JapanesePod101.com in Newsweek!
Friday, August 25th, 2006
JapanesePod101.com was featured in a Newsweek article by Technology Correspondent Brad Stone about learning languages through podcasts. Brad-san and his wife Jennifer Granick, Executive Director at the Center for Internet and Society, came to JapanesePod101.com “headquarters” earlier this month, and we walked - actually ran - them through a usual day at JapanesePod101.com. Meeting Brad-san and Jennifer-san, two extremely down to earth people for all they have accomplished, has been one of the highlights of the entire project. They made our day by sharing stories of using Japanese they learned from our podcasts and how the resulting experiences added to their trip. Brad-san and Jennifer-san, hontō ni arigatō gozaimasu!
For anyone wondering what an average day at JapanesePod101.com is like, Brad-san captured it and put it into writing. When I was reading the article, it was as if I was reading about any given day at the office. For those of you who can’t make it to Tokyo, you can now read about what goes on at the office.
In addition, we talked in detail about on-demand training and the role of podcasts as a language learning tool. Brad’s article talks about our revelevant and fresh content, which is made possible by being located in Tokyo, Japan and being immersed in Japanese culture and society. Compare this with a Japanese teacher located overseas, who can, at best, keep up through second-hand information. This advantage allows us to keep in touch with culture and events that influence the language, and share experience and knowledge gained first-hand. We also had the chance to talk about how we started JapanesePod101.com and about our friends at ChinesePod.com.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank you - the listeners! Thank you for all of your support and everything you do for JapanesePod101.com! You truly are the source of our energy. Hontō ni arigatō gozaimasu! In case you missed the link above, the article can be found here.
Posted by JapanesePod101.com in Media Coverage |
August 25th, 2006 at 4:34 pm
Peter,
Great article in Newsweek today! Well done. You guys have done a super job over there. I appreciate the ChinesePod mention you obviously gave to Brad Stone in the interview.
Cheers!
August 25th, 2006 at 8:47 pm
Congratulations!
But you deserve it!
August 25th, 2006 at 8:49 pm
Wow! Omedeto!
I would still love to know more about how you put the podcasts together. Peter, do you write the dialogues along with the Japanese speakers?
I loved the article!
August 25th, 2006 at 8:54 pm
凄いですね！おめでとう！
August 25th, 2006 at 9:04 pm
Wow!
It’s the first time I see 凄い written with kanjis.
Frozen housewife?
August 25th, 2006 at 9:09 pm
Supein kara, Omedeto! JapanesePod101 wa totemo omoshiroi desu!
You are great. Felicidades.
August 25th, 2006 at 9:57 pm
おめでとう! That was an interesting article, thanks for sharing it Peterさん!
August 25th, 2006 at 10:27 pm
Hm… Rikaichan tells me it has the right meaning, but if it’s normally written in hiragana, thanks for telling me
August 25th, 2006 at 10:37 pm
I read the Newsweek article.
I think Peter-san is a force of nature! I am in aw
Well done all of you at JPOD101 - well deserved praise. Long may you last.
mikuji
August 26th, 2006 at 12:03 am
Peter, do you like that all the time… All pictures I have seen you show your teeth… A deal with your dentist?
August 26th, 2006 at 12:15 am
Hey guys, I am an intermediate learner of Japanese and I just found the podcast a week ago. I went back to the very first podcast in order to revise all the basics and make sure I haven’t missed/forgotten anything. I’m into the Feb 06 podcasts and really enjoying it. Peter, you have a very good manner for this format, very entertaining. Keep up the great work!
August 26th, 2006 at 1:04 am
おめでとう！ \o/
Peter is secretly trying to get cast for one of those commercials for teeth whitening strips.
August 26th, 2006 at 5:11 am
Nice article….
You all really seem to enjoy your work at JapanesePod101.com. Keep up the good work! 
I am looking forward to visiting Japan starting next week. Would it be possible to visit the studio Sept 6 or 7?
Richard
San Francisco, CA
August 26th, 2006 at 5:25 am
Great job! Congratulations, you guys!
