Japanese Textbook

[alex]

When I was in college, the textbook I used was Yookoso (from McGraw Hill). I think it is well organized and I like it a lot. Just want to see which Japanese textbook you used and what do you think about them.

[esp]

I'm using Genki 1 at the moment. I think it's really good but I haven't really look at many others. Its got good grammer and vocabulary sections which is one of the reasons I like it .

[Brugg]

I'm using "Japanese for Everyone" for self study. I've only worked through the first few lessons, but so far it seems very well thought out, and the tempo is nice (given you also use other resources, and have some basic knowledge beforehand). It's by no means the only book you'll need, but it's great if you supplement with other materials, and it covers a lot - in a thorough way. At least this is the impression i have after having glanced through it and read other peoples opinions. However, it's very dense on information, which is why you need supplements. It's the total opposite of the "learn Japanese without even thinking"-books. Also, some (very few) of the gramatical points are not completely explained, forcing self-learners like me onto the web to find answers (which works, but is an annoyance). Another problem is that i find the dialogues a bit boring, but on the other hand, i've yet to discover a language book with interesting dialogues. "Japanese for Everyone" seems great for anyone planning to get serious with the language. Genki also seems great though. And i believe it's newer.

[helen]

I use loads of different ones -
Colloquial Japanese
Japanese For Busy People
Teach Yourself Japanese
Beginning Japanese
Mastering Japanese

and I have a few others but I can't remember. I left them at my parents' house because now I'm at uni to take my exams, so at the moment I'm just using jpod101 and internet stuff. From the books, I like Colloquial Japanese and Busy People best.

[lolillo]

I'm Spanish, so the first textbooks I used were written in Spanish: "Tanoshii Nihongo" and "Japonés Hablado" ("Spoken Japanese").

"Tanoshii Nihongo"(published by Sociedad Hispánica del Japón) was my first Japanese textbook. For many months, it was the only one I used and it was my first contact with the Japanese language: I learned from scratch and on my own, and it gave me the basics, though I had to put a lot of effort on my part sometimes, because not everything is sufficiently explained.

"Japonés Hablado" (by R. Planas and J.A. Ruescas) is written entirely in romaji (and Spanish), but it provides a wealth of information and vocabulary. It's more than a bit dated but it was useful just the same.


Then I bought lots and lots and lots of material. I'm the eternal basic level student and other textbooks which I have used and that I consider worth are:

Japanese For Everyone (I have the tapes, too). Very complete and visually attractive (it was the first Japanese textbook I got with a modern appearance).

Intensive Course In Japanese (published by the Japanese Language Promotion Center). Very old-looking (dating back to the seventies) but very thorough.

"Reading Japanese" (Eleanor Harz Jorden and Hamako Ito Chaplin): Invaluable for learning kanji.

And my latest acquisition only last month: "Japanese From Zero!" (I already said that I'm the eternal basic level student). So far they only have levels 1, 2 and 3, and I'm looking forward to the publication of levels 4 (in a few months, so I'm told) and 5 (next year).

[MexicanHat]

I used Minna no Nihongo. Its very good. My teacher made us learn Hirigana and Katakana straight away. Spread it over 3 weeks though which was good

There's alot of books from them but the main books are the main textbook which is in Hirigana, Katakan and Kanji and the English Grammar notes. As the lessons progress they introduce reading passages. I really recommend this book.

Right now my class is using Integrated Approach To Intermediate Japanese which is also really good. They have cultural notes, grammar notes and they go into more detail of the honourific and humble expressions.

[JockZon]

I use Japanese for busy people I-III (In school I used Japanese for young people but I just took one year of japanese).

I've just started with book nr 2 and most of it is things I already know from jpod So mostly, I use the book for learning new words and for practising reading.

[Joey]

My school uses a book called "Nakama"

[Ulver_684]

Mina-san!

