Beginner Issues

[Autotech84]

I've been listening and practicing Japanese for couple months now. I'm really enjoying this site and everything it offers I'm just having 1 issue. What section (audio) is the best to start out with? I've been using the Beginners area but I picked up couple newbie audio clips and it threw my for a loop.Any advise would be great. Domo Arigatou Goziamasu

[pradagirl0530]

Hajimemashite! I am relatively new as well - I've been listening for a few months. I read somewhere that the first 10 survival lessons are a good place to start, so I started there and switched over to the beginner lessons after that. I am still listening to the survivor series, but haven't experienced the newbie lessons yet. I'd be interested to see how they fit into the mix. What I like about these lessons is that one seems to enforce another, which makes it easier to remember.

[Naguib]

I started with the newbie and first season beginner lessons. I think the survival phrases teach good phrases, as they claim, but I didn't feel when I've listened to them that they teach enough of the grammar. I know people usually run in the opposite direction at the mention of grammar, but without it you cannot compose you're own sentences. Survival phrases seemed more memorization based than comprehension based, unlike the newbie and beginner lessons.

[Iwakurasan]

I started with the newbie and first season beginner lessons. I think the survival phrases teach good phrases, as they claim, but I didn't feel when I've listened to them that they teach enough of the grammar. I know people usually run in the opposite direction at the mention of grammar, but without it you cannot compose you're own sentences. Survival phrases seemed more memorization based than comprehension based, unlike the newbie and beginner lessons.

Couldn't agree more! When I have to memorize just sounds that make no sense to me, it's ten times as hard for me! I don't think I could even do the survival courses, for that reason. My brain simply needs structure, even if minimal. I need to know what 'wa' does, and 'ne', and 'ka', etc. Otherwise processing a language is like storing a raw 'bitmap,' to put it in computer terms: a very inefficient way of doing things. Without recognizing structure, it all just sounds like gibberish. And memorizing gibberish is a very 'expensive' operation.

I'm only on Lesson 3 of the newbie course (we all gotta start somewhere, ne?). So we looked at 'hasjimemashite'. It helps me tremendously to know that 'mashite' modifies the verb to the Present Tense. And to at least already be able to recognize its different forms, like ma-su, ma-sen, mashi-te, mashi-ta, etc. So, in Lesson two, when we hear the guy say: "Shitsurei shimashita," I can recognize the Past Tense (which they told us it was, so I looked the matter up). I cannot emphasize the importance of this enough. I know it's popular to dislike grammar, but I like it. I need it, rather.

Also, without grammar, I couldn't possibly get any 'traction' going, as it were, where recognizing one thing will help you quicker grasp the next, like a snow-ball effect. So, I hope the Japanesepod101 staff keeps putting lotsa grammar in their lessons; more, rather than less!

[mklfe1]

Hajimemashite.

I wondered about what all to start with and this answers my question. I'm on Lesson 2 of the Beginner Series and I will add the Newbie Series after reading the advice here. I love this site!!

Doumo Arigatou