an extensive glossary—plus a guide to reading and writing Japanese, including explanations of hiragana, katakana, and kanji symbols. • 9 AUDIO CDS: Vocabulary, dialogues, audio exercises, and more—listen with the books or use for review on the go. • iPhone ® AND iPad ® COMPATIBLE APPS: Vocabulary flashcards, audio conversations, grammar notes, and interactive games all at your fingertips. • ONLINE COURSE: Access all of your language content in a rich, interactive experience that allows you to learn at home or wherever you and your laptop go. • E-TUTOR: Schedule tutoring sessions and get personal support, answers, and encouragement from language experts at no additional cost. • ONLINE COMMUNITY: Practice, share tips, get advice, and receive feedback from language experts, native speakers, and other users. INSIDE THE PACKAGE YOU'LL FIND: The code required to access the Apps, Online Course, and e-Tutor. Check out Living Language’s exclusive forums once you’ve registered as a Platinum user. To learn more visit www.livinglanguage.com. THE LIVING LANGUAGE METHOD™ At the core of Platinum Japanese is the Living Language Method™, based on linguistic science, proven techniques, and over 65 years of experience. Our four-point method teaches you the whole language so you can express yourself, not just recite memorized words or scripts. Build a Foundation Start speaking Japanese immediately using essential words and phrases. Progress with Confidence Build on each lesson as you advance to full sentences, then actual conversations. Retain what You’ve Learned Special recall exercises move your new language from short-term to long-term memory. Achieve Your Goals Don’t just mimic or memorize. Develop practical language skills to speak in any situation. Review: Imperfect, but a great start - Every learner is different, and that is the premise that any instructional material must begin from. This program succeeds in that there are multiple ways to learn: books, audio discs, online course supplements including optional tutoring sessions and forums, and other electronic tools (that, frankly, I have never used). The course is thorough and engaging and I have actually renewed my online subscription for another year because I find the games useful to return to. There is a logical progression to the courses so that the Advanced builds upon the Intermediate, which builds upon the Beginning. All major aspects of life are discussed in both polite and neutral forms (formal and rough forms are alluded to, but not directly addressed). The course does not, however, teach nuance, which is something that can only, truly, be learned from experience. In all other ways, the courses use practical examples that can be used outside of the teaching mechanism (see the Eddie Izzard stand-up routine wherein he discusses learning French). This edition includes a fourth book that covers the three writing systems in a manner that is very easy to read and understand. There is a fairly thorough examination of both katakana and hiragana, but the examination of kanji is fairly rudimentary. To be fair, kanji is a borderline nightmarish system to learn as it requires extreme amounts of memorization and, in my case at least, association. Many native speakers/readers struggle with kanji. I cannot fault this program for its failings here. Where the program fails: Japanese is, structurally and conceptually, vastly different from English and there are not enough rules described within the program. The program relies heavily upon memorization of words and orders and does not delve deeply enough into the whys and wherefores of language. There are many nuances to language that are important to grasp if you want to truly and deeply understand a language and the people who developed and use it. Supplementary materials are necessary to achieve this end. Some that I have personally found very useful: Japanese Particle Workbook by Taeko Kamiya Japanese Sentence Patterns for Effective Communication by Taeko Kamiya (this is truly wonderful and full of little tid-bits of knowledge that are truly invaluable) Essential Japanese Grammar by Masahiro Tanimori and Eriko Sato (absolutely essential. kind of dry, and written in... I guess overly complicated language at times, but definitely full of useful knowledge.) Japanese Kanji Power by John Millen Japanese Hiragana and Katakana Flash Cards from Tuttle Press ISBN 978-4-8053-1167-7 or UPC# 9-784805-311677 Nelson's Kanji Dictionary (any edition) some kind of English/Japanese dictionary. I still haven't found one that I like for both content and construction. I'd love some suggestions. make your own vocabulary flash cards. it's fun and the singular most helpful way of memorizing. I have color-coded mine like orange for foods, red for verbs, green for adjectives, etc. I realize that I have a fairly completist approach to learning Japanese, but I feel that if you are going to invest the time in learning a language, you should learn it as well as you can. This program is, I believe, invaluable for the independent learner. Review: GET THIS! - This is an awesome way to learn Japanese. Each lesson comes with several exercises for you to practice what you've learned and of course, the answers are all in the book. The CDs are great, too, and not too rushed nor too slow unlike others. The app is alright, though I personally use it for review since the exercises are in the books themselves. However, if you want to learn kanji I recommend buying a separate kanji book as this DOES NOT TEACH KANJI! They expose you to it, yes. But you don't actually learn how to write them. One thing I don't like is that there's romaji EVERYWHERE. It would be better if we were forced to read only the japanese parts without our eyes unconciously wandering to the writing we already know. I find myself covering the romaji all the time to force myself to read the japanese. The tutor, Sakura-san, is EXTREMELY HELPFUL. Absolutely love her. Plus she is always in the forum on the website answering questions so you can always post your thoughts and she will answer you, I guarantee it. Overall these books are great, just wish there wasn't as much romaji in the intermediate section.