I tried to learn Japanese when I was much younger, using the readily available methods at the time and it just didn't work. Wow is Japanese From Zero! different. This feels like a true, self study course with enough content to keep you busy but in an order that's useful (as opposed to just memorizing words) and at a pace that really fits a busy schedule.
Pros: For myself with a full time job and normally only a few hours at night, this is the perfect pace. It gives me time to finish one lesson every two days at a casual pace, or if I want to really push on the lesson activities I can finish one lesson a day (which I did for this book, as it was introducing the starting concepts of the language and I couldn't wait to learn more and more). The lesson activities are the perfect length to make sure you've taken the concept of the lesson to heart - not so short that you don't use them enough and might forget them in a few days, and not so long that you get bored of it and just want to move on.
Further, the author really knows how to explain the concepts and coupled with his YouTube videos I feel like I understand so much of the grammar so easily. I took 5 years of Spanish in high school (which I've since all but forgotten unfortunately) and I feel like in a month I know the same amount of grammar in Japanese because of his teaching style. If you treat this like an actual Japanese language class, you'll love it.
Neutral: Despite me explaining why the speed works for me, it may not work for everyone. I've seen plenty of reviews suggesting Genki over this, and I can understand why they might prefer it. If you have a lot of time, the pace this goes at will definitely feel slow. A lot of people say that Genki's method of teaching Hiragana and Katakana (the Japanese symbols) is better - or even more, that JFZ's way is horrible, but I don't agree with that. For the pace this goes at - again great for someone working or going to school all day - the method of teaching them where it's mixed with the English letters is a godsend that I never even considered a potential method.
That said, I don't believe the speed is *that* far off. Genki is essentially a college textbook and I've seen suggestions to use it like you would in school - spend a week on each chapter, doing the learning, writing activities, quizzes, or whatever else it provides. As mentioned I spent a day on each JFZ chapter. If you're going to spend the same amount of time on the chapters in each book then yes JFZ will seem horribly slow, but the chapters aren't actually comparable for content. I feel like I'm going to complete JFZ book 5 in the time it's suggested to complete Genki 1 (which as far as I'm aware both will put you at similar stages of language knowledge). So be wary when reading about how much slower JFZ moves.
Cons: It's probably a praise of this book that this is the only con I can think of, but the cover art characters really doesn't do it for me. Especially book one, with an anime schoolgirl in a short skirt, it makes the book feel childish. The content definitely isn't, and if it helps sell more books then I'd much rather it have this cover than not have any more content made, but it definitely makes me a bit self conscious taking it out to work on in public because it feels like a book for someone who's not really serious about learning. I'd much rather just nice artwork of Japanese locations or something like that. It's nothing a paper bag book cover can't fix, though.
Suggestions to the Author: I'd love to see the vocabulary in each section used more in the activities. It may be that in the next revision it will be as I've already seen book 2 do this, but I find that the writing activities seem to focus on only one or two words throughout the entire book, so you really know those two vocabulary words you learned in chapter 1 but besides that... nothing. As mentioned this may already be a planned change though, as book 2 is a lot better about it.
All in all I'd definitely recommend it! For the first time in a long time I feel like I'm actually learning a second language.
Enjoy fast, free delivery, exclusive deals, and award-winning movies & TV shows with Prime
Try Prime
and start saving today with fast, free delivery
Loading your book clubs
There was a problem loading your book clubs. Please try again.
Not in a club? Learn more
Join or create book clubs
Choose books together
Track your books
Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free.
Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.
Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.
Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.
Frequently bought together
$33.66
Get it as soon as Thursday, May 2
In Stock
Total price:
To see our price, add these items to your cart.
Choose items to buy together.
More items to explore
Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1
From the Publisher
An Innovative Way to Learn Japanese!
Japanese From Zero! is an innovative and integrated approach to learning Japanese that has been used successfully for over 25 years by students all over the world.
Written for students of every level and background, Japanese From Zero! is the perfect course for current students of Japanese as well as absolute beginners.
