Japanese Language Learning Reviews

Japanese Step by Step by Gene Nishi

Score:
8 / 10
Pros:
good pacing and organization between chapters and sections; great use of and number of examples; all examples in full Japanese script as well as romaji with intonation; wonderfully focused explanations attuned to the needs of busy adult learners looking to understand grammar; decent extra material; great for adult learners looking to charge through all the basics of formal Japanese grammar and learn about writing and pronunciation along the way

Cons:
lack of exercises will bother practice-oriented students; lack of audio to help students pronounce all these example words and phrases; some longer word lists to memorize out of context; solid appendix material (esp. verbs on pages 78-84) are presented as lists that break the flow of chapters

It’s hard for beginners to judge what makes one learn Japanese book innovative, easy, step-by-step or complete and another not. At first glance, not a lot distinguishes Gene Nishi’s Japanese Step by Step: An Innovative Approach to Speaking and Reading Japanese from other book lessons with grammar explanations, sample sentences and vocabulary.

In the introduction, the author reveals where his intentions differ. Working as a language instructor with busy adults, he found many time consuming courses using the “direct method” (expose the student to as much Japanese as possible). These impractical courses did not meet the needs of his students. He set out to create a course that logically presents the structure behind Japanese. But how, and how well does it work?

The first chapter explains pronunciation, paying attention to syllables over single sounds, even carefulyl explaining intonation. Japanese tones are included in all examples, which are written in full script (kana & kanji) as well as English-friendly romaji beneath. High toned syllabes are in all caps, while low tones are not capitalized.

Chapter two does a decent job of introducing kana and kanji. Katakana and hiragana tables list the characters for every syllable, then students must read a series of words aloud written in each syllabary. This is hard if you struggle with kana, so I recommend using another resource to conquer the two Japanese syllablaries. Kanji are explained well enough, but you’ll definitely need much more practice before you even get the gist of these complex characters.

Chapters 3 through 13 present grammar and language structure topics in well-paced sections. Each chapter is broken down into bite-sized increments. For example, you’ll begin by learning sentence patterns ending in desu and masu. As you do, you’re given concise, pinpoint explanations for only that topic. Then, you’ll work through sample Japanese phrases relevant to that topic (with English translations). You’re encouraged to read these out loud and practice writing them.

Within many sections, material in gray boxes depicts the relations between the structures you’re learning, or gives a formula for rememberin the structures (NOUN+desu, for instance).

By the end of chapter thirteen, students can expect a good level of competency in reading the standard written language (and spoken if you’ve been reading along and supplementing your learning with conversation). You’ll cover nearly every aspect of beginner and early intermediate Japanese grammar.

The book ends with an appendix of useful phrases, an appendix of kanji radicals, one of numerals and classifiers, a short verb conjugation chart, a three page index and hiragana/katakana tables. The table of contents is also detailed enough for a quick reference.

The course has no practice exercises in the traditional sense. With so many useful Japanese sentences, it would be nice for beginners to have an audio accompaniment, particularly if used as a learn-on-your-own course.

Busy individuals who want to learn on their own, or small adult classes focusing on practical Japanese grammar for educated formal speech will get the most out of this book. Nishi’s Japanese Step by Step charges ahead at its own pace, but it’s a good one for the right type of learner. I’m not sure it’s all that innovative, but it works.