Quote:
Originally posted by Nathan's Nicely
omg please tell me the book. I wanna try and see if I can somewhat get a grasp of it before I actually start the class~
the thing that scares me the most is all of the different systems used  someone told me if I knew Mandarin it would be easier(???) and prior Hangul knowledge is useless
I just wanna be able to know where I'm going when I visit and not be an annoying tourist that visits the country and doesn't speak the language  |
Okay so the book is called Genki. I'd get the first and second book. And yes it will work to your benefit to learn some of it before the class. What I suggest is learning two of the three writing systems (hiragana and katakana) before entering your entry level Japanese class. Whatever you do though do NOT waste your time on romaji. Not worth it at all since 99.9% of Japanese will never be in that (it's also harder to read for me tbh. I'm super slow in it ironically lol)
Also, buy "Remebering the Kanji", at least the first two books (the third one isn't necessary at this time) because that will help you learn Kanji as fast as I did and it won't take you years. I have sites too that will help you try to remember phrases, kanji, kana, etc. Message me whenever you get there. I'll never leave this site lololol
Also try to take the JLPT. It will test your fluency in Japanese at various levels. I took and passed the N5 and N4 level (beginner and beginning-intermediate levels) and it's good proof to put on a resume that you know the language.
I know a few phrases but I'm considering to take a Japanese course later this year since I plan on going to Japan/Korea next year