Paperback: 250 pages
Publisher: 3A Corporation (March 2001)
Language: Japanese
ISBN-10: 4883191028
ISBN-13: 978-4883191024
I had to use this series during my study abroad semesters in Japan. Having already found great success with the Genki series, Minna no Nihongo was highly irritating. The English explanations of the grammar points were written in very ambiguous language that could be taken to mean anything. They were obviously written by a Japanese person who is trying to sound more intelligent than they actually are, which just sounds deranged. Furthermore, all the grammatical changes are taught starting from the -masu verb form! If you do this it's almost impossible to find any pattern in Japanese verb changes, therefore learning the grammar doesn't come about through understanding but from rote memorization. Grammar is too complex to learn this way, it needs to be understood not memorized. The authors act as though there is no such thing as the plain form of a verb, which is just crazy. No I'm sorry they bring it up in the second book and treat it like a special grammar point. They make you memorize how to construct the plain form FROM the -masu form! This is clearly backward and, well, crazy. That's the only word for it. The idea that some schools have the audacity to require you to learn Japanese this way brings back old memories of "indescribable frustration". The only explanation for this incompetence is the underlying truth that many Japanese people deep down don't believe that it is possible for foreigners to learn their language. Don't believe me? Try speaking Japanese in Japan. You'll see what I mean. On top of all its flaws, to use this book effectively you will need both the main text and the translation book with you at all times and you have to coordinate between the two, knowing full well that you are doing things in an inefficient manner. Now I want you to imagine yourself sitting there juggling these two nonsensical texts, are you doing that? good. Now try to visualize a future where you are able to function effectively in everyday life using Japanese. Careful, your head might explode. Do yourself a favor, start with Genki I and II, then move onto An Integrated Approach to Intermediate Japanese, and start learning kanji as soon as possible.
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Minnano Nihongo Kanji Book I
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This is hilarious! I have to agree that having the two textbooks is inconvenient and annoying at times and that the lack of the plain form is also weird. So many people in my class are having trouble understanding the whole verb system and how verbs work and I think that's partly why. Thankfully, I used Genki before this, so I remember the plain forms of most of the verbs or can guess them. I can only imagine they teach the -masu form first because it is then easier to remember which verb groups the various -ru verbs are in? And that leads to fewer mistakes with other forms (-te form, etc.)?
ReplyDeleteI am finding this book OK, but it is probably because I already knew some Japanese...
thanks for share
ReplyDeletexuất khẩu lao động
tuyển sinh du học nhật bản,du học nhật bản giá rẻ,