http://www.thejapanshop.com/product.php?...307&page=1

Has anybody used this textbook? Impressions, strong points (if any), it's been revised recently and comes with 2 free cd's.

I finished Genki II and both the basic and intermediate dictionaries of japanese grammar from the Japan Times a while back and I'm ready to move onto an intermediate textbook.

It seems to be the next logical step from Genki II but i'm worried it'll be useless since i've finished A dicitonary of intermediate grammar.

EDIT: Wow I made enough mistakes that you'd think i was not a native English speaker, anyways fixed. Thanks for the reply, i'll read the review now.

it's a text book. it's full of grammar points. here is someone else's review:

http://goddesscarlie.com/an-integrated-a...pressions/

but if you've already been through a dictionary of grammar, it's probably not worth your time. it makes more sense for you to get readers.

I used this textbook when I had weekly tutoring and lived in Japan, here are my impressions:

Strong points:
Good explanations of grammar points
Mostly natural spoken style Japanese in the sample dialogs
A couple dialogs per lesson
Lots of new vocabulary in lessons

Weak points:
Focused primarily on situations college students will encounter (this can be good or bad, obviously)
You need someone to correct your attempts at the grammar exercises if you want to make use of them.
The vocab doesn't re-appear in later lessons, each lesson could almost be stand-alone.

Overall:
A good way to structure lessons in group or tutor situations, might not be the most rewarding for self-study, especially if you are past the exchange-student period of your life. But it did lift my grammar up a notch when I used it.

EDIT: I meant to mention I'm not sure how it compares to the dictionary of grammar, haven't used that. I had done 4 semesters of college Japanese and Minna no Nihongo 2 which I think might have put me a little past Genki II when I started it, but not sure...

Based on the impressions i've gotten from reviews, it seems a solid step after Genki II, i'll be picking this up, even if it's a little below my skill level, I'm sure i'll learn a bit from it and the sentences should make for good SRS material.