Start Japanese (Learn Japanese with the Michel Thomas Method)

Just complete the CD and am very disappointed with the amount of content, I was shocked to find that I had already completed it. It gives you a vague understanding of the language and teaches you some sentences but the content was very limited. Not good value IMO

The only native speaker on the whole cd is barely in it - you spend way too much time listening to english people pronouncing things badly. I don't think it's useful to hear someone else messing up and being corrected continually, which is essentially all this is. I have tried another Michel Thomas course (Punjabi) which, as it was hosted by a native speaker, was better but it was still grating having to listen to the other 'students' not getting it right. You'd be better off trying Pimsleur or Paul Noble.

Save your money and go straight for "Total Japanese" this is the First CD in that set re-packaged as the "Start" / "Basic" tutorial.

my son wanted to learn some basic Japanese...

arrived quickly seems very easy to start learning just need to find the time to listen to it !

Actually really good!

Great and fast seller

I've tried a few ways to start to teach myself Japanese but for me the audio courses seem to work best, but which audio course? I first tried the Japanese Audio Course (Collins Easy Learning) but found that I didn't make the progress I wanted. This one was essentially learning phrases by rote without the deeper understanding of what is being said. The book had an objective which was to give the reader some useful phrases for visiting Japan and whilst useful I found it ultimately unrewarding.Start Japanese with the Michel Thomas Method is a much different approach to the Collins one and here you are the third student in the class. You are encouraged not to try and remember words or to write anything down but just to relax, absorb and be involved. This method seems to work surprisingly well and the language seems in through a process of osmosis almost.Each bite size lesson involves the teacher explaining a little of the background and one or two new words and then the students with a little guidance repeat or construct a new sentence. So how would you say `I sometimes drink coffee' is a typical exchange. The two students (one male and one female) each take it in turns. The male student gets most attempts correct, the female student is a little slower but that helps in that you don't feel left behind if you don't quite get it right. There is also a native Japanese speaker that then repeats the correct sentence in Japanese.The Start Japanese with the Michel Thomas Method course has limited objectives, by the end of the course you'll have learned around 35 words (5 verbs, about 13 Nouns and sundry pronouns and adverbs). It might not sound like much but the foundation is firm and you'll know the sentence structure and how to use and pronounce many other words. It's only a start, a small step and nothing more but it does imbue the listener with the confidence and desire to learn more.There is a nine page pamphlet with the CD that has a (very) brief synopsis of each of the fourteen lessons. You don't need it for the course but it does have the words that introduced in each lesson. I find it useful to see the words written down in Romanji.I now intend to order Total Japanese with the Michel Thomas Method (Michel Thomas Series)and look forward to listening to the next steps. Start Japanese doesn't really cover the past tense or particles and so I'm sure the next steps will be more of a challenge but no less enjoyable.