Dr. Blair's Japanese in No Time

By: Robert Blair

Narrated by: Robert Blair

Length: 1 hr and 59 mins

Publisher's summary

You've arrived in Japan for a long overdue vacation, when you discover that the amusement park you wanted to visit has been taken over by rebellious fans of a just-cancelled television show. Suddenly, it's up to you to save the park (and worldwide TV broadcasts) from legions of crazed Flower Rangers, and success will depend on your ability to learn enough Japanese to complete your mission....

Who says that learning a language can't be fun? With Dr. Blair's Japanese in No Time, you will:

• Immediately learn Japanese that you can use in real situations
• Learn the practical applications you need
• Develop vocabulary through entertaining stories and games
• Master easy and effective memory tricks

Whether you're a businessperson, student, or traveler, whether you're brushing up on a forgotten language or just interested in learning a new one, Dr. Blair's Japanese in No Time teaches you the skills you need at the pace you want, jump-starting your study with a variety of methods that keep the experience fun, fresh, and motivating.

Why rely on old, out-dated techniques to learn a new language? Dr. Blair's Japanese in No Time offers the up-to-the-minute advantages that you won't hear anywhere else!

©2005 Gildan Audio & Power-Glide (P)2005 Gildan Media Corp & Power-Glide 2005

Quirky, but enjoyable

This audio book attempts to teach you basic Japanese by following a kooky story in which you are recruited as a spy to find out why a group of wannabe fans who love a show similar to Power Rangers has taken over a Japanese theme park. Interspersed with the story are lessons that teach you basic Japanese. It is a fun book to listen to, but it does go very fast through the Japanese. You may have to repeat parts often in order to learn the Japanese. Otherwise, this is a novel idea that is very enjoyable. If you like it, the author also has an audiobook about learning basic Mandarin Chinese as well.

So far, so good

I have only completed the first few lessons, and I'm in in no hurry, but I really like the approach to the language that this method is taking. Being a visual learner, I especially like the word pictures and mnemonics. Like Pimsleur, this method emphasizes spoken and conversational language, but its vocabulary is much more appropriate to a 40+ mom who won't be visiting any bars or introducing herself to any young men in the near future.

Introductory Option

Is there anything you would change about this book?

I don't think I would buy this as my only source of learning Japanese. For me it was a refresher, and fairly helpful. You won't learn a ton of Japanese, but I do think it's a good starting point and has the most important and useful phrases. It is quirky, and as such I don't think I'd want to listen to it repeatedly like other phrase books are meant to be replayed again and again. But I think if you have a hard time with the standard phrase type options, this would be a good change and will get you started. Then I would switch to the more typical style to get a broader vocabulary. My favorite has been the Instant Immersion, which does a good job of giving you a little more than set phrases over and over again, but can be listened to repeatedly (and is a good value for money).

Don't go for this one

Although the approach is novel, I would have to say I am very very disapointed int his product. For one thing the Gildan website says 3hr,but you only get 2 here, for another there is no way you can catch the pronunciation for the the words, says see CD-ROM, hmm what cd rom, not even a list of words that are used in the tracks are available. Don't waste your money or credits on this unless you are looking for a way to review.

Schizophrenic and Annoying

The first chapter of this book is promising; it hints that it might teach you a wealth of Japanese vocabulary and phrases in the setting of an entertaining and light-hearted plot. This premise is abandoned after the first chapter, and the rest of the book is filled with heavy-handed and ultimately useless mnemonics (I'm not even kidding, he uses the phrase "decky moss" as a mnemonic for "dekimasu"... What is "decky moss"?). This audiobook is not going to help anyone have a worthwhile understanding of Japanese.