Japanese for Everyone

There are plenty of good reviews on the internet Japanese for Everyone. But since I'm personally using it, I think I should speak a little of what I think of it.

First of all, it is a hard book to use, mostly because the information is so condensed together and there aren't a ton of exercises (though there is a Workbook, which has to be special ordered from Japan, but I don't have it - yet). Some people are put off by the fast pace and I do understand them. The thing is, the book is really cheap, and covers in one cheap book, what other series cover in 2 or 3, each of which a lot more expensive. As such, and because I had a very limited budget when I bought it, I chose this one.

On the other hand, despite all of the downsides it might have, the information is well laid out in my opinion. I like how it builds up on what was taught in previews lessons, and how kanji is introduced. The dialogues are also very natural and I personally find them entertaining. It certainly isn't a book to be taken lightly or for someone just messing around a little bit.

I also have the Kanji Book in this series. While it's helpful to have the kanji all nicely listed by the lessons they're introduced in, and the general idea of the exercises is pretty nice (kind of like the Basic Kanji Book does them, which I like), they are far too little to be of any help. If I had known there would be 2 pages of exercises per 20 something kanji, I wouldn't have bough the book.

One small advice I do have regarding how to use Japanese for Everyone is to pick up A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar. It's a really useful book to use with this textbook. Some grammar points may not have sufficient explanation, and others you just want to see more examples of or a different explanation to help you remember it... this dictionary is absolutely perfect for that. I usually just check every new grammar point the textbook introduces in the dictionary and I'm usually pretty satisfied with the extra explanation.

Well, that's it, I can't think of anything else to add...

Happy studying! がんばって。

Why I study Japanese

How to answer this question...

The honest answer is simply, I like it!
A long time ago the answer would be more elaborate, but as I studied and time passed, I simply began to enjoy the Japanese Culture and Language itself and became fascinated by it. I adore the way the language sounds, how it's written (even though kanji is such a hard thing to study...), it's literature, and above all, all the culture Japan has. Maybe it's because it's so different from mine, maybe it's just because I've always been interested in other countries. I appreciate even things like Japanese architecture (which is amazing by the way)!

I hope through this blog I can inspire others to start learning Japanese, and perhaps get some help myself while I'm learning!