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by Foreign Service Language Institute
Product Group: Book
Publisher: Barron's Educational Series (1990-02)
ISBN: 0812076338
EAN: 9780812076332
Audio Cassette
Edition: Book and Cassette
SKU: 081708073
Condition: Used: Acceptable
Comments: 5 tapes are present, 3 are missing. case and book included. PLEASE NOTE MISSING TAPES. TAPES FINE, JUST MISSING SOME SO RATED ACCEPTABLE
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Customer Reviews
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Not for everyone...but...
Rating  (5)
Date: 2008-10-01
1 out of 1 customers found this reveiw helpful
First, to set the record straight, Japan indeed has changed a lot since this course was issued.
I believe the course was produced in the mid-60's...
Language education has changed too...
That said, different people learn in different ways, and if you're not a really good "traditional text book" type learner... and have trouble with structure and focus, this course is a godsend.
The method, basically are drills... repetition, substitution, response, expansion... drills that get you learning basic sentence patterns then changing the sentences around based on various cues.
Another interesting point of the course is that even though grammar is explained, it is not taught separately, but rather demonstrated then integrated into the speaking/listening exercises.
The title of the course is misleading: The course teaches you HOW TO SPEAK IT and HOW TO WRITE IT... however, unless things have changes, the course on writing and reading are separate.
(In fact, what made this course unique was the fact that it kept speaking and listening totally separate from reading and writing -- a common problem with old courses that confused learning to read and write with learning to speak a language.)
So just how far will the course get you? Well, don't expect to be able to follow the movies or TV news... you will however be able to get around with an unfortunately caveat... Japanese has become way simpler since the course was recorded a book like JAPANESE FOR BUSY PEOPLE might cut to the chase much quicker... however, it does not offer this method - - which incidentally is similar to an English Text Book by Molinsky and Bliss called SIDE BY SIDE (a book that virtually every English teacher in Japan has taught from and come to hate or love over the years.)
All in all - - if you're expecting gimmicks, topical relevance and ultra-modernity... forget it.
And if you want something that's colorful and quirky, forget that too...
If you want to get the basic structure of the language down and just aren't so good with standard texts... its a method that's a godsend and works... DO NOT however make the mistake I did:
Learn hiragana and katakana from the get go...
No, don't use it to learn to "speak", however, with hiragana and katakana you can learn more from the environment while living in Japan and take advantage of other learning opportunities.
As a side note, I really believe the course deserves to be revisited, revised and recorded for our modern times... the method is solid and doesn't deserve to fall into obscurity.
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Covers the Basics
Rating  (4)
Date: 2005-10-26
1 out of 2 customers found this reveiw helpful
Japanese is a very difficult language to learn. This audio and book package does a very good job of covering the basics of a Level One type class.
It provides a good foundation for those wishing to continue their study of Japanese. The combination of a good book and clear audio examples provide a format that makes learning easy.
This package is a good place to start with the Japanese language.
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Sending it back.
Rating  (1)
Date: 2001-11-24
23 out of 24 customers found this reveiw helpful
Please take my review knowing this: In 1976, I earned admission to Sophia University's "Year In Japan" program. My self-directed preparation came from a 1950s lesson book, but an excellent home stay arrangement allowed me to update my antiquated vocabulary and jump from beginner to intermediate level classes after one term. Of course, language skills atrophy without practice, as I discovered on subsequent, short trips to Asia. Recently, I was motivated to resume serious study. Languages evolve, so I was a bit put off by the "February 1990" copyright date of Barron's "Mastering Japanese: Hear It, Speak It, Read It, Write It," but at least, I thought, it would be an improvement over my 1970s texts. I was wrong. Barron's merely wrapped a new cover on a 1963 university text. As for reading and writing Japanese, the introduction (p. xv) clearly states, "This textbook is concerned only with spoken Japanese." Everything is written - seemingly by typewriter - in one of the Roman alphabet schemes long since abandoned. The introduction also makes it clear that the text was designed specifically for classroom use, rather than "at your own pace, in your spare time" as claimed by Barron's.
In short, this is a repack of old material. I commend the textbook's admonition that each lesson "requires many hours of class work supplemented by outside study and, if possible, laboratory work." No one should pretend that it is easy to learn Japanese. A downfall of many, more modern courses, is the claim that learning can be quick and painless, a claim "proven" by teaching a large vocabulary of Japanese words adopted from English. Barron's "Mastering Japanese" does not do this. But if one is going to put forth hours of effort, one should invest in a course that teaches contemporary Japanese. This is not it.
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This book is a great and easy way to learn japanese!
Rating (5)
Date: 2000-04-26
1 out of 32 customers found this reveiw helpful
if you want to learn japanese FAST than you really should buy this book. Trust me because i have bought many books and i have gone to many language classes just to learn how to speak japanese. so what im basically saying so far is that ya mid as well spend ya money now because as soon as you start trying your never gonna stop looking for a useful source to learn japanese, because it really is a complicated language and it is so very different than english so you need to find a easy way to learn japanese. So like I said you might as well get it over with and spend about 60 dollars on a book but seriosly, it a lot better than just trying to look for a good japanese book when it doesnt seem to be very helpful.
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