In-Flight Japanese : Learn Before You Land (Living Language In-Flight)

Rating:
Summary: didn't deliver
Review: I travel alot. I was going to spend a few months in Japan, and though it would be great to pick up a little japanese to get by. This is what In-Flight Japanese promised. It didn't quite deliver though. I have never studied Japanese. I couldn't hardly catch what they were saying. When I heard it spoken by people in Japan, it sounded different. The cd is actually harder than just getting a phrase book and roughing it. There are no scripts for the 3 different writing methods of Japanese. A big bummer. I did learn a few phrases, so it wasn't a total waste.

Rating:
Summary: didn't deliver
Review: I travel alot. I was going to spend a few months in Japan, and though it would be great to pick up a little japanese to get by. This is what In-Flight Japanese promised. It didn't quite deliver though. I have never studied Japanese. I couldn't hardly catch what they were saying. When I heard it spoken by people in Japan, it sounded different. The cd is actually harder than just getting a phrase book and roughing it. There are no scripts for the 3 different writing methods of Japanese. A big bummer. I did learn a few phrases, so it wasn't a total waste.

Rating:
Summary: Crash Landing
Review: The blurb on the back of the package claims that if you work on this programme during your flight, you will learn enough of the language to get by. Unless your flight will be equal in length to a flight to Mars, you will certainly not be able to absorb enough of this 60-minute course to even nearly get by. This is a CD "update" to Fast & Easy Japanese (also by Living Language). In-Flight Japanese boasts over 400 essential words & phrases (a 100 word increase from Fast & Easy). Less is sometimes better. Each phrase on In-Flight is only spoken once (rather than twice as on the Fast & Easy series), not enough if you want to gauge your progress. The native speakers are for the most part speaking clearly, but WAY too fast. It comes with a "boarding pass"(booklet with the entire script, but no Japanese script, very bad when you end up needing help from a native speaker). If you are already familiar with the language, the In-Flight series might actually get you up to speed in between the in-flight movie & the meal (soda pop & peanuts). If you are trying to learn Japanese, try Pimsleur's Japanese I thru III (expensive but effective). Pimsleur Japanese has 30 lessons in each unit, and will get you SPEAKING (the course is audio only) straight away. Pimsleur is by far the best course available. If you are short on time and need a "survival" course, get Language/30 Japanese (by Educational Services Corp). Language/30 comes with 2 tapes and a booklet (has Romanised script as well as Japanese characters, in case you need help from a native speaker). The truly serious language learner will be wise to go through all 3 Pimsleur courses and finish up with Living Language Ultimate Japanese Level I & II.