Features of Book 1
- Beginner Japanese Taught in an Easy Engaging Style
- Multiple Examples for Every Concept Taught
- Master Over 800 New Words and Expressions
- Learn to Read and Write Hiragana
- Explore Japanese Culture
- Integrated Workbook with Answer Key
Designed to Help You Every Step of the Way - Achieve Your Japanese Learning Goals!
|
|
|
|
|---|---|---|
Learn to Speak, Read, and Write!With lessons and exercises that cover everything you need to truly master Japanese, you’ll soon be reading, writing, and creating your very own Japanese sentences. Go beyond memorizing and start learning! |
Perfect for Self-Study!Created specifically for self-studiers, every lesson has been carefully designed to guide you step-by-step without the need for help from a teacher or tutor. It’s your very own classroom in a book! |
Integrated Workbook!Reinforce the concepts you’ve learned, and take your Japanese to the next level with a variety of fun activities and exercises. With no need to buy a separate workbook, it’s like 2 books in 1! |
Videos
Page 1 of 1Start OverPage 1 of 1
Videos for this product
1:54
Click to play video
Great for beginners of Japanese? Let's find out!
Jay Dee Archer
Videos for this product
0:24
Click to play video
I really do recommend this book for learning Japanese
Amazon Customer
Videos for this product
0:36
Click to play video
HONEST REVIEW of Japanese From Zero! 1
Ian Carpenter
Videos for this product
0:46
Click to play video
Customer Review: Super excited to learn
Amazon Customer
About the author
Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Reviews with images
Do you want to successfully learn how to speak Japanese?
Yes! 1,000 times, YES!!! At, least that was my answer. Finding a way to learn Japanese, successfully, was much more difficult than deciding I wanted to learn how. If your journey to find a teaching tool that would work for you is anything like mine was then you've already tried and failed to use other tools.In October of 2017 my sister and I decided we both wanted to learn Japanese together. So we set off on that journey only to fight with one another over the way to learn it which led us down different paths before finding Japanese From Zero!Now before finding Japanese from Zero! I had already successfully used RomanianPod101.com to learn how to speak Romanian and I liked the platform quite a bit. So I naturally headed over to JapanesePod101.com and shelled out around $200 for Premium Plus only to find that the language learning tools for Japanese were not very good once you got through the first 10 or so lessons. I had already bought and paid for Memrise ($49.99) which I had used for Romanian and German. So I tried progressing through the Japanese 1 course and what was clearly missing from that experience was context and the practicality of the vocabulary I was learning. The progression markers were encouraging and motivating but it just wasn't teaching me to "speak" Japanese but rather vocabulary and small phrases. I had concurrently used Kana Town to learn both Hirigana and Katakana yet I felt like I wasn't really getting anywhere near learning to "speak" Japanese.I decided to turn to Youtube for suggestions and it seemed that most people were suggesting utilizing Tae Kim's free grammar and video lessons or Genki. I found these suggestions from people who'd moved to Japan and were there teaching English or as students.The last thing I wanted was a textbook. I hated the language textbooks I'd used in high school and college and had always found them sorely lacking "real life" or "conversational" teachings. Knowing how Japanese culture has so many formalities, niceties, honorifics, etc I was concerned I'd learn how to speak Japanese like a foreigner from Genki. While Tae Kim's offerings were pretty good considering they were free I struggled to use his material for myself.It was while I was on Amazon looking at Genki that I came across the Japanese From Zero series. I took a look at the reviews, watched some of Georges videos, and was sure that I had found the resource that was going to work for me. My sister wasn't convinced based on my discovery.After having spent a few months on and off with Japanese because I was struggling with the tools I'd used I dove in head first into using Japanese From Zero! 1 and it just - worked! It's hard to explain but...I was...actually learning how to "speak" Japanese. Now as someone who had already spent hours and hours memorizing Hiragana and Katakana I wasn't thrilled with the progressive transition from Romaji to kana but had I just started with this it probably would have been so much easier to learn those characters than isolated drilling.The reason I found Japanese From Zero! 1 to be so much better than all the other resources I'd used is because the book was full of clear explanations about each topic, word, or phrase that was being taught. It seemed like for every question I had about the material the author had anticipated that and had an answer. Unlike the other resources I used I wasn't scouring the internet for clarification about what was being taught.Even better was finding that Japanese From Zero! has a video lesson that goes with the