Learn Japanese: New College Text -- Volume I

I really like this book. But then again I have a really good instructor that explains the grammar really well, and converts it into simple terms that anyone can understand. The exercises don't have answer to them, however, if you have a good instructor he/she should be able to go over the exercises with you. What I did like the about the book was that there was English translations of the conversations in the back. Personally, from experience, it's better to learn a language from a good instructor. It's really difficult to learn it on your own, especially Japanese.

Or would that be Nihongo wa totemo muzukashii desu.I tried to learn Japanese with Japanese For Busy People to no avail. I then enrolled in my local community college and used Learn Japanese. While I had the benefit of an instructor, I still consider this a vastly superior book. Learn Japanese does not overwhelm you with vocabulary, but rather teaches the fundamentals of grammer very well. I feel this allows a student to construct their own sentences sooner. After all, the core of a language is not vocabulary, but grammer. Get the grammer down, then use a dictionary to gradually learn vocabulary. Once I picked up the grammer in any particular chapter, I was able to use it in a variety of settings by substituting different vocabulary words. For me, this works far better then conversational texts, or those that dump huge amounts of vocabulary down your throat.I think it's shortfalls are not presenting enough kana earlier in the book, and not presenting at all dictionary forms of verbs. It's nearly impossible to use a Japanese-English dictionary after finishing Volume 1. I was informed that Vol 2 jumps into dictionary forms, and it uses kana almost exclusively for presenting the language.The language unfolds with each succesive chapter and before I knew it, I could speak more of the language then I thought I could. Despite the two problems outlined above, I heartily recommend this book. But be forwarned, Japanese is not a language that can be learned in 4 weeknight sessions prior to a trip to Tokyo.

I have been the editor for three years, where we teach Japanese online, and I have used all 4 of the Learn Japanese series personally. These books are perfectly tuned toward the adult native english speaker, and very steadfastly increase ones knowledge and ability with the language. I've use the text with 3 different tutors as well, and at the Boston Language Institute, where it is the only text used for Japanese. It does start with romaji, but only to teach hiragana, and then uses hiragana until you know the kanji. Its a perfect procession geared to the unique learning disability of english speaking adults who do may not have the luxury of living in Japan, and by the 2nd volume you are really impressing native speakers.

This is an excellent text. I used Volumes I & II for the Japanese classes I took at Mesa Community College in San Diego. I was able to speak Japanese to my wife, her family, and other Japanese I met here in the states and Japan with confidence. What floors me is the price! I used a hardback text book at another college that was useless. I had to take Japanese I all over again because I wasn't up to par with the other students in Japanese II, at Mesa; and I spent $56 on that text. This publisher and author should be commended on the quality and content of this book, not to mention the price! Good Job!! This book is my number one choice, and it will be yours too.

After trying many different books (including Basic Japanese, Japanese for Busy People, and the like) this is simply the best Japanese language text I have come across. Well paced, clear, and very natural in the flow of the lessons. I became familiar with it when I took Japanese at San Jose State University (it was the required text). It looks a little dry at first, but you will find yourself learning more easily in spite of yourself.