a simplier audio blog?

[vincenthugo]

Hi,

My favorite lessons are admittedly the audio blogs. I really like listening to Arisa-san and Yuichi-san's conversations, even if the conversations are about nothing (especially if it's about nothing!). It's also the only feature on your website that tests listening and comprehension, and I think that's really important in addition to vocab and grammar.

But Miki's blog is perhaps a little advanced for some of us. Can you guys make a more "beginner's" audio blog? Can you add more than just one comprehension question?

Anyway else think this is a good idea?

Thanks!
Vincent

[uemuraw]

I think it's a great idea. Something that serves as a culminating point for a group of newbie or beginner lessons.

For example -- I enjoy listening to Welcome to Style You (repeatedly -- it cracks me up). Because of this, a narrative summary for Welcome to Style You would be very cool for me. I imagine it would be like the "soap opera spoilers" my wife gets in her e-mail to help her keep up with her favorite soaps.

**************************************
What I would like to know, is when are we going to see some "CrossPod" action?

I would love to see the JPod Style You gang trying to order coffee in Morrocco with Leyla and Amina, or Jenny and Jonas checking out the chicken kabobs on Saint Petersburg with Anna and Eric. Maybe Lena and Michael can make an appearance in Santiago and hang out with Eliana and Ramon....

One of my favorite features of "XPod" is listening to how a native speaker and a non-native speaker can interact effectively -- been one of my favorite parts of XPod ever since hearing Peter Gallante for the first time a couple years ago (has it been that long?)

[WalterWills]

Hi,

My favorite lessons are admittedly the audio blogs. I really like listening to Arisa-san and Yuichi-san's conversations, even if the conversations are about nothing (especially if it's about nothing!). It's also the only feature on your website that tests listening and comprehension, and I think that's really important in addition to vocab and grammar.

But Miki's blog is perhaps a little advanced for some of us. Can you guys make a more "beginner's" audio blog? Can you add more than just one comprehension question?

Anyway else think this is a good idea?

Thanks!
Vincent

Where are those audio blogs under? All I can find are Miki's blogs.

[skrba]

In my opinion there are already too much beginners subclasses and some of them contain more than one season, so I think it is enough for people to start learning Japanese. That beginner phase usually finishes soon so people will need some more advanced things, but unfortunately Jpod doesn't have too much such contents (just check forum questions and requests for JLPT 2 or 1). Audio blog is really good for practicing kanjis reading with Rikaichan and Mozilla Firefox, but if its level also goes down then there is not so much things to learn for intermediate and higher levels (except once in a week).

[vincenthugo]

Alright, first let me clarify a few things:

What I'm stressing is listening comprehension. The current setup on Jpod is really great for reading comprehension. What I'm suggesting doesn't have to be audio blog, though it just seems most appropriate, because of the lesson setup with Yuichi-san and Arisa-san. The normal lessons contain written content questions in the Learning Center (which are great, I might add), but the audio for the lessons contains an English translation so asking comprehension questions during the audio won't work. No one wants to do listening/comprehension exercises because they're hard, but that's why it's so important. It helps not only in forcing you to understand the content of the blog, but also to understand questions related to the content, and turn around with an answer.

I'm not suggesting taking away kanji reading with Rikaichan, rather I'm suggesting adding to it. If you're worried about 'diluting' the existing lineup, maybe there is some way to incorporate comprehension questions in the audio of the Beginner/Newbie lessons, working around the English translation. Suggestions certainly welcome!

And the level i'm suggesting is Beginner/Lower Intermediate (maybe a little slower reading) - Newbie is probably not feasible.

[WalterWills]

Where are those audio blogs under? All I can find are Miki's blogs.

[WalterWills]

Nevermind, I've found them now

[WalterWills]

...and I think they're great!!

I really think it's a good idea to have audio files of just two people chatting about anything...I think it's the closest I can get to overhearing two people speaking in Japanese while trying to follow what they're saying without actually being in Japan!

[ShiroiNeko]

Hi,

My favorite lessons are admittedly the audio blogs. I really like listening to Arisa-san and Yuichi-san's conversations, even if the conversations are about nothing (especially if it's about nothing!). It's also the only feature on your website that tests listening and comprehension, and I think that's really important in addition to vocab and grammar.

