Why don't the hosts have fun anymore?

[teabea27_499423]

I've been listening to JPod101 for years and years, and I've been kind of disappointed with the newer audio lessons. In the older lessons (with Peter, Naomi, Natsuko, Sachiko, Jess, Kat, etc.), the hosts weren't just reading words off a paper in flat voices - they were talking to each other and having fun. It was so much easier to learn Japanese from the older podcasts, because it felt like taking part in a fun conversation rather than just listening to a dull lecture. In the newer seasons, the hosts seem to read straight from a script and never deviate from the words on the page. There's no personality and no fun, and I not only don't enjoy the podcasts, I don't learn as much.

I really wish JPod101 would consider going back to the old format. It was clearly working, and it made learning Japanese something I looked forward to rather than a chore. It's hard to enjoy a podcast when it seems like the hosts aren't enjoying it themselves.

I apologize for this criticism, but I love this site and have recommended it to so many of my friends in the past. I just miss the fun I used to have listening to these podcasts.

Tea

[caroleking]

Sorry, but I like the newer lessons much better. The lessons are clearly thought out and delivered without a lot of unnecessary talk that were in the previous lessons. Keep it up!

[NihongoWaBenkyotte_500383]

I like having a more rigid format, also. Helps me to skip past the parts that I don't need, and I am able to find the information that I do need. May I recommend you find a study partner? It might fulfill what is missing for you. And if you like Peter's humor in particular, you can find that in the survival phrases and culture classes from the earlier lessons, if you skipped by those. I also like the earlier hosts in the lessons, so I know what you mean, but as a semiserious student trying to get fluent, this is better for me.

I can only guess that Peter is busy building a language empire but is still enjoying the Japanese language just like we are. I consider that my ending of the original podcast series.

[hblzr]

I have to agree with Tea. The older podcasts added more color and flavor to the lessons. While I appreciate the new lessons, they just sound so monotone and boring. If you've been to Japan, you know people don't speak that way.

I'm in favor of bringing back the old format.

[ofeliadgrd]

Hi everyone,

Thank you for posting!
We really appreciate your passionate interest.
At the moment we don't have any plan to go back to the old format , but we'll keep in mind your feedback.

Thank you and keep up the good work!

Sincerely,
Ofelia
Team JapanesePod101.com

[dobamei]

I have to agree with Tea. The older podcasts added more color and flavor to the lessons. While I appreciate the new lessons, they just sound so monotone and boring. If you've been to Japan, you know people don't speak that way.

I'm in favor of bringing back the old format.

This.

The new lessons sound just like Pimsleur and the like and have nothing to do with the FUN educational format it once was. I'm not saying it should all be 'go-into-the-studio-and-see-what-happens' again but some conversation among the hosts (in Japanese, maybe with translation) relating to the topics would make the lessons sound more natural.

By the way, considering that the intermediate lessons are quite old, is there any plan of creating a new intermediate/advanced series soon? (Ok, there was the "Lower Intermediate for Everyday Life" but to be honest I was quite dissapointed by that series. It seemed to me to have neither anything of the new very structured approach nor anything of the fun/lighthearted old approach. It was seemed to be just a collection of random sentences.)

[dobamei]

Sorry for the double-post. I just wanted to add that I like the format of the Business Japanese lessons, it's similar to the old episodes in having two hosts who deepen the understand of the content by a conversation related to the topic. It's just a pity that it's too basic for me. I can't even count the amount of Hajimemashite-lessons I have gone through here and on other sites.
Something like this for intermediate/advanced would be awesome