View topic - Podcast help.

by **Casey09** » Thu 01.24.2008 2:52 pm

I was wondering what educational podcasts that help you expand your vocabulary and also help to train your ear for japanese in everday life in Japan, people could recommend.

by **saraLynne** » Thu 01.24.2008 3:06 pm

The one, the only, Japanesepod 101

The best japanese learning podcasts out there, in my not-so-humble opinion. There's a free trial, and subscriptions aren't very much.

by **burstandbloom** » Thu 01.24.2008 7:04 pm

saraLynne wrote:
The one, the only, Japanesepod 101

The best japanese learning podcasts out there, in my not-so-humble opinion. There's a free trial, and subscriptions aren't very much.

First off, I totally agree that JapanesePod101 is a great Japanese learning podcast.

My questions to saraLynne, what exactly do you pay for when you subscribe? I'm "subscribed" to the podcast I believe that provides a wealth of different podcasts from beginner to advance. What else do you get when you pay for it? Or are even the podcats I'm getting not all of them that are offered?

by **saraLynne** » Thu 01.24.2008 8:54 pm

You get the PDFs of the lessons, the kanji study sheets, and the study outline thingie. I like to have the PDFs, so I think it's worthwhile.

by **burstandbloom** » Thu 01.24.2008 9:46 pm

That would be really nice. I should check that out.

by **Chris Hart** » Fri 01.25.2008 12:18 am

There's a lot of stuff in the learning center. The premium subscription gives you access to that. Also, the review tracks are good. I actually use those more than the PDFs. The best thing is sign up for the week trial and explore everything. Then, after looking around for a day or two, sign up for the level you will use.

Also, by even signing up for the week trial, you can access, and post, on the forum there. You don't need to be a paying subscriber, just registered.

I also recommend their sister site Englishpod101 for listening practice. The layout of the site is the same, and the lessons are targeted at Japanese speakers learning English. I find the Japanglesh Express and beginner lessons to be the most useful, although I do try to at least view the comments for the audio blogs, even if I don't have time to listen. Interestingly, I have learned some about other English dialects there, (mostly Strine) mostly from some of the other native speakers that visit. (mostly Maxiewawa)

Several people (including myself) are trying to get the users of both sites to interact with each other. Many of EP101's early listeners were actually students of Japanese that went over from JP101 as the site launched.