Japanese for Busy People I: Romanized Version

Description

Japanese for Busy People is the most popular Japanese language textbook series in the world. With over 20 components including texts, workbooks, CDs, videos and teacher’s manuals, it is also one of the most comprehensive. Now, a decade after its first revision, the entire series is being redesigned, updated and consolidated to meet the needs of 21st-century students and businesspeople who want to learn natural, spoken Japanese as effectively as possible in a limited amount of time. The book features not only a sleek, new design but also a unit structure that groups thematically linked lessons together, making it easier than ever to learn Japanese. Moreover, it now comes with a CD containing audio for the dialogues and listening exercises from the text. The exercises in the book have also been thoroughly revised to incorporate more comprehension and production tasks. Many of these exercises are illustrated, making for a stimulating learning experience, and the purpose of each one is clearly stated. This first of three volumes introduces "survival Japanese" — the absolute minimum amount of Japanese needed to live in Japan. Thus, the vocabulary and grammatical items it introduces are limited to about a third of what is typically introduced in a first-year course. In addition, the book features notes on Japanese culture intended to expand the learner’s understanding of Japan, its customs and people. Japanese for Busy People I is available in two formats: romanized and kana. The Romanized Version uses romanized Japanese throughout, with kana in the Opening Dialogues of each lesson. The Kana Version — exposing students to hiragana and katakana from the very beginning — uses only kana.The content of the two books is otherwise exactly the same. The companion volume, Japanese for Busy People 1: The Workbook for the Revised 3rd Edition contains a variety of illustrated exercises for mastering the basic sentence patterns presented in the main text. Review: Good for Ultra beginners and adult self leaners who know kana - It was a good book but they missed out on kanji which is a minus point nevertheless a great textbook Review: Very efficient, good for self-teaching or class. - Many years ago, I studied Japanese with an earlier edition of this series. It is very good. The chapters start with short dialogues (most of the time: a few start with written material). These are followed by vocabulary, explanations of new grammar/functions, and exercises. I found the explanations easy to understand. Answers to exercises can be found in the back. (Study tip: you will find your study of Japanese using these texts even more effective if you memorize the dialogues and practice delivering them, with comprehension.) The series is pitched toward business people who need to learn important vocabulary and structures quickly. It is used by reputable Japanese Language Schools in Japan (eg. the Meguro Language Center in Tokyo). The three textbooks in this series teach more or less the same functions and vocabulary as Genki, though the Genki series is geared more toward students. The only real drawback of this series is that it does not treat Kanji in an organized manner. Here, Genki has the advantage: the last section of Genki I and II treats the 300+ kanji its editors belive a beginning student should learn. I hope, in a future revision, Kodansha rectifies this deficiency. The workbook contains useful practice. Ideally, you would have a study partner with whom to do pair exercises (and to make the learning more enjoyable.) One final advantage is the expense: the textbook, kana practice book, and workbook can be had somewhat more cheaply than the Genki books. Of course, there are three textbooks in this series and only two in the Genki series. I prefer this series to "Genki," but really it is "six of one, a half dozen of the other." Both are far superior to the tedious, cumbersome, and over-priced "Minna no Nihongo" series.