Genki I: An Integrated Course in Elementary Japanese I - Workbook (English and Japanese Edition) [Paperback]

Eri Banno (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: 2000 | ISBN-10: 4789010015 | ISBN-13: 978-4789010016 | Edition: Workbook

Supplementary learning material for textbook Genki I - Beginner's Japanese, including grammar practices and the Chinese characters (Kanji). Japanese/English.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Ideal for beginning students of Japanese.

Product Details

• Paperback: 136 pages
• Publisher: The Japan Times; Workbook edition (2000)
• Language: English, Japanese
• ISBN-10: 4789010015
• ISBN-13: 978-4789010016
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 7.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #55,441 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #11 in Books > Education & Reference > Foreign Language Nonfiction > Japanese
  • #35 in Books > Education & Reference > Foreign Languages > Japanese
  • #35 in Books > Education & Reference > Foreign Languages > Instruction > Japanese

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Genki I: An Integrated Course in Elementary Japanese, August 27, 2003

By 

Darin Evans (Hiroshima, Japan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Genki I: An Integrated Course in Elementary Japanese I - Workbook (English and Japanese Edition) (Paperback)

This is the best book I have found so far (I tried 3 others) for someone learning Japanese from scratch. The grammar explanations are the best I have seen in any Japanese text, and the exercises are varied enough to keep you interested. The book is divided into two sections that are studied concurrently; dialogue, vocabulary and grammar; and hiragana, katakana and kanji. This system seems to work well, and the exercises for learning all the scripts introduce the characters in small chunks that don't overwhelm you. Luckily, romajii is dropped after lesson 3. I wish someone had told me about this book earlier.

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect pace, June 26, 2007

By 

Sarah "<3" (MA, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Genki I: An Integrated Course in Elementary Japanese I - Workbook (English and Japanese Edition) (Paperback)

I used this workbook in my first year Japanese class in college. It complements the textbook wonderfully. The lessons are taught in a way that makes it easy to remember what you learn. This series has a rather engaging story about a girl studying in Japan, which makes it both entertaining and fun to learn Japanese. I accredit my now perfect Japanese to the Genki series. It kept me interested and motivated, while teaching me a lot. I recommend it to anyone who wants to learn Japanese!

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Moderately helpful., June 9, 2008

By 

C.J. Hustwick (Riverside, CA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Genki I: An Integrated Course in Elementary Japanese I - Workbook (English and Japanese Edition) (Paperback)

I agree with on of the other reviewers that the Genki textbook just does not have enough examples or in-depth / creative discussions of grammar. So when you then go to the workbook, it's kind of a baptism by fire into putting the rather anemic lessons to some use.

Another issue is that you will need the answer key to this workbook if you self-study. That is also around $20. Unfortunately, all of the answers are written in that book exclusively in kanji, which of course is not taught until the very end of the first textbook. So, when "grading" your exercises it will be a constant flipping between not only the workbook and the answer key, but the relevant textbook page itself. Which is all the more frustrating because there is minimal benefit to kanj-correction if one has not specifically been including this in the curriculum.

Another 20% of this workbook will not be of use to you unless you purchase the multi-CD listening comprehension set which is around $225! I'd opt for the less expensive 2-disc set that sources the textbook (and not this workbook) exclusively.

Lastly, I also have to laugh at one of the other reviewers who credits her "perfect" Japanese with the Genki series. Nothing could be further from the truth; one does not even begin to understand the myriad of honorifics of the language, not to mention how to speak in anything other than what might be considered ELEMENTARY, textbook Japanese. Hence, the title.