Word selection for Vocabulary section

[andycarmenjapanese8100]

I understand that it would be counter-productive to include every word from the dialogue in the vocabulary section (especially the common ones) but sometimes vocabulary which is central to the story isn't explained. For example, Intermediate Lesson 21 ("Tanabata") doesn't list the word "amanogawa" ("Milky Way") which is frequently used in the script. So the listener has to either guess it's meaning from the context given in the story or look it up themselves via Google. Just to be sure, when this problem arises, I generally Google.

It's nice that you don't want to overload your listeners by throwing too much vocabulary at them in that section of the PDF but by not including key words you're not absolving us of the burden - We WANT to understand everything in the dialogue and if it isn't explained by you then we'll have to search the internet for it or use a dictionary, which is more hassle (and more unreliable) for us than having a big PDF.

So, I'm requesting that the Vocabulary sections be more comprehensive with words that the listeners may not be familiar with. Even if it means twenty words from a long conversation, it's preferable to the alternative.

[mmmason8967]

For example, Intermediate Lesson 21 ("Tanabata") doesn't list the word "amanogawa" ("Milky Way") which is frequently used in the script. So the listener has to either guess it's meaning from the context given in the story or look it up themselves via Google.

Quite often you'll find that a word will turn up in the Kanji Close-Up file if it doesn't appear in the vocabulary list--which is the case for amanogawa. Why some apparently significant words don't appear in the vocabulary list I don't know, although I suspect it's got something to do with whether or not a flashcard exists for the word.

マイケル

[community.japanese]

andy-san, マイケルsan,
kon'nichiwa!

Andy-san, thank you very much for the feedback and suggestions, and マイケルsan, thank you very much
for your thoughts and help!
I share your posts with my team to discuss about it right now.

As to specific theme "tanabata", there's even a culture class covering this tanabata story (which I believe is
for any Japan/Japanese lovers). By the time people reach intermediate level, we assume that learners
have quite much information about cultural matters and it could be the reason. Still, this doesn't justify
the lack of key word in vocabulary section. So, thank you very much for pointing out this important issue!

Natsuko(奈津子),
Team JapanesePod101.com