learning a language through audio

[Mastersarge Redux]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-ZCN...ure=plpp_video

I'm pretty sure this has been covered already, but I felt the need to share it.

[Shinoi]

Weeaboos are gonna shit their pants.
And damn, it's for sale?

[Mastersarge Redux]

Weeaboos are gonna shit their pants.
And damn, it's for sale?

I believe so. Here's the link to the official site, which is also listed in the video description.
https://www.pimsleurapproach.com/acq070.asp?sid=0012ytb

[Victory]

Well, this is interesting. I love this kind of bullshit. I buy these kinds of products all the time. I have ebooks on lucid dreaming, harmonica lessons, meditation -- all kinds of random bullshit that I try because, hey, why not? I work hard for a living, I should be able to invest my money in completely pointless, ultimately worthless products.

Tell you what; I'm going to buy this course, and review it step by step for you people.

Edit:

Well, this is depressing. Here's my review:

The program is only available in the US. I'll see if I can get my hands on it, but it doesn't seem like I will. I was honestly curious to see just how much bullshit is in this video, but I won't get a hands on experience it seems. I will, however, analyze the content of the website.

Firstly, this is one expensive fucking course! I quote:

You'll receive a new course once every 60 days. For each course you keep we'll bill you in four monthly payments of $64

Most languages have 3 courses, and each course costs 260 US dollars. Quite a bit more than 10 dollars, isn't it? Also, this means that there's going to be an overlap in payment, and they're going to end up billing you 128 dollars a month for the overlap between the odd 4 month payment for a 2 month course.

As far as the effectiveness of the course goes, I can't tell. Obviously it won't teach you a language in 10 days since the course is comprised of 3 60-day courses, on 16 audio disks per course, so it's still a lot of work and time spent studying. I'll try and see if I can get my hands on it, but otherwise I'll just conclude that this is some advertising assassination. People who don't read the fine print, i.e. most of them, are going to be seriously conned into a very expensive program. Good luck, weeaboos.

[BanHammor]

dibs on Sarge being hacked?

[Mastersarge Redux]

dibs on Sarge being hacked?

You'd like that wouldn't you?

Nah, I don't use my credit card on stuff like this. Like it would even matter. Figured the video and product would be something to discuss about.

[Shinoi]

There still are torrents... the only way for non-Americans.

[Victory]

Indeed, but please refrain from discussing illegal file sharing on the forums. The rules are quite clear on this.

[Shinoi]

Of course.

But it's kinda sad that it's available only in USA. I was really interested in this... so thanks for sharing, anyway.

[Rimmy]

you could just try to watch a movie in the language you want to learn every day, if you don't get distracted by the special effects too much, it should work without any problems.

[Victory]

[Killing_Time]

^ That's how I sometimes feel when I'm at my boyfriend's place and nobody speaks anything but German.

[Shadowtime23]

I agree with the few statements starting at 2:43 on Mastersarge's video. It really is easier to learn without proper grammar.

Now the announcer has a charismatic voice, the illustrations are nice and simple, but... 10 days? That little amount of time makes me want to drop this right away. You may learn the basics though, I guess that could work.

[Flashlight]

google

http://www.complaintsboard.com/compl...h-c131604.html

[Zolen]

google

http://www.complaintsboard.com/compl...h-c131604.html

My favorite was the christian lady who was claiming victory over them and their sins.

Also apparently www.pimsleurapproach.com is a alternate site that is probibly the scam site and
www.pimsleur.com claiming to be the proper site, but still I would if I wanted it just get it on Ebay or something, I am sure you can find it at half the price there and less of a risk.

[Victory]

Lesson 1:

Yes, I've actually gotten my hand on this software, through more or less appropriate means for a person of my.... character... anyway, I'll be going forth with the review as planned. The review is split into 30 minute lessons with 2 minute extra study material per lesson, and an entire language takes about 6 months to complete in this course since I'll be taking japanese (3 courses, 60 lessons per course) since it's the only foreign language I have any previous experience with, and would rather see my studies completed in this regard if this whole process pays off.

We start with a fairly basic and very routine school lesson. The narrator, who does have a pretty sexy, comforting voice, instructs you to listen and then speak along with the native people in the lesson, out loud, and uses a very sporadic method of repetition to stick it in your memory. I have no doubt it works, and so far it hasn't been too obnoxious, but it just seems very arbitrary.

Each long word is broken down into segments and you practice pronunciation backwards. What do I mean; let me spell it out for you.