Thank you for sharing your Japanese textbooks so I can go and buy them to help myself with my Japanese learning! :wink:

[Javizy]

Basic Connections: Making Your Japanese Flow and Japanese Core Words and Phrases by Kakuko Shoji are both excellent books. They target common problems of Japanese students to help you use the language more naturally. You'll learn a lot about things you already thought you knew well, and there are so many constructions not covered on this website that you'll wonder how you lived without. If I didn't already own them, I'd be ordering them about now.

[lolillo]

Another book, very interesting and strongly recommended, is "A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar" by Seiichi Makino and Michio Tsutsui, published by The Japan Times. It has entries on basic grammar items, arranged alphabetically, with explanations, examples of usage and, when relevant, it tells the difference between the use of that term and another of similar meaning or translation.

It is a very useful tool.

[Shaydwyrm]

Another book, very interesting and strongly recommended, is "A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar" by Seiichi Makino and Michio Tsutsui, published by The Japan Times.

I second this, and the sequel volume "A Dictionary of Intermediate Japanese Grammar" is also great as you start encountering more advanced stuff. I've heard they're in the process of putting out a third, advanced volume, but honestly, I haven't encountered any grammar yet that wasn't in the first two books.

[Javizy]

Another book, very interesting and strongly recommended, is "A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar" by Seiichi Makino and Michio Tsutsui, published by The Japan Times.

I second this, and the sequel volume "A Dictionary of Intermediate Japanese Grammar" is also great as you start encountering more advanced stuff. I've heard they're in the process of putting out a third, advanced volume, but honestly, I haven't encountered any grammar yet that wasn't in the first two books.

A lot of people have recommended this, including Peter, but the only Western site I saw it on had it up for £30. It's a more reasonable price on amazon.jp, but I imagine the shipping would end up overtaking the difference. Does anybody know any other sites that sell it?

EDIT: I just checked amazon.jp again and it's about £30 there too, I guess it's just an expensive book.

[lolillo]

Another book, very interesting and strongly recommended, is "A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar" by Seiichi Makino and Michio Tsutsui, published by The Japan Times.

I second this, and the sequel volume "A Dictionary of Intermediate Japanese Grammar" is also great as you start encountering more advanced stuff. I've heard they're in the process of putting out a third, advanced volume, but honestly, I haven't encountered any grammar yet that wasn't in the first two books.

A lot of people have recommended this, including Peter, but the only Western site I saw it on had it up for £30. It's a more reasonable price on amazon.jp, but I imagine the shipping would end up overtaking the difference. Does anybody know any other sites that sell it?

EDIT: I just checked amazon.jp again and it's about £30 there too, I guess it's just an expensive book.

I bought it in 1991 from bonjinsha and the price, as printed on the cover, was 2,806 yen. I've been searching the web and in the Japan Times Bookclub website is on sale at 2,946 yen (tax included).

http://bookclub.japantimes.co.jp/act/en ... do?id=0454

Now, I do not know the rate of change of the yen against the euro or sterling pound.

[Ulver_684]

Another book, very interesting and strongly recommended, is "A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar" by Seiichi Makino and Michio Tsutsui, published by The Japan Times.

I second this, and the sequel volume "A Dictionary of Intermediate Japanese Grammar" is also great as you start encountering more advanced stuff. I've heard they're in the process of putting out a third, advanced volume, but honestly, I haven't encountered any grammar yet that wasn't in the first two books.

A lot of people have recommended this, including Peter, but the only Western site I saw it on had it up for £30. It's a more reasonable price on amazon.jp, but I imagine the shipping would end up overtaking the difference. Does anybody know any other sites that sell it?

EDIT: I just checked amazon.jp again and it's about £30 there too, I guess it's just an expensive book.

I bought it in 1991 from bonjinsha and the price, as printed on the cover, was 2,806 yen. I've been searching the web and in the Japan Times Bookclub website is on sale at 2,946 yen (tax included).

http://bookclub.japantimes.co.jp/act/en ... do?id=0454

Now, I do not know the rate of change of the yen against the euro or sterling pound.

Lolillo-san!

Thank you for that great link about this Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar by Seiichi Makino and Michio Tsutsui!