But Miki's blog is perhaps a little advanced for some of us. Can you guys make a more "beginner's" audio blog? Can you add more than just one comprehension question?

Anyway else think this is a good idea?

Thanks!
Vincent

There have been some requests for newbie/beginner blogs in other threads. I would really like to see this as well. There is plenty of more advanced Japanese to listen to in the lessons themselves, and the blogs, but not much for beginners. I know many of the beginners lessons by heart, but would really like to test my listening skills with new combinations of words I know.

[elau1986]

Maybe this doesn't fit the topic. Similarly, I want a series that is similar to the current upper intermediate series, but with all the explanations of the vocabulary/grammar points in Japanese (i.e. no use of English at all).

[Javizy]

I know many of the beginners lessons by heart, but would really like to test my listening skills with new combinations of words I know.

If you know all the grammar and vocabulary covered in the beginner lessons, then why do you continue to study them? You're not supposed to understand everything first time round; lessons are supposed to be challenging while helping you to learn to understand them. It sounds to me like you should be making the jump to lower intermediate. Your "level" is what you can already understand, so you're supposed to be continually pushing that little bit past that level so it continues to increase.

I progressed from complete newbie to lower intermediate just using the original 170 beginner lessons. Every new lesson is a listening comprehension test to try to understand what's going on, and by the end of it you've learnt to understand all of it, giving you something new that makes the next one easier. The jump was a little daunting at first, but I'd learnt everything at the beginner level, and realised that staying there wasn't going to get me to Miki's blog-level any quicker, and neither is a beginner blog that doesn't teach you any new grammar at all.

The whole point of Miki's blog is Japanese without limits, that's why it doesn't teach you any specific grammar or vocabulary, because it's presenting you with real-world language where such things aren't an issue. A heavily limited beginner's blog would be the complete opposite of this. I'm not saying it's a bad idea as such, I just think beginners have everything they need on this site to progress to lower intermediate, and it already heavily outweighs the more advanced stuff.

[ShiroiNeko]

I know many of the beginners lessons by heart, but would really like to test my listening skills with new combinations of words I know.

If you know all the grammar and vocabulary covered in the beginner lessons, then why do you continue to study them? You're not supposed to understand everything first time round; lessons are supposed to be challenging while helping you to learn to understand them. It sounds to me like you should be making the jump to lower intermediate. Your "level" is what you can already understand, so you're supposed to be continually pushing that little bit past that level so it continues to increase.

I progressed from complete newbie to lower intermediate just using the original 170 beginner lessons. Every new lesson is a listening comprehension test to try to understand what's going on, and by the end of it you've learnt to understand all of it, giving you something new that makes the next one easier. The jump was a little daunting at first, but I'd learnt everything at the beginner level, and realised that staying there wasn't going to get me to Miki's blog-level any quicker, and neither is a beginner blog that doesn't teach you any new grammar at all.

The whole point of Miki's blog is Japanese without limits, that's why it doesn't teach you any specific grammar or vocabulary, because it's presenting you with real-world language where such things aren't an issue. A heavily limited beginner's blog would be the complete opposite of this. I'm not saying it's a bad idea as such, I just think beginners have everything they need on this site to progress to lower intermediate, and it already heavily outweighs the more advanced stuff.

I have no exposure to spoken Japanese other than JPOD, I still have trouble putting together sentences together with all of what I know.

It's the difference between learning lessons by rote and being able to "parrot" back exactly what said from individual lessons, and being able to use grammar patterns and words from multiple lessons together in listening and conversations.

I don't want to use an audio blog to learn new words or grammar - I want to use it to sharpen my listening and comprehension skills, and I can't do that if I don't understand what is being said.

[Ulver_684]

Hi,

My favorite lessons are admittedly the audio blogs. I really like listening to Arisa-san and Yuichi-san's conversations, even if the conversations are about nothing (especially if it's about nothing!). It's also the only feature on your website that tests listening and comprehension, and I think that's really important in addition to vocab and grammar.

But Miki's blog is perhaps a little advanced for some of us. Can you guys make a more "beginner's" audio blog? Can you add more than just one comprehension question?

Anyway else think this is a good idea?

Thanks!
Vincent

Vicent-san!

I agree with you, I also want a simplier audioblog for us beginners to be honest I don't like Yuri's blog, I'm not interest in fashion! I miss Miki's blogs.