full book lesson where George helps his students make sure they really understand the topic and then he adds more knowledge and information that strengthens the learners confidence in their Japanese.I spent an entire weekend working through the first 4 full chapters of Japanese from Zero! 1 and I was actually "speaking" Japanese. I could say real sentences that were conversationally correct and didn't make me sound like I was a foreign learner. Could I walk around in Japan and successfully hold a conversation - no of course not but what I did have was the confidence that with this material, if I stayed dedicated, in the not too distant future I most certainly could.After that weekend of learning I forced my sister to try Japanese From Zero! 1 with me. We watched a few of George's lesson videos and then I actually taught her, with the Japanese I'd learned from the book, the material I knew. Yes, that's correct I taught my sister Japanese in Japanese.After that she was convinced and I bought her a book as well.As you can see I've committed myself to the whole series. I spent $155 after taxes for the five books that you see. When compared with the 2 Genki workbooks and the 2 Genki textbooks with at the time I purchased them were $189 after taxes these felt like a steal.I'm not sure the author would recommend this but I use Jisho.org for learning the Kanji stroke order and readings of all the vocab that appears in the book. It's amazing how quickly you start learning radicals, stroke order patterns, and general character recognition. I'd say that doing this is a big time commitment and is going well above and beyond the usage of the book. I have the aptitude for it this early in the learning process but not everyone does. So if you find it distracts from Japanese From Zero! then don't use it.At the end of the day, if you want to learn how to successfully speak Japanese that doesn't make you sound like a language learning foreigner then this is the resource for you!
Top reviews from other countries
Welter
Um excelente pontapé no estudo de japonês
Reviewed in Brazil on October 30, 2023Dayna
Highly recommend
Reviewed in Canada on September 29, 2021
Dayna
Reviewed in Canada on September 29, 2021
I was a complete beginner when I first started this book, only knowing hiragana and katakana before hand which this book helped reinforce. I also worked on Genki 1 and writing Kanji while going through JFZ1. I also watched his videos on YouTube as I went through each chapter and used Duolingo every morning for at least 30 minutes minimum. A lot of people don’t like Duolingo but I find it really reinforces the information and has even helped me complete the chapters in the book.
Luckily, I found a few Japanese people on YouTube who I really like watching and they also helped reinforce the information by hearing them say the words you learn in the book.
The channel is: ぶりちゃんねる (burichanneru)
If you like Jujutsu Kaisen, they voice act as the characters.
I wouldn’t recommend using this book as your only resource though. I would get information from other sites/places while working in this book as well as immersing yourself in the language through music, tv, movies, etc. (If you’re serious about learning).
Time: I started this book at the very beginning of august. It took me a little over two months to complete but that was dedicating hours of my day to work in the book. I worked on it every day. Obviously it’ll take more time to complete if you don’t have as much free time.
I personally like this book a lot more than Genki as that book is too fast and doesn’t give as much information as this one does. The slow, progressive teaching seems to work a lot better than just being thrown in.
I also bought the second JFZ because of how much I enjoyed this one and plan on purchasing 3 and Kanji from zero once I complete JFZ2.
CONS: there has been a few cons and downsides to learning this progressively.
1.I’m too hard on myself and found myself frustrated that I still couldn’t express myself in Japanese, even after completion. I realize it’s highly unrealistic to get that far in only a few months.
2. There’s no audio or anything to hear the words and how they’re pronounced by native speakers. Although the pronunciation is quite straightforward and I did find natives through YouTube, it’s still a little frustrating if you’re just starting out, I still feel insecure about speaking but that’ll work itself out over time.
If you’re an auditory learner, I suggest recording yourself speaking and play it back.
Also, I highly recommend journaling and marking your progress. It’s very exciting going back and reading your notes and seeing how far you’ve come. Don’t focus on the outcome though or get stuck on how much progress you’re making/not making. Focus on what you’re learning/have learned and really enjoy the process. Remind yourself why you’re learning this language and understand learning a language is a lifelong journey :). Even your native one.
Again, I highly, highly recommend this book. It makes the learning fun and enjoyable :).
Edit:
I love how George and Yukari added culture clips and talk about important facts. Very appreciated!
Images in this review
