Adorable American Seeks To Learn Japanese in 24 Hours

March 5, 2008 7:24 AM

Fun "Learn Japanese" Audiobook/Podcast that will make me a popular American at the karaoke bar?

Okay I'm flying to Japan tomorrow morning and I need something to listen to on the plane. I want to have some 'Learn Japanese' audiobook that will give me some basic understanding of conversational Japanese so I can at least TRY to speak a little bit when I'm there. Obviously it's basically impossible to learn even the most basic comprehension of an entirely new language in 24 hours but I figured why not give it a shot?

What book should I get? (Podcasts count, anything free is a plus, I will probably buy it off Audible.com)

Priorities:
1. Make me look like I'm at least trying to speak a foreign language

2. Fun to use when I meet new young people out there who will help me improve my conversational skills (I'm a single male 25 year old, and I like to constantly meet new people)

3. Not so boring that I can't stand to listen to it for more than an hour on the flight

posted by ZackTM to writing & language (1 comment total)

I love Japanesepod101.com 's podcast. It is free and definitely not boring, the host, Peter, always make me laugh when I listen to it. He is very energetic and positive. If you go to their website and download a bunch of the 'survival' lessons, I am sure you will have a few good lines under your belt by the time you arrive. Just make sure to repeat them over and over to yourself and listen to the same lessons multiple times. Trying to listen to as many as possible will only result in you knowing zero Japanese. Given the limited amount of time you have, I would just choose some of the more essential lessons and listen to them over and over. Then take time between the lessons and mouth the words to yourself and repeat them in your brain.
Since you have only 24 hours, you definitely can't get any kind of basic comprehension, but if you focus, you should be able to recognize a few phrases when they are said to you (I find Japanese easier to hear than other languages I have studied) and you should be able to rattle off a few short phrases and words you have memorized.
Good luck, feel free to mefimail me for anything more specific!
posted by honeyx at 7:54 AM on March 5, 2008