Learning Japanese Using Pimsleur Japanese

This is a record of my notes for learning Japanese using the Pimsleur Japanese Language Program.

For those who don't know, the Pimsleur Japanese Language Program is a great audio course that uses a completely aural approach to language learning through listening and speaking practice. You learn the proper pronounciations of words and phrases by mimicking the speakers piece by piece. The course features a systematic method of memory recall developed by linguist, Dr. Paul Pimsleur. One of the things I like about it is that you are constantly required to recall and reproduce material, making the rate of memory rentention quite good. Check out this wikipedia article for more information.

I have been through most of this course before - converting the CDs into mp3 and dumping them onto my then iPAQ PDA (which got stolen) and listening to them during the daily commute to and from work. I would listen to a new lesson in the morning on the way to work and review that lesson on the way back from work. Sometimes I would be tempted to rush ahead and do more than one lesson in a day but this usually ended up with the opposite effect as retention of the material would deteriorate. Anyway, this program has been really helpful for me to get up and speaking (basic) Japanese pretty quickly.

However, I found that once I got past the first 15 or so lessons, constantly reviewing the audio lessons became too time-consuming. I think having a text reference is an essential aid for reviewing the material. So it is my intention to publish my study notes of vocabulary and dialogue for this course here over time. BUT please note, I am no expert and if there are mistakes, please correct me!