Lessons on Japanese current events

[watermen]

I would love to know more about Japan. I wish Jpod101 can come out with lessons about the latest Japanese events. Not just hip-hop or entertainment...but current event that most Japanese people are into. Such as the latest or hottest news in the town etc..

Be honest...I am actually pretty much tired of those meaningless conversation between those characters in the newbie and beginner series...initially i found it fun, but after hearing and seeing those conversation again and again, it is kind of meaningless and has no real substance.

I suggest Jpod101 to write more meaningful conversation in the future, not only to learn Japanese, but to learn more about Japan as well.

[プチクレア]

hmm... aren't you afraid that would be VERY high level ? You need quite a lot of specialized vocabulary to deal with "talk of the town" topics. Try listening to the Daily Yomiuri podcasts : of course they're very fast (being for japanese people) but apart from that, and even outside of the politics or economy section, the vocabulary isn't always that easy.

In written form, in the now-defunct 日本語ジャーナル,there used to be a section with four simplified articles about japanese news. They weren't the most obvious material in the paper.

I don't know how much in advance the lesson scripts are written, but those news might actually be stale too by the time they're broadcast.

Maybe Jpod could give us a japanese (english ?) version of Epod's これってホンマ though...

[Javizy]

Nihongo Journal isn't defunct is it? I have the November and December 2007 issues. I think they're great; on top of the four articles you mentioned, they have a breakdown of a newspaper article at the end of that section. There are a number of other articles about current topics in the other sections, and all of them come with a reading on the CD. It's also got kanji quizzes, JLPT questions, and a bunch of cultural stuff relevant to the time of year (the December issue focuses on new years in the first section). The furigana that only appears once for each word is a great feature also.

It's definitely intermediate level though, for the article about the opening of the Rail Museum I had to make a vocabulary list of 70 words

Nihongo Journal at White Rabbit Press

I'm not sure I agree with jpod switching to current affairs. The idea of the lessons is to teach core grammar and vocabulary, and enough culture to stop you sticking out like a beer belly after Christmas. I even thought of making a similar suggestion after reading the Journal, but I really can't see how they'd do it without making an entirely new category of lessons. A miniseries perhaps wouldn't be out of the question, if any thought was given to the suggestion thread about understanding the news, it would nicely combine with that.

[プチクレア]

Nihongo Journal isn't defunct is it?

I'd be more than happy to know it's not. My local Junku-do store said they wouldn't carry it any more after December 2007, and since they import tons of newspapers from Japan, I took that as meaning it wouldn't be published anymore. I hope I'm wrong...

[Javizy]

Nihongo Journal isn't defunct is it?

I'd be more than happy to know it's not. My local Junku-do store said they wouldn't carry it any more after December 2007, and since they import tons of newspapers from Japan, I took that as meaning it wouldn't be published anymore. I hope I'm wrong...

It's into February now and there's no January issue on the site, so I think you're right. That's just my luck - the first issue I ordered happened to be the last one they make (I ordered the November issue afterwards)

[josiah]

Be honest...I am actually pretty much tired of those meaningless conversation between those characters in the newbie and beginner series...initially i found it fun, but after hearing and seeing those conversation again and again, it is kind of meaningless and has no real substance.

honestly? i reckon japanesepod101 is fantastic and the best japanese learning resource aside from a teacher or school to ever have.
and the fact that japanesepod101 teaches a lot of casual grammar and other things makes it even better that a school.
if beginners are no longer challenging for you, why not try intermediate which is entirely japanese?
and in defence of "meaningless conversation" i would say that life is one long conversation, so what better way to learn?

'nuff said!

[watermen]

Be honest...I am actually pretty much tired of those meaningless conversation between those characters in the newbie and beginner series...initially i found it fun, but after hearing and seeing those conversation again and again, it is kind of meaningless and has no real substance.

honestly? i reckon japanesepod101 is fantastic and the best japanese learning resource aside from a teacher or school to ever have.
and the fact that japanesepod101 teaches a lot of casual grammar and other things makes it even better that a school.
if beginners are no longer challenging for you, why not try intermediate which is entirely japanese?
and in defence of "meaningless conversation" i would say that life is one long conversation, so what better way to learn?

'nuff said!

You misunderstand my point. I love those newbie and beginner lessons. I just hope that Jpod101 can add some current events into those conversation, yet maintaining it at a newbie or beginner level, instead of having conversation that does not carry much meaning other than teaching us grammar. It is just my 2 cents.