I'm sentence mining Genki 1 and 2 and it's working out really well right now. I plan on sentence mining native materials after 2 but I'd also like another source to help me with more advanced grammar. So basically my questions are, what level will Genki 1 and 2 give you and what is a good textbook to sentence mine after them (except for An Intergrated Approach to Intermediate Japanese)
Also as a matter of curiosity, are the Kanzen Master (or whatever they're called) books entirely in Japanese? And what levels of the JLPT do they cover?

[Zgarbas]

The kanzen master books are a great resource, and they have dedicated volumes for each level (n3, n2, n1). Highly recommended . Nihongo sou-matome is not as thorough or advanced, but they're a bit easier to transition to. The n3 books still have English in them, but the n2 and n1 books are entirely in japanese.

However, don't rush this transition. Getting the basics covered is really important. Supply them with something like the Dictionaries of Grammar. If you rush to the next level too soon, you'll encounter difficulties in the long run, which you can easily avoid by spending a few extra months pinning down the basics (especially the grammar). Donna Toki is also a good resource for reviewing your basics. Get your vocabulary, grammar and kanji knowledge to a uniform level, since being fully N4 is better than being N3 at grammar but N5 in kanjis (random example). And don't forget to practice your listening; I always do.

If sentence mining is your think than you might get something out of the DoBJG and DoIJG Anki Decks (spreadsheet if you want to make your own deck/s) I've made (still haven't finished the DoIJG yet- sorry!) found here:

http://forum.koohii.com/showthread.php?tid=10723
The second page of the thread as an example screen shot of what an average deck card looks like.

Zgarbas Wrote:The kanzen master books are a great resource, and they have dedicated volumes for each level (n3, n2, n1). Highly recommended . Nihongo sou-matome is not as thorough or advanced, but they're a bit easier to transition to. The n3 books still have English in them, but the n2 and n1 books are entirely in japanese.

Thanks for the recommendation and advice
BTW, where is your avatar from? It's pretty funny.

[Zgarbas]

It's from Gunnerkrigg Court, an amazing webcomic (the art in the beginning is pretty bad, but it gets much better in time).

@Zgarbas
I saw your other thread on Tadoku, just wondering, how long did it take you before you could just sit down with a book and just read?
Also what study route did you take? Any recommendations?

Thanks

After Genki 2 I used Japanese Sentence Patterns for Effective Communication. The first section you would have covered with Genki but it goes a fair bit beyond Genki (I think there's an anki deck for it somewhere?).

I really liked the sentences a lot, and I liked that it had a flow unlike DoBJG (which I love as a dictionary, and I think you should get in addition to whatever you decide).

Well, if you really want to learn more Japanese grammar and more about the grammar you know, I would highly suggest you visit my site as well. I continuously work and expand on it. As far as what has been mentioned thus far, I think that even the n1 Kanzen book, which I have in my possession as a resource, can be easily gone through in due time if you're at the intermediate level despite it all being in Japanese. I just don't find the explanations to be that complicated, especially in comparison to my huge 使い分け辞典. 使い分け辞典 of any kind are gold mines of information.

[Zgarbas]

EasyJapanezy Wrote:@Zgarbas
I saw your other thread on Tadoku, just wondering, how long did it take you before you could just sit down with a book and just read?
Also what study route did you take? Any recommendations?

Thanks

I waited a long time, since I don't like reading books if I encounter unknown words. I read キノのたび almost a year after I started serious study (was at roughly N3 level back then), and then waited another year before picking up my next book(soon after getting my N2).
I just spend somewhere between 50-100 hours per month studying like a mad man. No real route; just a whole lot of perseverance.

I've read very little, actually, and I still use the dictionary extensively (at least 1 new word/page, though I once mined about 10 terms from the same incredibly long sentence). I'm not a good role model, in other words . Just read when you feel comfortable doing so, I guess? Spending time looking up words or just not knowing them ruins the reading experience for me, but if you don't mind that you can just dive right in at any time =).

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. I'll check out your site, imabi. It seems a lot more complete than Tae Kim (I wonder why it isn't recommended more...)
Anyway, so, my last question is around what level grammar should you have after Genki 2? I might take the JLPT N4 or 3 in December which gives me 7 months. I just finished Genki 1.

I just did a lot of lookups and SRS'd the hell out of things until I understood enough to muddle through things on my own. I liked using electronic resources at the beginning, as it made it easy to feed words and example sentences from Rikaisama into Anki. I used mostly online articles, plus a couple electronic books by 乙一.

It took about a year of study until I felt comfortable stumbling my way through native material. I'm almost finished with パズル by 山田悠介, and am either tackling Harry Potter or リング next.

I'd highly recommend the Japanese translations of the Magic Tree House series. Not a lot of kanji used, but it's all rather easy Japanese (short, understandable sentences), and a ton of useful everyday vocabulary. They're expensive, but a few of us have copies we might be willing to lend out. Also, they're print only, so it's a pain mining them. But worth the effort, methinks.

I love the 新完全マスター books. The grammar descriptions are great.

[Zgarbas]

Hirakana Wrote:Thanks for the suggestions everyone. I'll check out your site, imabi. It seems a lot more complete than Tae Kim (I wonder why it isn't recommended more...)
Anyway, so, my last question is around what level grammar should you have after Genki 2? I might take the JLPT N4 or 3 in December which gives me 7 months. I just finished Genki 1.

Genki 2 leaves you at N4 level. If you study at a reasonable pace the N3 should feel like a breeze by December. 頑張ってね＾＾

Tobira: Gateway to Advanced Japanese is also recommended instead of IAtIJ. It has more modern topics, like food, pop culture, geography, etc. So you might want to check it out if you want an intermediate textbook.

@gaiaslastlaugh
where did you find the Japanese Version of the magic true house?

Try Nihongo chukyu J301 AND J501. These books are fantastic!

Thanks for the advice everyone, but I just have one more question. After I finish Genki 2, to study for the JLPT N3, is it worth it to buy the Kanzen Master N3, or will the grammar points in it be covered in Genki 2 already?

Btw there is also a follow-up book after Genki 2. I wonder why it did not get mention, but I liked it very much. I think it's called "An Integrated Approach to Intermediate Japanese" by Akira Miura.

And if you like working and learning with textbooks the "follow-up" (in terms of level) after that one is supposed to be "TOBIRA".

So as far I understand I cannot move from Genki 2 to Tobira?

I know I have to go to AIAIJ but I cant stand any more to the dialogs for schools and teachers and university life vocab so what to do after Genki 2


PS
I have JSPEC and will do it, but it is not textbook type with leveling content anyway?

PS2
My goal is to reach somewhat like N3 before moving to natural content...TV, drama, ...

vebaev Wrote:So as far I understand I cannot move from Genki 2 to Tobira?

I know I have to go to AIAIJ but I cant stand any more to the dialogs for schools and teachers and university life vocab so what to do after Genki 2


PS
I have JSPEC and will do it, but it is not textbook type with leveling content anyway?

PS2
My goal is to reach somewhat like N3 before moving to natural content...TV, drama, ...

I moved from genki 2, to a dictionary of basic japanese grammar, to tobira. Tobira was very easy to understand after the dictionary. The vocabulary might be a lot depending on how much you start off with.

Also, I recommended heading into native content now. It's how I get all of my vocabulary.