August 26th, 2006 at 6:44 am
Sølvi,
Sugoi is also often written in kanjis
Google gives:
すごい ２９ ５００ ０００
凄い １２ ７００ ０００
I was only surprised by the components of the kanji.
August 27th, 2006 at 12:17 am
Superb news congratulations!
August 27th, 2006 at 4:14 am
A very insightful article. Language learning has certainly evolved significantly from my school days, when we were lucky to get into the ‘language lab’ for listening & speaking practice for half an hour a week.
The article discusses speaking practice. I can see that this could be outsourced overseas in the same way that call centres have, except (& here is the problem), the desire for native speakers for all but introductory classes. Chinesepod can probably make this work, as manpower costs in China are low compared to the rest of the developed world. Costs in Japan are much higher, so it is likely to be hard to compete here with local classes, particularly as public educational institutions are part funded by the government, so the student doesn’t see the full cost. 難しいですね。
August 27th, 2006 at 10:54 am
August 27th, 2006 at 4:10 pm
皆さん
おめでとう！
You really deserved to be mentioned in such a famous magazine as Newsweek, because you have done a great job since the beginning and your podcast is improving everyday!
I’ve been listening to you for about 6 month (but I have listened to ALL your podcasts, from the first one to the last) and, as a self-taught student of Japanese for 12 years, let me say that YOU ARE AMAZING!
頑張って下さ
August 28th, 2006 at 8:42 pm
Hi Peter
Wow….I’m impressed…! It’s so you! You have the talent to motivate others…in an easy, funny way!
Hoffentlich bis bald mal?
Carmen
September 2nd, 2006 at 12:18 am
In fact, you should try the Michel Thomas method to see how it works. Maybe you can get some piece for free or something…
I’ve taken a few courses and it really is a very efficient method (at least for me). Like, in eight hours he taught hell lots of stuff, including grammar and vocabulary. The thing that I like about it: there isn’t any revision required and nor anything to write down at the first learning stages (well, maybe that wouldn'’t be the case, with Japanese, though).
He has two students in the class along with him, he explains stuff to them, and later ask questions and helps them working it out. Also he asks people to pause the recoding before his students answering the questions and to try answering it yourself.
Well, anyway, it sounder too much like a commercial, but that’s just a suggestion. Maybe you could apply some of it for the speaking practice on your podcast or something.
September 2nd, 2006 at 1:23 pm
Peter and crew,
Congratulations. You guys deserve it.
September 6th, 2006 at 2:59 am
As ever the generous chaps at Jpod101 are willing to lend a hand to those less famous than themselves. If you’d asked me yesterday I’d have said “Newsweek? Whats that?” but now, thanks to the Jpod team, I know. Keep up the good work Galante san and co.
Gambate kudasai and arigatou gozaimasu
September 8th, 2006 at 4:33 am
Besides Brad, Jennifer, and Peter, who are the other two people in the picture? Is Natsuko on the left and Sakura on the right?
On that note, when are you going to update the member profiles with pictures?
ありがとう！
September 9th, 2006 at 12:27 am
HI, there.
I am Korean studying Japanese in Australia!!??.
Nonesense!!
Haha. no-. it’s true. I am a uni student studying management in Australia, and I am stunned with JPOD101.com. It lets me get two birds with one stone!!! Learning English from Peter and Japanese from the other fellas. Keep it up guys. go!(English) Kambare!(Japanese) Fighting! (Korean).
By the way, I’ve got the same question as Rick does. I have been wondering since so long what Sakura san and Natsuko san look like? Are they on the picture up there???
Cheers
Yusik
September 10th, 2006 at 4:31 am
October 3rd, 2006 at 10:22 am
Peter and Teams
Congratualtions
I am a subscibers of NEWSWEEKS.
October 3rd, 2006 at 11:40 pm
u guys are the best!!! Keep u p the good work….
October 3rd, 2006 at 11:45 pm
Haha! When I first read that, I thought your username was “God.” I was about to say, “wow. We’re getting props from high places.”