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Looking for books to learn japanese!

I was wonder if I could self teach Japanese to myself. I'm not confident with languages, but I try my best! I am looking for some tips and books I could get as a guide or help myself learn the languages. I find the language very fascinating!

I was looking into buying a edexcel gcse/a level book but I'm kind of new to Japanese and I haven't really learnt the basics yet so I was think maybe there is another book I could learn off first. I just know a few phrases and words but I don't really know how to write them.

Thanks in advance!

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 1

bunnylau

Yeah I would love to be able to read manga but I can't I just can't figure out what they are saying really. I can kind of understand from the drawings but not the text itself. Thanks for the advice though!

Reply 2

CeltyV

Original post by bunnylau

Have a look at http://yesjapan.com and their free online courses before you buy any books. I learn Korean from their Korean books (also free pdf/online version) and I really like them.
Also a lot of people recommend Genki so have a look at that as well but I'd recommend looking at that online course first because all normal textbooks are so expensive :frown:

Reply 3

bunnylau

Original post by CeltyV

Okay thanks for the advice! I will have a look at it tonight :smile:

Reply 4

Racsoix

To be honest, if you're starting from scratch and don't know any then you're better of self studying. I don't know how old you are but I know multiple people who passed GCSE's with A* just by self studying. I am not saying don't buy textbooks, but there are so many great resources online. To give a bit of guidance start of with Hiragana and Katakana, some basic phrases and grammar and go from there. Furthermore, it's a difficult language and you need 100% dedication. If you don't have that, you're going to become bored very quickly. That means all those shiny new textbooks you bought with the intention of becoming good are just going to sit on a shelf collecting dust. Think really hard about whether you actually want to learn the language. I'm currently studying to take the Japanese GCSE in 2018 and it requires me to put in multiple hours of revision and study per day. Hopefully that didn't put you of. It's very rewarding if you're actually motivated to learn it. Best of luck, and if you need any help with anything then feel free to message me!

Reply 5

PerplexingGeode

Inherently, I used Memrise to learn both Hiragana and Katakana, as well as extend my vocabulary - regarding the Japanese language, alongside the AnkiWeb/AnkiDroid flashcard system. In addition to this, I find that the Japanese from Zero! series is an excellent textbook series to use, throughout the course of learning Japanese; the second or third book onwards, commences covering Kanji - however, an alternative book series I would recommend for learning Kanji, is the 'Remembering the Kanji' series; by James W Heisig. Unfortunately, all of these books are quite expensive, thus I would recommend purchasing them second hand - if possible.

Furthermore, I agree with the recommendation of 'Genki' textbooks; whilst I have not utilised them myself, I have heard a vast number of great things regarding the textbook series. :smile:

Good luck! :yy:

Reply 6

mikela

hi!! for my japanese studies, i use genki from yr 7 to yr 9. currently, i am using japanese challenge: N4 for the JLPT exams, which is also relevant for GCSEs!! i am currently being tutored though, so i don't know how to help you with self studying...

if you want to talk to japanese natives who are learning english, i suggest the app hellotalk! it's super helpful and you can make friends!

and from experience, manga really doesn't help to a great deal...