Hi everyone, I’ve been doing Japanese for about 2 years and my current level is something like “Confident N4, low and unsure N3”. I really enjoy the language. I enjoy writing in it when I have time to think; Reading when I understand the vocabulary; learning kanji; but…
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But the problem is that I am extremely behind in the skill of “Listening”, and “speaking” as well. “Speaking” is worse than it is supposed to be not only because I can’t quickly recall vocabulary, but also (I think so) because our Sensei didn’t put us in a Pitch-accent. We are not native English speakers (I live in Ukraine), so the pronunciation stuff is really close to Russian on some occasions… But if I need to read something in Japanese or say what I’m thinking, I\`m not sure I do it correctly.
“Auditioning” is the same way – I can get really “dumb” trying to figure out what the speakers are talking about. I can\`t always remember the meaning of some words. I start thinking about the word and its translation, and I lose the thread of the rest of the conversation.
So I decided to try Pimsleur. I told my Sensei about it, told her what the app was, and she confirmed that “Yeah, the idea is cool”. So today I went through the first lesson of the first section…..
… And it’s way too easy. No, it shows the correct Pitch-accent, but the lessons like “すみません、アメリカの方ですか” were too simple, and because of that, they might be pretty boring.
だから、I want to ask you, guys, a question. Should I continue (I mean, buy) Pimsleur? I heard there are 5 sections – maybe I should start with some section like section 2, or section 1, after buying it? Alternatively, can you guys maybe suggest me some analogue considering my needs? A different resource or something?
And, yes, if I just need to “shut up and not whine and follow the course” – ok, I’ll do that, no problem. It’s just that I’d like to hear the answers to my questions first. I don’t want to waste time, I want to spend it to the best effect. The best option for me is something that I could listen to while walking around town. If I need to answer questions from the “presenter” in order speaking development – no problem, I can do that
Thanks in advance!
6 comments
I tried pimsleur back in the day and wasn’t impressed. It felt like it was nothing I could not get from a decent (and free) YouTube video. And maybe it was because I didn’t go to the more advanced sections but still…you said yourself it is pretty boring…and learning a language with a boring method is never a good idea.
As far as you still having to think about word meanings and whatnot at your level is pretty normal. That doesn’t go away with a course, it goes away by just experiencing the language. The more you read, the more vocab you acquire. The more you listen, the less you tend to rely on kanji to know the words. I recommend you watch shows on Netflix with Japanese subs. Will it be hard? Yes, but with time you start thinking about the words and don’t necessarily need to translate as people in a show don’t really give you time to translate much…they just talk and talk. Subs at first will make it easier to understand, and since you will be using subs, I recommend an extension like [Language Reactor](https://www.languagereactor.com/) which will really help you analyze subs and has some pretty nice features
I’ve done Living Language, which was a different company with a similar approach, for Portuguese back in the day.
It’s a little repetitive, very little wriggle room, but IMO not bad. I’d want to supplement it with other learning.
When I was living in Japan, I’d listen to pimsleur on my drive to work. It was like a warm up, and I slowed down the play speed by 10% because I wanted to improve my pronounciation. I’d be able to use the daily phrases it taught basically as soon as I got to the office.
It worked for me for my situation, but I had a textbook too, and Japanese native speakers to try to apply what I learned immediately and cement it in my head. You probably COULD find equivalent on youtube.
I like it, though obviously if you start with the beginner stuff you’ll be bored. It’s meant to be a complete course from the beginning, idk if you can adapt it to your situation
i enjoyed pimsleur from the beginning but it really doesn’t keep up at N3. it’s useful that that have you repeat what they say, and they even have a digital voice coach for some phrases that works relatively well, but it stops earlier than you’d want it to (the series) and there’s too much english interjected to feel like immersion.
i’ve been trying podcasts and satori reader to do more immersion. i love reading the stories on satori. i wish i spent more time listening to the voice actors and shadowing. the podcasts are really hit or miss with my attention span, though i’ve had decent luck when i’m driving. but, podcasts are free and there are a lot of options, shun’s stuff being the easiest on the ear if you have trouble with native speed (like i do).
good luck!
I used Pimsleur for self-study a few years ago. I was quite a beginner and for my level it was really helpful. I had built some vocabulary before but never had the chance to speak a lot. On my bike commute to work I listened to Pimsleur and must say that I really liked their approach. I became more difficult in the later sections but I cannot estimate what JLPT-level it is suitable for. Anyway, if you try it and don’t like it you can cancel the subscription at any time, right?