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Yookoso! An Invitation To Contemporary Japanese, Volume 1
 
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Yookoso! An Invitation To Contemporary Japanese, Volume 1 [Illustrated] (Hardcover)

~ Yasu-Hiko Tohsaku (Author)
4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)

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Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Yookoso! is the first volume of a two-volume series for beginning and intermediate Japanese. Employing an eclectic approach based on modern principles of second language acquisition, it is the first beginning Japanese text to integrate the teaching of all four linguistic skills. Each chapter contains listening, speaking, reading, and writing exercises of various types. All Japanese-language material after the introductory section is written in natural kanamajiri style with furigana, and 175 kanji are presented for active master. Grammar is treated as a tool for developing communication skills, not as the focal point of the text, and the chapters are organized in a way that accommodates many different teaching and learning styles. Brief English descriptions of contemporary and traditional Japanese culture, each related to the theme of the chapter, provide a context for language learning, and the illustrations, including photographs, line drawings, and realia, enhance student interest and serve as starting points for classroom exercises. In addition Yookoso! is unique in having a full set of ancillary materials: audio and video tapes, a student workbook and laboratory manual, software (to be announced), and an instructor's manual with test bank and tapescript.

Language Notes

Text: English, Japanese

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 448 pages
  • Publisher: McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Langua; illustrated edition edition (January 1, 1994)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0070722919
  • ISBN-13: 978-0070722910
  • Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 8 x 1.1 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 2.5 pounds
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,181,848 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars A student's review of Yookoso (1st Edition), October 4, 1999
By A Customer
Personally, this language book went a little slow compared to what I was expecting. Before my first semester of Japanese, I had already spent 8 months studying on the net (learning hiragana, katakana and basic grammer structures).

Here's the pros and cons about this book: Note: I have not read the latest version (The copy at the university was pre-wrapped, and I didn't want to waste money on a new copy) So, some of the cons may have been fixed.

1.) Activities would generally come before the grammer notes. This wasn't too bad, but made you jump around a lot.

2.) The kanji were introduced a bit too fast. The first few chapters should have been dedicated to the first 80 kanji (1st grade kanji), and any important kanji. For most students in my class, learning the kanji over top of the kanas was hard.

3.) The Japanese text was quite small, thus making new kanji very hard to read. (The furigana was almost impossible to read)

Pros:

1.) Laid out grammer outline. 2.) Has a complete vocabulary list. 3.) Has plently of exercises.

Suggestions: (if the author reads this)

1.) The kanas could have come with a chart and a way to memorize them, rather than just a page or two.

2.) The verb chart should be highlighted according to their respected groups. (Volitional/Imperative forms one color, Present/Past (plain/formal) tenses another color etc. Some grammer examples in the appendix would help too.

3.) Have a supplimentary booklet with conversation relating to the grammer, as well as various readings relating to the vocabulary in that chapter.

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Introduction to Japanese, November 9, 2002
By Andrew Wilson (Oliver, BC Canada) - See all my reviews
I started using the Youkoso books in University several years ago, and still find myself going back to them once in a while for a refresher. The first book starts out very simple, teaching very basic Japanese, which is romanized, then progressively gets more difficult, introducing both Hiragana and Katakana, and Kanji. I found the course to be very vocabulary intensive, especially in the beginning, when the student needs to learn the vocabulary so that they have something to base grammar on. Another nice point in the book is that it also talks about culture, which helps to explain some language differences, too. If I had studied harder with these books, maybe my Japanese would have gotten much better than it is now.
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2 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Best I've seen..., June 8, 2003
By Marty (Brookfield, WI) - See all my reviews
This book isn't perfect, but it's by far the best one I've seen as of yet.

This "Yookoso" book goes very in depth for grammar, which is extremely helpful. People who are looking for a "phrasebook for anime fans" should not use this. This book introduces the Japanese language from the very beginning and builds onto it in an efficient way. It introduces new verb and adjective forms gradually so you have enough time to get used to the ones you have learned previously.

One problem with this book is that the amount of vocabulary introduced in each chapter is excessive. It's very hard to memorize more than 50 words per chapter, so if you are teaching yourself, you can divide them up to make it a little easier.

In addition to adequate (and understandable) grammar explanations, this book gives many, many examples of usage in each chapter. Once you read through the explanation and examples, you can do the exercises with ease. The first edition of the book has the answers in the back so you can check them.

Japanese is a language made up of uniform syllables, so it's very easy to pronounce. However, I've noticed that some people still have problems with speaking, so I recommend the audio CDs along with the book. Buying the lab manual/writing activities book isn't a bad idea either.

Overall, this is by far the best book I've used yet to actually learn Japanese. Once again, if you only want to speak like an anime character, buy something cheaper. But, if you really want to understand the language (and this book REALLY helps with that), then buy this book. It's definitely worth the money.

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