Teach Yourself Japanese Conversation (3CDs + Guide)

by Helen Gilhooly

A lively, practical way to develop and improve basic foreign language skills

This new, audio-based language series from Teach Yourself is an entertaining, nonintimidating way for beginners to build conversational proficiency. Each course covers 10 key situations�from greetings and buying food and drink to shopping, asking for directions, and visiting locals�and includes two conversations per topic. The explanations and instructions are simple and bite-size, making this a very accessible program.

Each audiopackage:

Builds confidence through a variety of listening exercises, from repetition of foreign language prompts to replying to English prompts Covers structures, useful phrases, and strategies for holding two-way conversations Lets learners assess their progress with specific objectives and review sections Includes a 48-page guide with key words and conversations in written form for reference

Audio CD

First published July 18, 2005

Reviews

[Lara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this one was pretty good, other than the fact that at the beginning they keep telling you to pause the CD in order to respond--that's kind of distracting and impractical to do while driving. But it's easy enough to repeat the lessons over and over until you've got things down. My only other complaint is that every now and then the speakers are hard to distinguish, so the conversations can get a little confusing at times. But I feel like this teaches you a fairly large number of very practical words and sentences very quickly, and Helen Gilhooly's voice and accent made me feel like I was being privately tutored by Dr. Helen Magnus of Sanctuary--ha (yes, I'm a dork)!