Z会 Resources

Distance education horsepower Z会 just released two books under the title テーマ別英単語 Academic [上級]. Despite the title, it is not a list of words but a series of texts with vocabulary notes. The content is academic, intellectual English for Japanese university students. It is also an interesting opportunity for reverse usage geared at academic, intellectual Japanese studies. The accompanying audio CDs as usual only contain the English version of the texts covered, but the book is well organized, as Z会 knows how to do it, and the format more legible and easy on the eyes than the books aimed at high schoolers. Volume 1 covers issues around 人文・社会科学, whereas volume 2 is focused on 自然科学. I purchased volume 1. Each subjects are very compactly covered by Japanese introductory texts with English vocab giving a background to better understand the English samples. It makes for efficient study without choking on too long chapters and the vocabulary is deep and rich while "efficient". I am particularly pleased with the subject Economy & Business that has direct practical applications in business interpreting. Now, if the Japanese translations were voiced over, it would be perfect.