Difficulty level rising rapidly?

[kotatsu]

Am I the only one who is finding the difficulty level of the lessons lately has risen dramatically lately? It's hugely deflating, and yet also somehow encouraging as I go from listening to a JPod lesson and understanding next to nothing, to watching some unsubbed anime and understanding almost everything.

It doesn't help that some of the JPod voice actors talk at hyperspace speeds, and in many difficult to understand comedy voices. Sorry to be so negative as I do appreciate the great work you guys do, I'm just finding it all a bit depressing how you seem to have hiked the difficulty so much lately.

I think it would also help to recap less common words after each lesson, even if they've been give before sometime in the past. As a part time learner I'm not really capable of learning the large number of new words in every lesson, it's just too much to memorise each day, so recaps could really be useful.

Not a very happy first post for me here so apologies. As I say I do like JPod a lot, and I fully expect a bunch of people to say the lessons are so easy a baby could understand them and I should stop being such a slacker, but for me at least, they're getting rather too difficult to handle.

[jemstone]

sure, i agree with you, that somewhere the difficulty level goes up. it has to, otherwise we'll all be stagnant and not advancing, but just getting fluent at the current level.

reader's note: from here on, it's all my own opinion and perception of how things work (and how they make you work).

this is just a natural process because as things advances (even things other than languages), the technical difficulties goes up. and the only way to overcome this is to put it into practical use instead of more lessons.

just as when i first learn the piano. it was easy (it was pop piano so no classical lessons required). chords were just three alternate notes. but as it advances, so did many of the technical difficulties came along. suddenly i had to put in fills, play part of a song's melody, and so on and so forth. it became very difficult. until i practiced on the piano regularly. once that happened, things just clicked.

so i liken the japanesepod learning experience with my piano learning experience.

i'm glad you sometimes find it a challenge to spur yourself on. but if it gets too tough, don't feel discouraged. it's natural that things gets tougher as they advance. just repeat those that you have been through and meanwhile find as many opportunities as you can to put the language into practice.

if you feel like you're the only one stuck at a level, hey, no worries. i'm stuck at a level too. and, sad to say, i'm stuck at a particular beginner's lesson so you're not alone.

just remember, it isn't a race. the lessons are always there. if you find something you're familiar with but just couldn't remember what it is, just go back to one of the older lessons and have a recap. there's no exams. =D

[Ulver_684]

kotatsu-san!

Yes you are right so you have all my support!

[maxiewawa]

Good luck Kotatsuさん. I know you're feeling a little frustrated, but I think what everyone else is getting at is that we've all been there... sorry we can't be any more helpful than that. Jemstoneさん's piano analogy is good, and I think there is something to be said for just keeping doing it until you understand it.

[watermen]

I feel the same way too, especially the intros...they are speaking way too fast for me to understand. But don't give up, just keep listening, you will get it one day.

[haka]

I think that Jpod is great at what it does. It has introduced a huge Japanese vocabulary to me. but I also noticed that i was having lots of trouble "leveling up". My problem was that I wasn't using everything I'd learned in my own conversations, i think. When I started having to speak in Japanese, I found that my skills were very poor. After practicing normal conversations with some very patient Japanese friends, I got a lot better at speaking, which in turn, improved my listening skills.
Again, I think JPod is great, but it can't replace actual interaction with people who speak the language.

Good luck....... to all of us, nee.

[HelixSundown]

I am still back in lessons from February '06... when I listen to the lessons ahead of me when curiosity strikes, I go, "Uh-oh." But I'm sure that by the time I arrive there, probably after about 6 more months or so of listening (XD) I might be in shape to understand them too.

[emay]

I'll agree here.

I think for Beginner Lessons especially, starting when they go into the lessons numbering in the 50's, I start listening to them again. It seems though in season 2 there is that realization and that's what S2 Beginner is all about. I haven't started listening to it, but I'll muddle through the rest of regular beginner and hopefully things will be slow again for Season 2 Beginner.

[Javizy]

The real change has been in Friday's lesson, since it it shifted from intermediate to upper intermediate. Is it a bad thing? What's the point in listening to a lesson that you understand 70%+ of first-time through? When you reach an intermediate level, you really have to start grinding it out or you're going to be remaining there for a very long time.

I started finding Doraemon less challenging, so I finally read the Death Note manga I bought ages ago. In the first volume alone there were over 300 words and 12 pieces of grammar I didn't know Should I moan about the difficulty, or be happy that I know so much new vocabulary and grammar? It's tough, annoying, and even demotivating at times, but it's the reality of real Japanese, not tailored dialogues for people finding their feet; the fact that Jpod offers something at that level is great

[sTeVe aUsTiN]

I think it also depends on what levels your listening to.

Like Sights and Sounds has been painfully easy. And the story about the time capsule actually seems easier than some of the other beginner lessons. There's probably some fluctuation within the levels.

But if you're intention is to improve, it's going to get more difficult. That's the nature of advancing.

So hang in there and do lots of review. The material is always there, so you can recap the lesser known vocabs on your own!