The first real word you learn in this lesson is "wakarimasu". The word is then broken down and you're instructed to practice the pronunciation in this order: su-masu-kari-wakari-wakarimasu, with appropriate repetition spread throughout to make sure you get it. The pacing of these segments are actually quite comfortable - I never got the feeling it was moving too slow, or proceeding too fast, but since I have previous experience with Japanese and understand all of this already, it might just be my experience talking. We'll see what happens with tougher words. Still, I found it helpful anyway, and it's quite clever, so I thought I'd mention it.

The conversation which I was meant to learn was this:

Sumimasen. Eigo ga wakarimasuka?
Iie, wakarimasen. Nihon ga wakarimasuka?
Sukoshi.
Anata wa Amerikajin desuka?
Hai, watashi wa amerikajin desu.

The narrator also teaches you that Japanese is all about context and notes that you usually do not include subjects once the topic has been fully established, since it's assumed you already know to whom or to what the sentence is directed at. For sake of learning he left it in, but did translate this into natural speaking Japanese at the end for those interested in learning properly from the start. This is a little awkward for me, since I already naturally exclude words for you or me once the topic has been established, so I fudged up some of the questions by being correct. Oh well.

It's a pretty basic, standard first phrase - but surprisingly no introduction; that's usually the first thing you learn when picking up a new language, how to say hi and good bye, and how to introduce yourself. These are 30 minute lessons though, and I understand the logic behind this first lesson - being able to ask if someone understands English, and communicate as if though you were a tourist is useful.

So my conclusion? Well, so far it's just teaching you words, and I can't say I'm much impressed with this whole "LEARN BY LISTENING," since you have a narrator who openly explains what everything means to you. While this is expected, I was hoping to acquire another skill of being able to unconsciously learn languages like a super mutant. Oh well.

So far, so good.

[Tyemdi]

So... are you recommending we buy it to help us learn a language easier?

[Shinoi]

I got Japanese lessons and so far I'm at lesson three. I'm satisfied so far and it's really interesting.

And why does everyone want to learn Japanese?

Because Japanese is so kawaii desu nya.

[Zolen]

So... are you recommending we buy it to help us learn a language easier?

I know this is no directed at me, but I suggest you buy them from ebay or get them in another round about way.

And why does everyone want to learn Japanese?

[Victory]

So... are you recommending we buy it to help us learn a language easier?

Considering that it costs 780 dollars for the full course, I'd strongly recommend that you take great care when purchasing this program. While it appears to be a solid language learning tool, it's also insanely expensive, and regardless of what the advert says you're spending upwards to 1000 dollars on this. It's not a decision to take lightly.

I am not comfortable in recommending this program yet, I would rather complete the first 10 days before I give my full opinion and whether or not I recommend it for purchase.

Edit:

And why does everyone want to learn Japanese?

I'm personally very interested in the Japanese culture, since it's the complete antithesis of my Swedish tradition and customs. Sweden is extremely socialistic, where every individual is equal on a casual level. We address everyone by their first name - even the king - and I can go up to every single person and say "Hey you," and no one would scold me for being disrespectful, because I'm not. It's actually more disrespectful in Sweden to distance yourself from the audience by adding titles or speaking indirectly. Swedish people are obsessed with being different and individualism is extremely important, even though every Swedish teenager dresses and acts exactly the same. Like a complete ponce.

In Japan? All of the above is completely reversed. Being polite is mandatory, and you act and behave according to social norms, i.e. like everyone else. Japanese people cannot socially allow other people, even tourists, to stray from the norm, going as far as refusing to give you sugar for tea because in Japan you do not put sugar in tea. Japanese people are obsessed with escaping their culture, hence why their media is bat fuck insane, and why they revere other cultures like America and the Nordic countries who genuinely, naturally fit the roles of the exaggerated cartoon stereotypes they create as escapism.

My own personality is probably one of the oldest anime stereotype still around; the rude, bitter anti-hero.

Our 2 cultures are in such perfect contrast to each other that the Japanese culture and language are both something of an intellectual romance for me.

Because Japanese is so kawaii desu nya.

Weeaboo. Also, "desu" is Japanese verb meaning "is, am, are," and does not work in a sentence that already has the verb for "is" in it. If you're going to be an insufferable wannabe Jap, could you at least put those Japanese lessons towards speaking the language with a shred of competence?

[Rockonman]

So would you suggest this program to someone with enough cash to drop? Which I don't of course.

[Shinoi]

Weeaboo. Also, "desu" is Japanese verb meaning "is, am, are," and does not work in a sentence that already has the verb for "is" in it. If you're going to be an insufferable wannabe Jap, could you at least put those Japanese lessons towards speaking the language with a shred of competence?

