Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

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.

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!

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.

Be sure to buy the actual Genki textbook if you plan on buying this because without it, its pointless!

Using this workbook is a great way to learn the language (if used with the textbook). It was helped me a lot. But for some pages, you will need the CD.

I bought this from my college bookstore, it was a lot cheaper there.

I'm taking Japanese at college and this was the text book that was required. I'm very happy with it. The book explains grammar very well and the pace moves just fast enough so that my skills in the language are progressing but I don't feel lost. It does not go too much into kanji (there are some pages in the back that correspond to the lessons), but if you are just learning Japanese and have no prior experience with an Asian language- that is a very helpful feature. This is the activity workbook that goes along with the text book and it has grammar and writing exercises and kanji practice pages in the back. You don't actually need the workbook to use the text book, but I definitely recommend it for the extra practice it gives with the lessons.

The beginning of the book focuses a lot on speaking in the polite form (like if you were to speak Japanese to a teacher, stranger, acquaintance...) by using phrases such as '''"masu" and ''''"masen" at the end of verbs and '"desu" and ''''''' "jaarimasen" meaning "it is" or "it is not", as well as the past tenses of the polite forms. The second half of the book focuses on the cordial or familiar (what you use to speak with close friends, family...). This book also teaches the te-form ending (you cannot use "masu" '''or '''"masen" with a verb in the middle of the sentence, so you use the te-form). It also teaches"teimasu"'''' ending (both the te-form and the masu form together to indicate that the action is happening at the instant or that a change of action has occurred). For example: "ima ko-hi wo nondeimasu'''''''''''''" means "I am drinking coffee right now". So the book focuses on all of the three ways of writing in Japanese- hiragana (used for Japanese words that do not have a kanji and for the particles), katakana (used for foreign words to give them a Japanese sound such as coffee - ko-hi) and some kanji characters.

I'm sorry if I have made any mistakes with my Japanese sentences (I'm still a beginner with learning the language), but I wanted to try to explain this as best I could because if you already understand most of what I'm writing about - then you probably need the Genki 2 book. If this is all new material to you, then this book is a great way to learn the basics and grammar of Japanese. I also apologize because the amazon site will not let me write the japanese characters.

So, I would definitely recommend the Genki textbook to anyone trying to learn Japanese (don't waste your money like I did trying to learn on Rosetta Stone and computer programs!). My 14 year old sister bought the same book to learn Japanese also, so it's a textbook that can work for a lot of different age groups (I wouldn't go any lower than High School though- but it depends on the motivation of the student). Good luck with your Japanese studies!

This workbook is a wonderful supplement to Genki 1 the text. It provides for great practice. You need the student CD for this workbook. I recommend it very much. I am teaching myself Japanese and found this set to be excellent. My Japanese friend is very impressed with what I have taught myself.

Japanese is a very difficult language for English speakers to learn. If you've learned some French or Spanish (as I have), forget about it! Japanese is many times more difficult. That being said, Japanese is also more interesting, in that it has a completely different structure and forces you to think differently.

Genki does a good job of presenting Japanese is an orderly fashion. The authors are all native Japanese speakers, and there are a few places where they make mistakes in English, but those small errors do not take away from the text.

Genki could use a few more sample Japanese sentences, though. For example, when they present a new pattern, they often provide just a couple of examples when ten or twelve would be better. I suppose they assume (correctly) that this book will mostly be used in a classroom setting, and that the teacher will provide additional material.

In the end, Genki is a good textbook, but you will need more help if you are going to learn to speak Japanese. That is not the fault of the authors, it is just the way it is.

The book was delivered on time before my class began. However, the book was missing pages I needed for homework. The book is almost totally useless now. Beware buying it used from anyone.

The title says it all folks! Genki is the BEST series out there for learning Japanese! I have studied Japanese in the US for 8 years now, used many different books and Genki is BY FAR the best one on the market. From the word choice, to the explanations, to the practice problems this book excels! You will have no problem learning the Japanese language while using the Genki series. I HIGHLY recommend this to anyone that has a desire to learn Japanese. If you're struggling with your current textbook or class, I urge you to purchase the Genki series because you just cannot go wrong!

If you have the Genki book, your hurting yourself by not using this workbook as a accompaniment. I am taking Japanese in college and this helps me out a TON. We are required to do this workbook, but it helps me study for the tests we are given.