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How I’m Learning Japanese – Pimsleur Japanese Review

How I’m Learning Japanese

I’ve been learning Japanese on and off for several years – mainly so I can communicate and understand more when I’m in Japan. I’d love to be able to read everything, and talk to people properly without resorting to “sumimasen – nihongo ga jouzu ja arimasen” (sorry, I’m not good at Japanese!) when I don’t understand their replies. I’d also love to be able to watch anime without the subtitles one day, and be able to read the packets of Japanese foods, and the stack of fashion magazines I’ve collected. It would also help a lot when I’m researching videos if I could read Japanese websites instead of deciphering Google Translate’s bizarre translations (although they are often pretty entertaining).

Pimsleur Japanese

I’ve used several methods here and there, but my favourite by far has been the Pimsleur audio course. It just seems easier to learn from, maybe because there’s so much talking involved, and and you’re constantly testing yourself.

In the video I explain how it works, with the pros and a few cons that you might not like about it, but I’ve definitely found it the best way to learn speaking and listening.

The version I used was the MP3 course. I bought each level one by one as I worked through them, which spreads the cost out. They’re available to download from the Pimsleur website, with various options and packages with different amounts of lessons, and you can try a lesson for free before you start (recommended, because everyone learns in different ways).

How are you learning Japanese?

Let me know in the comments if you’ve tried Pimsleur, and also what you’re using to learn Japanese – because I’ll need something to move on to when I finish level 5 (until they bring out a level 6, fingers crossed!).

And there’ll be a brand new series of Japan vlogs starting this week, with new videos every Thursday to share my adventures in Kyushu, Osaka and Tokyo. I can’t wait for you to see them!