Teach Yourself Beginner's Japanese : An Easy Introduction (Paperback)

~ Helen Gilhooly (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

For those who find learning a new language daunting, Teach Yourself Beginner's Language series is just what the language teacher ordered. Each friendly and practical course introduces the new language without overwhelming the reader and includes:

• Lively dialogues and exercises
• A pronunciation section
• A vocabulary list
• A glossary of grammar terms
• Language and cultural information

About the Author

Helen Gilhooly

Has lived and worked in Japan and is the director of a specialist langugae school. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill; 2nd edition (October 21, 2002)
• Language: Japanese
• ISBN-10: 0071407480
• ISBN-13: 978-0071407489
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 6.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,306,902 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

43 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A superb introduction to the Japanese language, August 24, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Teach Yourself Beginner's Japanese (Paperback)

This was the first book that I read and completed in my Japaneese study and I do not regret this. However, apart form one chapter and a few excercises in other chapters, all the Japanese is romanized and therefore doesn't really teach real Japanese. Next to the romanized words, kanji could have been printed, and possibly in later chapters the romanization could have been omitted. On the one chapter that is devoted to the Japanese writing system, the katakana chart is printed. A Hiragana chart could have also been printed as I find it is just as essential, if not more. The accompanying tape is also a necessity as well, because it really helps your pronounciation, and if you haven't got the tape, you could be sayings things that even Japanese people could not understand. Throughout the book there are also excercises that require the tape. At the back of the book there is a mini dictionary but unfortunately some words that are in the book have been omitted and it is only in 'Japanese-English' form. It would have been useful, here, too, to include the proper Japanese text next to the romanization. The book is set out in such a way that there is a logical progression that neither moves too fast or too slow for it's reader. In conclusion, a good book!

22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An ideal introductory book for Japanese conversation!, September 6, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Teach Yourself Beginner's Japanese (Paperback)

What I love of this book is that it covers not only the language, but also details about everyday life in Japan.

Every lesson contains a dialogue that introduces the new grammatical structures in the shape of a conversation as it could happen in Japan. The same dialogue is recorded in the tape that comes with the book. After the conversation there is a comprehensive and exhaustively commented grammar section, followed by exercises. A section follows on Japanese culture and customs. Finally, there is a revision test recorded in the tape that covers the most important structures introduced in the chapter.

The pace is brisk. I have read just over half the book, and at this point the complexity of the structures introduced is higher than in other language books. And you can really learn! At this point I can partially understand conversations in Japanese. Speaking it is much harder, but well, no book can help in this, only practice can...

This is not the book you would buy if you only wanted to know a set of stock Janapese sentences. But if you really want to know the language and be able to speak and understand it in a conversation, you should definitely buy this book.

If I don't give it the top mark it's because the book does not cover Japanese writing, not even hiragana (the text is all in latin characters). But this is not the purpose of this book...

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars 5 with the tapes, October 4, 2000

By	"perfect1" (Feltham, Middlesex United Kingdom) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Teach Yourself Beginner's Japanese (Paperback)

This is a book for people who wish to walk before they learn to run. You will not be bogged down with kanji, and the like, but will learn prononciation and structure of the Japanese language very quickly. It's very well structured and the easiest of five self learn books I own. Learn to speak then learn to read is my advice. The book alone only gets 4 stars as UK/USA English pronounciation differs from Japanese so, as with all language books, I strongly advise anyone considering this book, which I again state is the best I've come across, to get the tapes that go with it, I then give it 5 stars+.....