If it didn't seem like it, it was butchered and weeabooish on purpose, how could you miss that?

[pvt tony]

I agree that you learn by listening. When I was younger my babysitter was english so I was listening to english movies and TV. Last year I had a spanish class and we listened to a few movies and newscast in spanish, oral exams were a peice of cake!
So yeah, I mean, I can have a basic conversation in spanish and that for free. God, if I had those 1000$ to put in this I would probabely learn German. Guess I'll have to re-listen to Das Boot and Stalingrad over and over

[Victory]

So would you suggest this program to someone with enough cash to drop? Which I don't of course.

I'll get back to you on that one.

If it didn't seem like it, it was butchered and weeabooish on purpose, how could you miss that?

I didn't, but I find it annoying, pretense or otherwise. The only time I allow people to butcher a language - whenever it's not a simple mistake to make - is when it's really funny. Weeaboos aren't funny.


Lesson 2!

Alright so the lesson began with repetition of the first lesson. While this is needed it seemed to drag on for forever and I was anxious and curious to know what the next lesson would contain. Not a bad thing, it shows enthusiasm but it's worth noting that there's a lot of repetition in these programs. I was once again surprised and I'm not really sure where to start on today's lesson - so I'll just go step by step.

The absolute first thing you learn, once past the repetition from last time, is the word/phrase "ohayou gozaimasu". Once again you're instructed to practice the pronunciation backwards, and once that's over the narrator talks a little about Japanese society and how being polite is extremely important. He makes a point to differentiate between a business or formal conversation and a casual one, and persists in using the polite terms throughout the lesson, but informs that you can say "Ohayou" to a friend or family member and it wouldn't be incorrect. The narrator does a clever thing here in specifying "gozaimasu" as a positive add-on term and goes on to ask you how to make certain phrases polite, counting on you to remember this word. It's well done.

Then comes to the only thing I didn't like. So far the narrator has been correct about Japanese culture and I've given them the benefit of the doubt in their teaching approach, but I have to question this part. He teaches you the phrase "Jya Mata," which is primarily a casual way of saying good bye, interchangeable with "see you" in English. Knowing that manners is so important in Japan, I have to question them teaching this form first - even going as far as using it in a formal conversational example - without even as much as a mention to the more polite alternatives like "Sayounara". It's a minor point, but it annoyed me a little. To be fair, the narrator explains that it means "see you," so they're not exactly lying.

The lesson then goes on to teach you the word "ne," which again surprised me, but I like it. The narrator defines "ne" as "don't you think?/Isn't it? etc," and explains that it's used at the end of a sentence when you're expecting the person to agree with your claim. In the extra study notes, the narrator explains that a lot of Japanese sociology is all about avoiding potential conflicts, and that the Japanese thrive on harmonial relationships with others. By asking whether other people agree, you're seeking to avoid potential disagreements, so some people use it constantly. It's an interesting piece of their culture and I'm glad they introduced this word, and gave several examples of how to use it so early.

Another strange, but interesting choice was the last part which is mostly centered around compliments, and humility. You learn how to say that you're skilled and not skilled. The phrases - for those who're interested - are "Jyouzu desu" and "Jyouzu Jya Arimasen" respectively. He also teaches you how to say thank you, which goes into this whole concept of compliments. For those interested, it's "Arigato" or "Arigato Gozaimasu".

In Japan, it's custom to downplay your abilities to avoid being arrogant or boastful. Hence, you usually answer a compliment by humbly disagreeing. Again, it's funny how people seek to learn about Japanese and their culture through anime, considering that Japanese media is a very extreme form of escapism and almost all forms of behavior and styles of language found within are reversed from the usual Japanese norm, and are more accurately a description of western cultures.

Again, so far so good. The thing I like the most about this program is that it has you speaking whichever language you picked from the first minute of the program, and it's starting to build up to actual conversations at this point. It's a lot of fun. I still can't say it's worth 780 dollars, but I'll continue to update my verdict as it goes on.

[Shinoi]

Awesome review, Vic.
From my experience, I'm very surprised they don't start teaching how to introduce yourself and greet someone and I find it quite refreshing. I like it how it jumps sometimes from one part of a lesson to another and forces you to use your memory, it's a really good way to remember those words.
Since it's my first time learning Japanese (out of sheer interest, by the way) I'm very much satisfied with this program, I've learned a lot in just few hours.
When I complete first part of course, I'm taking German, hopefully this will help me improve in school.